Lakhbir came to pick me up at the appointed time from the Sheraton's Hotel entrance and headed duly to the Taj Mahal. It was only a short ride away and before I knew it, he had turned into a car park filled with rickshaws, mini-buses and other cars and taxis. I then recalled that Jayant had informed me that he couldn't drive to the entrance of the Taj, and I had to take either the mini-bus or camel or rickshaw (whichever I fancied) to the Taj.
The car park was some 300m away from the entrance of the Taj and I could have chosen to walk if I had wanted to, and save some 100 rupees, but I decided that since I was pressed for time, I allowed myself to be harassed yet again by a group of locals who insisted I took their mode of transport. My rickshaw man smiled in silent victory when I announced I would be taking the rickshaw to my destination - the much talked about Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Along the way, a guide insisted I should hire him, but Jayant had briefed me that I could walk around the Taj on my own so I waved him away firmly.
I was a little lost when my rickshaw man let me down and asked me to walk my way towards the entrance of the Taj. What I saw ahead was just a brown entrance. Nothing grand to talk about - could this be the Taj? He waved me towards the direction again and asked me how long I'd take. I told him I'd be back to meet him in 2 hours' time, so he could transport me back to the car park. He agreed and settled himself by the side of the road.
I walked ahead and along the way, touts offered to sell me souvenirs - miniatures of the Taj, elephants and what not. Again, I smiled and firmly declined.
Thankfully, I spotted a throng of tourists crowding around a little hut. I gathered that was where I was to buy my tickets and did so accordingly. I was given a bottle of mineral water and "shoe mittens" with my ticket price. 250 rupees.
After going through stringent checks on my bag and body, I was allowed in. It seemed surreal that I was finally on the grounds of one of the seven wonders of the world.
Jayant told me to take my time to absorb the architecture and beauty of the Taj, which I did so. He told me to ignore the security that would shoo the throngs of people so that they wouldn't hog the entrance. Somehow, being alone had its advantages since I wasn't hounded by "official" photographers who would offer to take a picture of you with the Taj in the background for a fee.
It surprised me to find so many local Indians (much more than foreigners) and it didn't dawn on me initially that not all of them resided in the state, and hence their visit to the Taj. This is where it's different from Singapore. While Singapore relies on overseas tourism, India's tourism is sustained by its local market.
I slowly made my way to the Taj, and marvelled at the grandeur of the tomb. Who would have thought that such intricate architecture, precise in all its measurements, was conceptualised years ago without the help of computers or technology. All it took was very adept hands and meticulous calculations to create a building that still stands proudly today.
As I walked towards the Taj, I realised that it was surrounded by other buildings, perhaps mosques and lots of greenery. Here's a few shots to share with you.
As you can see, there are many local Indians...
It was difficult getting a shot of the Taj Mahal without people in my view, but I did manage one close-to-good one!
The mosque I mentioned. There were two, one on the left, and the other on the right of the Taj Mahal.
When I got nearer to the Taj, I saw many local Indians handing over their footwear to a man who was mending shelves of shoes. As it was really crowded, it seemed a little messy as people tried to collect their footwear while others wanted to deposit theirs. I wondered if my Camper shoes would find my way back to me if I had left it there, and was thus thankful of the "shoe mittens" I was given at the entrance. Now, this is what sets the local Indians apart from the foreigners. Watch the feet, and you'd know!
A shot of my Camper shoes covered by the "shoe mittens"
I took lots of shots of the white marble and how intricately each piece/pattern was carved out of a single piece of marble. Now, those were the days where they didn't have the likes of our modern machines, and you can imagine how much time and patience and skill was needed to come up with designs such as these...
There were quotes from the Quran even engraved on the marble walls. And I was busily snapping away until I saw this sign:
Photography wasn't allowed inside the building where the tomb laid.
It was dark when I entered and the throngs of people made me feel claustrophobic. Everyone was glued to the central area where the tomb laid, and surround it was a fence of marble, intricately carved and edged out of one single piece of marble. The details that were on the outside were nothing compared to the tiny details on the fence. Through it, one could peep through to see the tomb.
I walked around a little more before exiting out from another opening, and found myself in the company of many people, just sitting around and enjoying the late afternoon sun.
A young couple approached me and started a conversation with me. They were curious to know where I came from and how was it I was travelling alone. They asked about Singapore and if they could find work here. They looked young and despite the halting English, I did manage to find out that they were MBA students taking a break. They studied in the Southern part of India and came to visit the Taj as it was their holidays. We exchanged email addresses and I took my leave as it was already getting late.
I walked away from the Taj quickly and wished I had more time to soak in the grandeur of the place. But I had to leave as I had to head to another place, as scheduled on my itinerary. Plus, I couldn't let my rickshaw man wait more than the two hours he was supposed to.
As I headed out of the first entrance, I was disorientated. As I looked to the left and right of me, I realised that people were leaving and coming in from both sides. I couldn't remember which side I came from, and to make things worse, the security at the exits ensured that once you left the place, you couldn't get in back!
I tried to recall hard and took the gamble to head towards my left. Thankfully, I made the right turn.
As I walked down the road, looking out for my rickshaw man, another man waved at me to hop on his rickshaw. I asked if he was Saleem, the name the rickshaw man introduced himself as. In broken English and a communication using gestures, he told me that Saleem was his friend and that he would bring me back to the car park. I honestly thought that perhaps, my rickshaw man had to go off so he sent a replacement, and just as I was doubting myself, there I saw, Saleem by the side of the road further down, waving frantically at me, and for his "friend" to stop.
I shouted at the rickshaw man to stop, and so did Saleem. I wagged my finger at the rickshaw man in disapproval as I said in simple English, "You bad. You lie." and headed off to Saleem's rickshaw. Just as I thought I was spared of a con job, Saleem insisted as he pulled the rickshaw that he had waited for me way too long and that I had to pay him 250 rupees instead of the 100 rupees earlier agreed on. I said no, but he pulled on, murmuring to himself, "You give me money. I happy. You happy. Everybody happy."
I think he got statement three wrong.
It was a tiring day, and having experienced being hustled for the entire day, I decided that it was enough. I got ready just the 100 rupees promised in my hand and kept the rest of my cash safely in my bag. As Saleem let me off at the car park, he smiled widely, expecting the 250 rupees. The smile dropped when he saw he was only to get 100 rupees. He got angry and waved the money away from me. He insisted on the 250 rupees, but I firmly rationalized, "You would have no money if your friend took me back. But I stop your friend. I take your rickshaw. You take 100 rupees."
His head dropped and with a disgruntled look, and he grudgingly took the money from my hands, murmuring under his breath.
I headed to the car where Lakhbir was patiently waiting. I briefly told him about the incident as he negotiated his way out of the car park. On the way out, Saleem spotted me and shouted a curse at me, raising his hands in the air. I looked away and took a deep breath. I felt I had enough for the day, but I had to head on to Fatehpur Sikri.
I prayed it would be less of an adventure. But I was wrong.
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