Finally i was arriving to Agra, for the first time i would see one of the seven wonders. The expectations were high but at the same time i knew that I could be disappointed due to the huge amount of photos i had seen during all my life.
We arrive to Agra during the night. We try to search for a guest house and at the same time that we were going to there we start to discover a little bit the city. The streets around the Taj mahal are all narrow, it's difficult to pass more than one car, of course there are no sidewalks around here and unfortunately due to this there is a lot of traffic around here.
After more a negotiation to get a nice price we get the place to stay, right next to one the entrances of the Taj. Now was time to eat, we were so hungry. We were walking in the streets and approached by a guy. He was the owner of a restaurant "inviting" us to have dinner there. We saw the menu, it was nice, even better the prices, much more cheap than in Bangalore! The restaurant was on the roof like almost all the restaurants in Agra and we could see a first image of the Taj. It was dark so we could see much anyway it was our first vision of the Taj. In the morning we left to the "conquer" of the Taj, by the entrance south, right next we were staying and I believe the best gate to enter.
On the way we were approached by kids of the around 12 years that work for small shops around the Taj, this is always the sad part of India. The kids are placed there to call the "clients", tourists. They use kids because it's more easy for them to call clients, the customer will say something like "poor kid". We were talking with them a little while and trying to understand why they are there. I believe this is guilt of the owners and not of them, they are only attracted by the easy money. Most of them told us that they are going to school but the truth is that most of them don't go and their future starts to be more difficult for them.
We bought the ticket, and in my opinion very expensive.If we compare to the most of prices in India the ticket is quite expensive, it was 750 rupees. The ticket more expensive that i paid in India, I believe it was 250 rupees. We enter in the gate and after that there is another kind of the door (It´s a building) next but we already could see part of the Taj. When we enter in the building this the image that we have from the Taj.
After we can really appreciate the Taj. All the surrounding area is very lovely, matching in a perfect way with the Taj. We passed some time there enjoying the place and i won´t say much about it because it´s really a place to admire with your own eyes and not to talk.
Despite all the photos I had seen I was impressed by the Taj, I think I was not expecting to be so amazed by the place. Next we went to the fort of Agra. It´s not so known as the Taj but also very nice. It was a nice surprise because I was not expecting to find such a nice fort here. The architecture it´s typical from that region where the red predominates. From the fort you also can admire the Taj, it has a nice view to there with the river behind the "curtain".
Next we went to see the baby Taj. Yes, for the people that don't know, there is a small (really small) version of the Taj. The Taj is really impressive, but this? Not really, if it was now for sure i wouldn't go there. On the way to there we went by rickshaw (bicycle).It was a "bumpy" journey. We crash into buffalo(es), and if you're going to ask me if we went by some shortcut the answer is no. We were simply in one of the main roads of Agra. The road was really bad, full of holes, what made that we were always jumping and crashing our head in the top of the rickshaw. Hopefully we are not tall, otherwise the trip was even worst. But the worst was that the driver was really weak. Every small inclination we had to get out of the rickshaw and walk! How I missed so much from the driver from Delhi! The old gentleman made this to seems like an amateur! And this guy have 30 years, the guy from Delhi around 60! But the "best" was remained from the end of the day. This guy hit an old man with the rickshaw, with a bicycle! What a crash, I imagine was the old guy stayed. In the middle of so much space, how could hit the old guy?!!!
In the next day we went to an ancient city about 40km from Agra. The town was basically as the fort of Agra but smaller, more narrow. With so less space we were lost! The palace was on the top of a hill, was easy to see, but how to get there, any clue. We were approached buy another guy that took us there by some really narrow and weird streets. In the middle of the way I was thinking for where the hell is he going?!! The streets reminded me a lot the slums of the Rio de Janeiro. In the end we arrive there but the man didn't leave us. The usual in this situation was shows the road and in the end ask for a tip. But we already had said to them that we didn't give him money, so we told him thank you, more than one time, and as he didn't realize we told him something like we don't need you more. But in the moment we told him this appears in the exact moment a gut telling us that they weren't guides but workers that help in the preservation of the palace and in some days they would give some small and free tour. Of course when they say this, it never is completely true, so the question was what are you planning? Well he made us the tour and he finished the tour in a spot without any interest, at least for us. But he had the "shop" of his family where he sells some products made of stone, very typical from all over India and specially from that place.
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After some (a lot) of time we left the mosque, and not the palace as I was thinking. So we went to the palace, but when we arrive to the door of the mosque we realize that we didn't know where was the palace. We had a clue, but it was not sure. Again, we were approached, now by a small kid that took us there in exchange of the ticket. With our tickets he could sell it again. But this kid was something special, out of regular. He was quite smart and funny. We were talking with him in the way and in the end he even shows the old town that is in ruins. I remember that is dream was (is) to be a guide like is uncle. In the return to Agra we had or I had because I was in the window, one of that scares that we always want to avoid. We where in the bus, in a cross (in a high-way!), entering to the "road" we crash into a truck! The driver of the bus instead of waiting that truck passed as it was his right, no he just enter in street. For my luck, I was on the side of the window where everything happen, the driver of the truck turned a little and the damaged wasn't so big otherwise I don't want think what might happen. The funny part is that after one or two minutes arguing they leave the place like nothing happen and with the "cars" damaged.
The trip to Agra is over. The life for this side doesn't stop and tomorrow was time to leave to Nepal. Mas before it was time to say goodbye to my friend Youni with who I traveled until now. He returns to his country, I would stay here for more some time. This reminds me that I was also about to leave India in a couple of days.
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