The route from Delhi to Agra reveals a trail of steadily deteriorating habitations. The worst cluster around the railway stations at either end, this the refuge of the destitute who arrive from the countryside and settle down at their immediate point of arrival. The most recent consist of perhaps a sheet of plastic forming a lean-to, weighed down with stones. From here they advance towards relatively sophisticated hovels made of wood, wrapped in plastic as protection from the heat and the rain. This doesn’t work however, and as one the buildings can be seen dissolving in the monsoon downpour, the ground in which they sit churned to mud and evil-looking puddles.

What everyone comes to Agra for, of course, is the Taj Mahal. It’s overfamiliar from photographs, and at this point of my travels I’m suffering from advanced monument fatigue, but it’s still impressive. What the standard photographs don’t show you is what surrounds the main dome of the building, or the detail that exists both in the exterior and interior. The reason for this may be a sign that states No photographs beyond this point but everyone blithely ignores this, including myself. It’s a chance to a proper camera-clicking tourist without feeling self-conscious, and those opportunities are hard enough to come by in India.

Red-bricked buildings surround the main building, while up close the mausoleum has intricate details and what remains of inlays of precious stones. The interior is still and echoing. In the large and immaculately kept gardens, the grass is being mowed by oxen in harness. Tourists proliferate. There’s an archetypal family of American tourists complete with mewling brat of a son who gabbles a barely comprehensible monologue, gesturing at the Taj: “If it had mountains behind it, it would look so perfect…I mean, it’s so perfectly colour coded, the green, the blue, the yellow flowers, the white. Are you listening to daddy? Dad? Dad? Do you even understand?…It like nuclear warming, you know, the statue of liberty underwater, it seems like that, you know? I mean it’d look so much better with the blue…” Eventually a tout comes along to show them “The largest model of the Taj Mahal in the world.”. Just as well, or I’d have garrotted the little shit.

Agra’s other primary attraction is the Red Fort, and although it palls in comparison with the Taj, it’s interesting enough, although wearying, the sun’s heat accumulated between the high walls and courtyards to a deadly level. More entertaining is the trip to the fort via cycle rickshaw, courtesy of a wily chap who stops en route at various shops. I wander around for a couple of minutes, wander out, and he gets five rupees from each shop for bringing me and my non-existent custom. One carpet shop owner is a particularly slimy git, trying to get me to give him my address in the UK so that he can send carpets to my address without paying import duty. One of his friends would come along and pick them up later. Yeah, right. He shows impoverished weavers at work, boasting that he only pays them thirty rupees a day, “and they have to accept it, because “They are poor, and have no other work.” He’s the sort of person you’re glad to leave behind.

The India entries will only be in Spanish… sorry!

6 de Agosto 2009:

El tren de Delhi a Agra salio bien temprano. La estacion de trenes de Delhi es como el resto de la India: Un gran caos. Mucha gente sentada o tumbada en el piso de la entrada hasta los andenes.

El primer susto nos dio un tipo del control de seguridad que se nego a reconocer nuestros e-tickets. Sabiamos con seguridad que estaban confirmados, salio de una pagina del internet. Sin embargo nos mando a alguna taquilla para turistas donde nos enviaron a una oficina turistica al otro lado de la calle. Solo faltaban unos 30-40min. El encargado de esta oficina nos dijo que si estaba confirmado. De hecho no quizo escucharme cuando dije que el tipo de la seguridad nos habia negado la entrada.

De cualquier manera regresamos a la estacion y ya no habia control asi que fuimos directamente a los andenes.

Nuestro primer viaje en tren alla resulto bien entretenido. Nos dieron un curry de desayuno y un pequeño termo con agua mas un “té-kit”. Chido. Qué triste era el deber ver como vivian muchos hindus al lado de las vias, muy cerca. Demasiado cerca. Las vias al parecer sirven de baño para todos. Pasan muchas personas con su botellita de agua (para limipiarse el trasero) por ahi.

Llegando a Agra casi nos asaltaron los choferes de rickshaws. Nuestro objetivo consistia en conseguir un taxi “oficial” y prepagado por el dia. Escogimos uno que incluia el Taj Mahal y el Fuerte. Lo malo es que los que nos parecian mas castrosos entre los choferes resultaron siendo “choferes oficiales” y tuvimos que ir con uno de ellos. Nos trajeron al Taj Mahal.Casi no puedes llevar nada a dentro. Ningun libro, ni pila de reserva para la camara, nni varios otros utensilios. En el control de la entrada se pusieron unos franceses bien castrosos. No conocian estas reglas y se burlaban de los hombres de seguridad pensando que nadie los entendia. En algun momento estaba a punto de hacerles un comentario ya que detenian a toda la fila.

El Taj Mahal era muy bonito. En el primer lugar donde queriamos sacar fotos molestaban otra vez estos franceses castrosos. Se me fue la paciencia y les dije en francés que esperaran 2min… Uuuuuhhh que sorpresa para él. Luego se puso mas quieto en nuestra presencia. Sacamos varias fotos. Yo frente al Taj en un pie:

Lo que me sorprendio era el ver a tan pocos turistas extranjeros y a tantos hindus. Y eso es una atraccion tan importante. Debe de ser la mas grande que tiene la India. Supongo que es la pobreza de la India la que causa esta ausencia de mas extranjeros.

Del Taj Mahal nos querian hacer un tour por las tiendas para sacar comisiones. En la primera  nos hicieron visitar el taller donde producian pedacitos de piedras para pegarlos en huecos de objetos de marmol. Por pura cortesia visitamos la tienda por 5min. La siguiente era de joyeria. Pasamos 20seg dentro para anunciar que no nos intereso nada. Luego de decimos al guia que dejarara de llevarnos a lugares no planeados en el tour. Queria ir al restaurante con nosotros a las 11.30am. El restaurante estaba vacio y claro que nada economico como anunciado por el guia. Miramos el menu y nos fuimos.

El fuerte era gigante (arriba la parte de la entrada ya dentro). Con mucho el mas impresionante de todos. Después le pedimos al guia que nos dejara ya en la estacion de trenes. Como previsto se enojo bastante ya que rompimos todos su plan de llevarnos a mas tiendas. Los choferes de rickshaws de Agra son de los que mas friegan (que encontramos). La estacion de trenes estaba demasiado ocupada (piso) como para quedarse ahi mas tiempo. Por tanto caminamos con las mochilas alrededor. Segun la guia habia una mezquita y un bazar. La mezquita estaba rodeada por puestos del bazar y ademas estaba cerrada. Aparte de un restaurante un poco cochino no encontramos nada para comer. Salio muy barata la comida, pero mejor no saber como se veia la cocina.

Luego caminamos varias horas por el barrio. Fuimos los unicos turistas y por lo visto no vienen nunca hasta ahi. Era muy agradable que nadie nos molestara. Unos pocos niños nos pidieron dinero, pero aparte de eso no dejaron en paz de plano. Toda una experiencia. En cambio eramos la atracion numero 1. Todos nos miraban. Luego regresamos al mismo restaurante. Usé el “té-kit” del tren ahi. Me dieron agua caliente, un poco de leche y azucar. El café del que aseguraron que era disponible para David lo conseguieron en otra tienda. Chistoso!

INDIA. Agra. Going home. ⓒ Julie Mayfeng

(Agra, India)

仰望上空 那半弯小月 缺得那么美

有圆才会缺 有缺才能圆

这下玄月 刚好圆了我心口的缺

你现在 到底想起了谁

6:45 am, 18 Nov

Boarded the AP express to Agra. Boring journey. Reached Agra at 5:15 am the next day. Was freezing. Called CS. He said his train would take at least an hour to reach Agra. An hour in the waiting room did not seem too bad. Murphy takes over. Train reaches at 8:30 am. Three boring hours staring at the wall. Breakfast at Comesum. Few choices. Bad Chola Bhatura. Fight between taxi guys on who gets to fleece us. We pick a winner and part with dear cash for a trip to the hotel room. Room with a view of the Taj. Ok. I am lying. But crane your neck enough and you could get a glimpse of the dome. Took a long needed bath. CS says he isn’t feeling well. Looks like fever. Pops a Crocin and dozes. I doze off too. Wake up at 2 pm. Take a walk to the Taj Mahal. Isn’t as awe-inspiring as I thought it would be. Talk about unreasonable expectations. Realised the view is better from afar. Took a walk in the streets of Agra. Reminded me of the houses and streets in the movie Delhi 6. Connected roofs, intertwined electric wires, rundown shops selling pretty much everything, stray dogs and open sewers. Every other shop is named Taj Mahal. Got into the Rooftop Taj Mahal Cafe. Supposedly finds a mention in Lonely Planet 2009. At least that’s what the hoarding says. Chilled beer in the afternoon and an obstructed view of the Taj Mahal. Plain, non-spicy North Indian thali. Excellent Dal and Paneer ki Sabzi. Stuffed up on the food. Auto to Agar fort. The seat of the Mughal empire. The place from where medieval India was ruled. Reminded me of the Red Fort in Delhi. Hajaar buildings inside the fort. Nice view of the Taj from the fort. Got bored of seeing buildings. Left for the hotel room. Called up home. Called up bro. Watched TV. Time for dinner. Excellent puri, aloo ki sabzi, dal and rice. North India has good food. Watched a chick flick on Star Movies. Slept.

11:30 pm, 19 Nov

I met them on the way to Fatehpur Sikri, on bus. They are Canadian Chinese, with roots from Hong Kong. They are embarking a 6 months journey around India and Nepal. This well-travelled couple shared many of their adventures with me. And I eagerly followed their stories like a child, and certainly enjoy their company.

He always look excited and joyful, readily posed for me whenever I took photos of him. He was holding a camera, busy capturing all the interesting views, like me. And she always appear to be cheerful, polite and composed. She was the one busy flipping through the India guide book, unfolding all the history and facts of Fatehpur Sikri.

I’m glad I met them during my journey. I’m wondering which part of India they are travelling now. I hope they have a wonderful journey! Thanks Gary and Phyllis, for the company and making that day a very special day for me.

Location: Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Built in:   1571 – 1585
Build By: Akbar

Fatehpur Sikri is about 37 kms from Agra and is built in Red Sandstone during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar. For only some 10 years, Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal Empire. All the complex of temples and monuments are in a uniform architectural style that includes the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India.

Akbar had planned this city as his capital but the shortage of water compelled him to abandon the city. The capital of Mughals was shifted to Lahore within 20 years. Fatehpur Sikri is the finest examples of Mughal architectural splendour at its height.

During 1571 and 1585, Fatehpur Sikri was built. Today, this city has a population of about 30,000. This city has many of the old structures because of the efforts of the Archaeological department.

Fatehpur Sikri is a place where you can visit Agra and spend some time. The sunset over the ruins is sight to cherish. It is the best example of the culmination of Muslim and Hindu architecture.

It was the first planned city of the Mughals. The sloping levels of the city were connected into terraces which were utilised for many complexes like Jami masjid, tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti and Buland-Darwazah; Shahi-Bazar, Khass Mahal, Mina-Bazar, the Panch-Mahal, Diwan-i-Khass, Khwabgah, Anup-Talao, Diwan-i-Am and Chaupar. The efficient system of water-supply and drainage adopted here suggest an intelligent town-planning by the Mughal emperor.

Timings & Entry Fees

•    Indians: INR Rs 50/-
•    Foreigners: Rs 485/-
•    Open on all Days

I hope now you would like to visit Fatehpur Sikri to see its beauty.

]]> http://papanatismoesferico.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/enrique-banuelos-pule-su-imagen-en-brasil/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:28:35 +0000 OBSERVADOR CONSISTENTE http://papanatismoesferico.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/enrique-banuelos-pule-su-imagen-en-brasil/ http://imagespublicdomain.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/cia-world-factbook-photos-5-india-nepal-tibet-china/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:52:08 +0000 havealittletalk http://imagespublicdomain.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/cia-world-factbook-photos-5-india-nepal-tibet-china/

This time it’s out of Africa and into Asia on the around the world tour of public domain photos from the CIA World Factbook.

Note that while my title lists Tibet along with three other nations, it isn’t recognized as such in the Factbook. If you want to download the picture of Namco Lake near Lhasa from the Factbook site, you’ll find it in the collection of photos from China.

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

The Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India, believed to be where the enlightened Buddha first preached

River Ganges, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Prayer flags on the Swayambhunath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal

Namco Lake, Tibet

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lijiang, Yunnan, China

Elephant Trunk Hill, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

This was already my 3rd night in India. Somehow, I couldn’t sleep sound. I checked my watch, it was just 5:00 am. The southern wind carried the melody of Indian folk song. Under the silent city, it was crisp clear, yet soft and enchanting. Not long later, morning prayer from the mosque sounded, breaking the dawn. A new day has just begun.

I opened my room’s door, it was chilling. It’s now early winter in Northern India. My room was located just south of Taj Mahal. And I was able to see the big white marble dome from here. I wanted to see how this City of Love emerged from the darkness.  I expect something magical! But only to be disappointed by an overwhelming sense of emptiness and loneliness.

I grabed my gears, got my way to the local bus station to catch the 7:00 am bus to Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal Empire’s shortlived capital during the reign the Akbar.

(Buland Darwaza – Gate of Magnificence)

(Jama Masjid)

(Ruins at Fatehpur Sikri)

(Diwan-i-Khas, Hall of Private Audience)

(Central pillar of Diwan-i-Khas, Hall of Private Audience)

(Birbal’s House)

What a day!  Not the kind of day I want to repeat EVER, but it all turned out well in the end.  Just as we were about to fall asleep last night, PZ realised that the Taj Mahal was closed on Friday when we were planning to go, so up early and to the train station we went.  The dedicated foreign office was not open yet, we were pondering what to do when a friendly chap approached advising us that you could not purchase tickets from the station for same day travel and that we needed to go to an office in Connaught Place.  I smelled a rat, but since I could not manage more than angry grunts we were soon ushered into a tuk tuk away from the station.  When we arrived at our destination of course we were told that there were no train seats available to Agra that day and a number of car hire options were pushed on us.  We promptly got ourselves into another tuk tuk back to the station and it quickly became clear how many people were involved in the scam.  Eventually we managed to sort out train tickets at the station and spent an afternoon at the incredible Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal

When I go traveling, I say yes to things I usually say no to. Think meals with strangers, uncertain water, cover charges, transport in autorickshaws, and puddles of ghee on my rotis.

Past 10 days : adventure. Now : predictable stomach ache. Here are a few misty sights from the route.

Red Fort, Delhi

Also at the Red Fort, the Diwan-i-Khas

Taj Teaser

Agra Fort, also red

Agra's Nobility

Relaxing around the estate

Hawa Mahal, the back, Jaipur

Jain Temple, close by Virat Nagar, Rajasthan

And finally, the architecture I actually traveled all that way to see

Next two days : marathon story of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Virat Nagar before I go to Tamil Nadu on Monday.

If  Taj Mahal is the ultimate symbol of love, then I take it that Agra represents the city of love as it houses the great Taj. Now that ‘city of love’ is all explained for, let me get to the ‘no flowers’ part.

We were on a short trip to Agra, sometime last week, obviously to see the Taj. We drove down from Delhi to Agra via Vrindavan and Mathura. Two short halts at both the religious sites was a fine experience and it also meant that we would be reaching Agra by late evening. We saw the Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura and the Banke Bihari Mandir in Vrindavan. It was a rainy day and the streets were all slushy, we had to use hand-pulled rickshaws to move around the narrow streets of the temple town. I abhor hand-ricksahws, its such a cruelty to a fellow human inflicted by another, all in the name of rozi-roti. Anyways, we moved on and drove towards Agra.

By the time we reached Agra, it was 7pm. The plan was to see Taj next day morning. The night stay was on invitation by an ex-army man’s family who had arranged for it, as a sweet gesture of our first visit to Agra. We thought it prudent on our part to at least carry a buoquet and greet the receptive family with flowers.

That’s where our quest started for a buoquet store or a flower shop or a florist. But alas! we could not find a single one. We got down at sadar bazar and looked for it frantically, but could not get a single stem of flower, forget a buoquet. All kinds of thoughts ran in my mind, what would uncle think of us? It would be really strange to land-up at their place empty handed. They were diabetic, so sweets were out of question. Being an ex-army man, uncle was used to being greeted with flowers on every occasion. And that was what we were not able to find.

We stopped at half a dozen places and asked people around for florists but no one could guide us to any flower store. It was a rainy day and we had a tough time in Mathura and Vrindavan, but the rain followed us to Agra as well. Time was running out, so we just got back into the car and drove to the house where we were greetd by the couple.

After enquiring about our trip, we sat for some coffee and snacks. We unabashedly told them that we were sorry for landing up empty-handed. We tried to explain that we looked for a buoquet, but could not find a single florist in the entire Agra Cantt area. That’s when uncle intervened and told us that flowers are not easily availbale in Agra. He went on to tell that whenever they had to attend some fucntion or a marriage, they would start looking out for flowers 2-3 days prior to the occasion. We heaved a sigh of relief.

But the question is still siwrling in my mind. Why no flowers in Agra? Don’t people get married? Don’t guys propose girls anymore and vice-versa? Don’t people decorate their vase with flowers in the house?

I see a tremendous scope for a florist or a flower shop in this part of the world. All florists, please head to Agra and put up a few stalls at least near Taj, if not anywhere else.

We did see the glorious Taj, the next day. It was as beautifual as I had imagined it would be and as seen in movies and pics. Our trip was great, but there is still a rankle in my heart. Only if we could have found a buoquet too!

In 2006, I was dying for some clarity in my life.  I needed to get away and really experience life somewhere else, so I convinced my parents to come to India with me.  We traveled to Baroda, Mt. Abu, Jaipur, and Agra and I got exactly what I was searching for.  For the Baroda to Mt. Abu leg of the trip we traveled via train and let me tell you, sleeping on the top bunk of a sleeper car and being stuck there for about 18 hours is NOT fun.  But I thought it was an awesome experience to travel like the locals do.  I got to see the sunset in Mt. Abu (almost eye level!) and met some monkeys there too   We visited the Ambaji Temple just as they were starting the nightly aarti and I’ve never felt so uplifted.   Standing on the white marble floor listening to the tablas beating loudly, something inside of me just started dancing.  It was probably the most memorable aarti I’ve experienced.  No pictures were allowed, so my memory is all I’ve got.

I loved Jaipur.  The architecture is so beautiful and there’s so much history there.  We visited some of the old palaces and made our way to the top of one where a section was closed off.  Turns out it was where they filmed Mughal e- Azam decades ago.  My dad is as much of a Bollywood lover as I am, so he convinced the guard to let me go in so I could see it.  I walked into the room and it was magical, there was bits of glass everywhere and the room started to sparkle when even a little ray of sun hit the room.  They filmed the song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya in the room I was standing in; there’s a bit of magic to be felt when you’re standing in a room that has obviously aged and deteriorated, but once was the set of one of the most beautiful songs/movies in Bollywood.

My parents had never been to the Taj Mahal, so this part of the trip was especially special.   I’m not sure how to describe how it feels to stand in front of the building…overwhelming?  mind blowing?  beautiful times 1000?  The reaction on my parents faces was priceless.

I’ve never longed for a visit to the great Taj Mahal. But since I am travelling this route — Delhi-Agra-Rajasthan, giving the world’s renowned monument a miss will definitely become a huge joke to all my friends. That’s why I need to be here!

From what I read from the guide book, the opening hours of Taj Mahal starts from 06:00 to 19:00. So I planned to enter through the South Gate only at 16:00. 3 hours of time should be enough, I thought.

At 16:00, I was already queuing at the entrance to the South Gate. After paying 750 rupees (the most expensive entrance fee in India) and clearing the security check-point, I suddenly found the battery of one of my camera turned flat. And you are not going to believe what I did. I ran back to my room and re-charged the battery, though I believe I won’t miss anything with 1 camera down. I just refused to tolerate.

(I’ve never made it to the mausoleum, which is made of semitranslucent white marble, carved with flowers and inlaid with thousands of semiprecious stones. The queue was too long and I had too little time left)

I got back at 17:00, only to learn that the South Gate was closed 2 hours earlier than the East and West Gates. Every ticket purchased is only valid for the same day. I was left with no choice but to run as quickly as possible to the East Gate. To make things worse, visitors were actually urged to leave at 18:30. Hence, I only spent like one and a half hour here. Because of my stubbornness and foolishness, my Taj Mahal tour became the shortest and most expensive tour I’ve ever had in India. Regrets??? I refuse to admit……

(When darkness fall, creepiness surface. I stayed untill being asked to leave….)

I was hoping to blog yesterday but internet access has not been as I easy as I first hoped.

I am now in an internet cafe, not far from my Hotel which actually has decent speed internet. It’s  a massive step up from the internet at the Hotel which would freeze every 2 minutes. Getting here has not been easy, in fact I was being convinced by my tour guide to not come to the cafe and take “rest” at my hotel. The guy was a massive douche bag, new his stuff but had his own agenda and knew how to take advantage of me being from the West.

Agra is a pretty dead city, it’s mainly famous for the fact it hosts the Taj Mahal besides that I didn’t actually see anything else. I did visit a few places which made things related to the Taj Mahal, such as the Agra hand woven carpet factory, the marble factory and gemstone and art gallery. It was amazing to learn about the whole Taj Mahal, the emperor who built it and especially how screwed over they have been by the English. Gem stones and carpets missing from the International Guest House to the right and the Gold from the top of the Mausoleum all going back to England and being on sold.

I really do wonder what it would have been like, if Shah Jahan actually had his way and built himself a Black Taj Mahal. Agra is nicknamed the city of Love and I this is evident by the 1st of the 7 Modern Wonder of the world being present. Although to be one of the first two wives of Shah Jahan would have not have been the greatest feeling. I doubt you would have felt that loved at all.

In Agra I stayed at the Hotel Siris 18 which was a fairly nice Hotel, although not really local to any nightlife at all. So I decided to check out a few hot local night spots forgetting it was a Sunday night. The first place was the bar at the Oberoi, which is a 7 start self rated Hotel. The hotel was magnificent and a great complex only 600 metres away from the Taj, my plan was to take some nice photos of the Mausoleum in the moonlight. Well my plan failed as there was way too many clouds, so I though I should at least stay for one drink and maybe see if the restaurant was open. My drink of choice was Ciroc and while half way through the drink I was informed the restaurant was fully booked. Pretty annoyed at this point, so I decided to check out a new place called Tequila Bar in the Hotel Mansingh Palace. Tequila Bar also ended up being a massive Fail as there were two other people in the bar.

My night in Agra ended up being pretty disappointing, went to a mall got a Chicken Maharaja Burger from Maccas and them straight back to the Hotel for bed and a movie.

Availing a golden triangle tour in India means you are going to explore all the prominent tourist attractions of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Destinations such as –Delhi, Agra and Jaipur during his/her leisure moment, then his/her India tour is incompleteMany tourists plan to visit India only to see the wonderful architectural monument of Agra i.e. Taj Mahal. Some tourists plane to make their India tour to explore the royal and colorful charm of Pink City whereas some plane to take a trip to India to experience the metropolitan and sophisticated life of capital city of India i.e. New Delhi where they get chance to explore many historical and other tourist attraction sites. But, if you get chance to explore all these three charming destinations through an exclusive tour package i.e. Golden Triangle Tour Package in India, then you can imagine the significance of this personalized tour package. Indeed, the golden triangle tour package in India offers best tour interlay through which tourists not only get chance to take a glimpse of world’s wonder Taj Mhala only but they also get opportunity to see other historical monuments of Agra, such as-Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandra: the tomb of Akbar and many others. Similarly, they also visit many heritage sites of Jaipur and Delhi such as- Hawa Mahal (Palace of winds), City Square & Palace, Albert hall museum in Jaipur and Kutub Miniar, Red Fort, Lotus temple, Akshardham Temple and many more other sites in Delhi.
Depending on your limitation of overnight stay, this tour package molds its schedule of overnight night stay as per your suitability. The most important thing about this golden triangle tour package is that it can be covered in very short duration. Some golden triangle tour packages are made of 2 nights and three days involvement and some are made of more than 2 overnight stay throughout the tour. It depends up on you that how much period you have planned to spend for your leisure.
Some golden triangle tour packages are attached with some other tourist destinations apart from Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Like if a tourist is a wildlife lover then he/she can choose ‘Golden Triangle Tour with Birds and Tiger Tour’. Such kind of golden triangle tours are intended to offer a choice tour with a popular tour package Such some popular tour packages with golden triangle tour are Golden Triangle with Lake City Udaipur, Golden Triangle Tour with Ganges and Golden Triangle and Bandhavgarh with Khajuraho.

8 de Noviembre de 2009

Vuelo a Pune – Delhi: 9.850 rupias

Tren Delhi – Agra: 210 rupias

Entrada al Taj Mahal: 750 rupias

Hotel en Agra: 600 rupias

Compartir las vistas al Taj de la habitación con un pequeño roedor no tiene precio,

Para todo lo demás; Mastercard

Agra, le Fort Rouge ;

Façade du Fort Rouge, Agra ;

Le long de la Yamuna ;

Le Baby Taj ;

Un des bâtiments autour du Baby Taj ;

Taj Mahal ;

Mosquée, Taj Mahal ;

Taj Mahal bis.

Die Bewohner der Gamo Highlands im Afrikanischen Rift Valley verursachen keine großen Veränderungen. Verschiedene Naturreligionen bestimmen den Umgang mit den Ressourcen und der Landwirtschaft. Das läuft Jahrzehnte lang einwandfrei. Nun kommt die evangelische Kirche und tut was sie am Besten kann: Sie bringt Essen und missioniert nebenher. Als weiterer unerwünschter Heilsverbreiter kommt die konzernbasierte Organisation AGRA mit ins afrikanische Spiel. Mit A Thousand Suns ist Stephen Marshall eine anregende Kurzdoku gelungen. Hier der Trailer – oben der Link zu der – mit Artefakten versehenen – Webversion.

Well it was an amazing trip with Sachin Travels, I am so happy I got to go with this company as they were really professional and have already gave me a huge insight into India.

I left the group this afternoon headed to Agra with only a driver who speaks broken English. He is really nice, but there are some huge communications barriers. Thankfully he has English speaking tour guides who work for his company, so that is a huge relief! Going to do the Taj Mahal tomorrow and probably Agra Fort. You would think I would be sick of Forts already? I sort of am, but they are still preety cool.

Well after leaving Rajasthan, I must say I feel preety Royal! It is an amazing state full of Royal History and very proud people. I am also taking around my picture of me dressed as a Maharana to see if it gets me any discounts or entry into restricted places.

We ended Rajasthan on a preety sad note, the two buses were split into different hotels and everybody was leaving at different times. So there was a few people I unfortunatelly did not get to say bye to. Hopefully we will stay in touch, I am thinking I may have to frequent Orkut a little bit more than I do currently.

Now that I am by myself I am going to do my best to see what Indian nightlife has to offer. Most people say that Agra is pretty dead, the hotel staff assure me they can deliver a beer to my room. Yay! Drinking alone, I’ll get back to Australia and book myself into some AA meetings.

Looks like dinner and a movie tonight… I’ll do my best to update you all tomorrow!

Après Delhi, tournons nos pas vers Agra. Un train express est mis à disposition, reliant les deux villes en près de deux heures. A la gare, tout est bien indiqué. L’horaire est matinal (aux alentours de 6h) mais comme ici on se lève avec le soleil, cela ne semble pas inhabituel.
A mi-chemin entre la ville et la campagne, Agra n’est pas une cité très agréable. Déjà, au sortir de la gare, des dizaines d’hommes se pressent pour alpaguer les touristes. Ils se font méchamment rembarrer par la police. Le bruit est abrutissant.
Agra est typiquement une ville à touristes. Mieux vaut ne rien y acheter, les prix sont ici plus élevés qu’ailleurs. Le Taj Mahal, merveille des merveilles, coûte à lui seul 750 roupees (soit plus de dix euros). En s’y rendant, on a l’impression que tout est fait pour embêter le visiteur : il y a des dizaines d’objets interdits, avec des restrictions aussi stupides que « les crayons à papier et les crayons de couleurs sont interdits » mais « les stylos peuvent entrer, pas de problème ». Toute forme de nourriture est proscrite. On vous fouille, on vous renvoie pour porter vos objets interdits à la consigne, et on vous refouille comme si on ne vous avait jamais vu, en s’appesantissant sur de menus objets que l’on a laissé passer la première fois. C’est comme pour les billets : les caisses sont situées à plus d’un kilomètre de l’entrée du site. Tout est fait pour pousser le touriste à prendre un rickshaw. Les préposés à la sécurité sont d’ailleurs très mal aimables. Mais une fois à l’intérieur, en faisant abstraction du monde, la balade peut commencer.
On longe la muraille pour arriver au porche, au-delà duquel se détache, majestueux, le Taj Mahal. Immense, il semble presque irréel. Une allée d’eau, des pelouses, quelques marches et un dépôt de chaussures, et l’on accède à l’esplanade du Taj. Il faut faire la queue pour pénétrer le monument, à l’intérieur duquel reposent les tombeaux de Shah Jahan et d’Arjuman Banu Begam, son épouse. Le dôme, immense, est encadré de quatre minarets. Les bâtiments alentour, dont le grès rouge tranche sur le marbre blanc du Taj, sont, quant à eux, plutôt déserts. A gauche se trouve une mosquée et à droite, lui faisant pendant, un bâtiment identique, qui n’est pas utilisé comme lieu de culte mais comme ajout symétrique.
Il est agréable de se poser sur les marches de l’un de ces bâtiments et d’admirer les jeux de lumière sur le marbre. Les deux meilleurs moments pour visiter le site sont le matin, au lever du soleil, et le soir, à son coucher. En espérant que le temps ne soit pas couvert.
A Agra, deux autres monuments notables sont à voir : le Fort Rouge et le Baby Taj, d’une si belle facture qu’il serait dommage de le manquer.
Le Fort Rouge d’Agra est lui aussi très étendu, telle une ville dans la ville. De ses fenêtres il est possible d’apercevoir au loin, dans la brume, le Taj Mahal. Les matières précieuses sont, comme toujours, à l’honneur. On se perd une fois de plus entre le rouge du grès et le blanc du marbre. Une mosquée très travaillée, des jardins, des pelouses, de belles dentelles de pierre s’égrènent pour le plaisir des yeux.
Au-delà de la Yamuna, le fleuve de la ville, se trouve le Baby Taj. Comme son nom l’indique, il est considéré comme un petit Taj. Pour s’y rendre, il faut passer un pont branlant, s’immiscer dans la circulation et longer un marché où s’étalent les légumes. La balade, à pied, est longue et difficile mais intéressante. Le long des rives, des linges s’étendent. Ils sont lavés dans des baquets ou à même le sol. Bien entendu, c’est l’eau du fleuve qui est employée.
Le Baby Taj est un havre de paix. Plusieurs bâtiments l’entourent, à chacun de ses points cardinaux. Quatre tours rondes encadrent la tour carrée centrale. Le marbre blanc est incrusté de pierres semi-précieuses, formant de petits tableaux floraux répétitifs. Des vasques et divers pots sont également représentés perdus au milieu de végétaux. Le mur d’enceinte donne sur la rivière. Les singes sont très présents, il faut d’ailleurs y faire attention, ils n’hésitent pas à courir après les visiteurs… La poétesse Nur Jahan a participé à l’élaboration de ce mausolée, construit en 1628 en l’honneur de son père, vizir de l’Empereur. Cette touche féminine est particulièrement visible dans la délicatesse des décors, qui sont plus minutieux que ceux du Taj Mahal.
Après ces visites, il vaut mieux pour le voyageur repartir, puisque Agra ne vaut le détour que pour ces quelques monuments.