Agra is of course most famous for the Taj Mahal. But Aidan, being an architect, insisted that he’d write a post specially dedicated to it. So here’s just a short post on the other stuff we’ve been up to…
We stayed in Taj Ganj, so our rooftop restaurant offered great views of the Taj Mahal. And some strange foods.
We spent one day walking around town. The white marble Taj Mahal is suffering from discolouration due to air pollution so nothing with an exhaust belching engine is allowed in the streets around it. Tourists are ferried around in electric tuk tuks and carts drawn by either camels or horses. Instead of a tire wallah by the roadside, you get a horse shoe wallah.
This city being part of the “Golden Triangle” of tourism, touting is rife and everyone starts shouting hello and listing their wares. If you didn’t know any English, you could just walk around and learn the words for things. “Cold drinks, water, Limca, Pepsi, cigarettes!” “Bananas!” “Marble, painting, Buddha, gift”…. The tuk tuks almost run you over trying to coax you into one, “where you go, sir?”
All this can get a bit annoying. So Hatti and I grabbed the little horn Aidan gave me for Christmas and honked it in their face. “Rickshaw? Sir, rick…” “HONK! HONK!” The surprised look on their face was priceless! And then everyone around burst out laughing. 🙂