Day 136, Agra, Taj Mahal [Wednesday 16th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 135, Lucknow [Tuesday 15th April 2008]
Next day: Day 137, Agra, Taj Mahal, Agra Fort [Thursday 17th april 2008]
After buying a pre-paid autorickshaw ticket and making it clear we want to go straight to our hotel, our driver pretends his rickshaw has run out of petrol and stops halfway along the road to Agra. He's so shifty looking we could spot some sort of scam coming mile off. His performance is ridiculous. I'm unhappy to see Agra's reputation for tourist exploitation confirmed. Rather than argue with him we just get out with our bags and flag down another rickshaw, taking our printed ticket with us. Hopefully the first guy won't get any money from it. I'm sad to say that as he drives away, smiling, I kick his rickshaw angrily.
After an uninspiring breakfast at the otherwise pleasant Hotel Sheela we both fall asleep on the bed. it's baking hot, about 40 degrees C.
In the afternoon we go to the I'timād-ud-Daulah's Tomb, built around 1622-28 by Jehangir's wife, for her father. It's nicknamed Baby Taj. Finished 3 whole years before the Taj was even started, it contains several of the design elements found in the later building. It is constructed entirely of marble, with an elegant symmetry, red sandstone gates and extensive use of 'pietra dura' — coloured stone inlay work. It is set on a raised platform on the banks of the Yamuna river, and surrounded by a pleasant garden.
Afterwards we go down to the Mehtab Bagh, a supposedly Mughal style garden on the north bank of the Yamuna river, directly opposite the Taj Mahal, which sits on the south side. In reality the garden looks quite basic and immature, perhaps it has only recently been replanted. But its view of the Taj is stunning. As the sun slowly sets in the west, children on camels pass by the barbed wire fence in front of us. We overhear a guide telling his group that the rubble surrounding us is actually the foundations for a planned mirror image Taj Mahal, constructed entirely out of black marble, which never came to fruition.
We go back to the hotel which is just 30 second's walk from the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal. I creep out later and roam the dark alleys of Taj Ganj in search of an elusive beer shop.
Next day: Day 137, Agra, Taj Mahal, Agra Fort [Thursday 17th april 2008]
Previous day: Day 135, Lucknow [Tuesday 15th April 2008]