Delhi/Agra 25.02-27.02
Coming into Delhi was quite a hectic and mad introduction to India! We met our friend Matt at Delhi airport. He'd flown in from London 6 hours prior and was itching to leave the arrivals area. We took the airport transfer line which was a seriously snazzy train between the airport and the city. We were looking around the train in wonder as it was completely empty! "What was all the fuss about Delhi?" we thought! But then it all clicked as soon as we left the exit for the train station. All of a sudden there were masses of people, walking through the streets, sitting on rickshaws, tuk tuks, taxis, driving cars, selling street food..... to the constant melody of vehicle horns. By far the busiest place we've ever been. To get to our hotel, judging from our map, we didn't need to get a tuk tuk we just had to walk past the main railway station and then we'd reach the main bazaar- basically the hub for backpackers. This proved our first Indian challenge. This probably should have taken us max. 10 minutes but it ended up taking an hour! We walked up to the main railway station, all we had to was either walk through or around the station and then we'd get to our destination. Simple? We went into the main railway station but there seemed to be no obvious way to just walk through, every entrance you had to go through security checks. A bit anxious, we thought we'd try it but whilst queuing a guy came up to us next to one of the security guards and said that it wasn't possible to go through the station into the main bazaar because the bazaar was on high security alert due to a bomb scare earlier in the day. We instantly thought he was having us on, but being next to the security guy we decided to pull out of the queue and rethink our plan. Our next thought was if we couldn't go through the station perhaps we could get a tuk tuk to drive around and drop us off. We spoke to a tuk tuk driver but he said it wasn't possible to go to the main bazaar because of a bomb scare and that if we wanted to go there we would have to buy a foreigner pass! Once again, we were wary of this story! We tried to call the hotel but the phone number didn't work. We approached a station guard and asked him how we could get to the main bazaar, he didn't mention a bomb scare but he said we would have to buy a platform ticket for the train station and then we could pass through it. The queue for the tickets was about 50 people! We asked another guard who eventually told us that we didn't need any ticket, we didn't need a foreigner pass, we could just walk through the station! Fiiiiiinallly someone actually told us the truth!! In all but 5 minutes, we walked through security, walked across the railway bridge, arrived at the main bazaar which was bustling as usual with no hints of a bomb scare. Something that should have been so easy became so hard! I feel this isn't the last time something like this will happen!
The main bazaar was booming, people shouting at you from all sides to come to their shop, stay in their hotel, eat at their restaurant. The shops sold everything; bags, sunglasses, clothes, jewellery....Our hotel was right on the main bazaar. The staff were a little shifty, they didn't once smile or look us in the eye. We could tell they weren't in the mood for a chat! The rooftop restaurant was a nice respite from the madness on the ground. Although it had a strange and perhaps worryingly broad menu apparently specialising in "breakfasts, veg. & non veg. Indian, continental, pizzas and sandwiches." You could even get a "Whole Afghan Chicken", I have no idea what that entails. Ed also decided to fully embrace India by vowing to have a lassi a day, something which he will surely regret.
N
The following day we woke up really early to catch a 6am train to Agra. Walking through the Main Bazaar to the station, it became clear that this was witching hour and various really dodgy looking people either approached or made weird noises at us! After doing a half run to the station we managed to find our train for the 2 hour trip. We arrived in Agra and made our way out into what we called the "ocean". We had decided that while in our hotel or at a tourist site, it was like being on a very nice ship where you could enjoy yourself and not worry about being hassled. But when you ventured outside onto the streets of Delhi or Agra, or arrived in a new place and looked slightly lost you were in the ocean where hundreds of sharks lined up to consistently harass or try to scam you. The entrance to Agra train station was like the middle of the Atlantic. There was supposedly a pre-paid tuk-tuk/taxi booth where you could get a fair price but when we approached, it was surrounded by about 40 drivers blocking the entrance and insisting that we take their tuk-tuk for the "local price". We eventually agreed a price with a driver to take us to the Taj Mahal, before he got in a fight with the other drivers for supposedly jumping the queue in their number system! About 5 minutes sitting in the back of a parked tuk-tuk and a lot of heated discussion later, a different driver got in and took us to the Taj Mahal. The Taj itself was spectacular. We were a little worried that it may have been ruined a tiny bit by the huge amount of tourism but we weren't disappointed one bit. We spent a good 3 hours wandering around the entire complex and admiring the building. We also ate lunch on a lovely rooftop cafe overlooking it and ate our weight in curry. Matt and I decided to have a competition of who could go the longest without taking immodium for Delhi belly, so far we have held strong! We spent the afternoon looking around Agra Fort which had beautiful grounds and nice areas just to chill out and relax. After a long day we headed to the station to catch our 8 30pm train back to Delhi to find that it was delayed by 3 hours! This would've meant us getting back to Delhi around 2am so we decided to split a taxi. Bad idea! Within ten minutes the guy proceeded to rip us off, stopping in the middle of nowhere and changing cars. The new car was beat up and rubbish compared to the one we'd agreed on and we even had a new driver who was really strange! Every time we spoke to each other he would shout "PROBLEM???!!!" to which we quickly replied "NO PROBLEM" and we drove on in silence. The taxi didn't take the 3 hours he said, instead it took 5 1/2 hours meaning we got back around the same time we would have done with the delayed train, but added to that we had a stress-filled 5 hour journey weaving in and out of traffic. He eventually got us back to Delhi and had the nerve to ask for a tip! We ran back down the main bazaar dodging suspicious men and packs of dogs and have honestly never been so thankful to get into bed. Over the first two days (which felt like 2 weeks) we really had a love/hate relationship with India! Nina summed it up well in her diary by saying "This place truely is the craziest place I have ever been!".
E
Coming into Delhi was quite a hectic and mad introduction to India! We met our friend Matt at Delhi airport. He'd flown in from London 6 hours prior and was itching to leave the arrivals area. We took the airport transfer line which was a seriously snazzy train between the airport and the city. We were looking around the train in wonder as it was completely empty! "What was all the fuss about Delhi?" we thought! But then it all clicked as soon as we left the exit for the train station. All of a sudden there were masses of people, walking through the streets, sitting on rickshaws, tuk tuks, taxis, driving cars, selling street food..... to the constant melody of vehicle horns. By far the busiest place we've ever been. To get to our hotel, judging from our map, we didn't need to get a tuk tuk we just had to walk past the main railway station and then we'd reach the main bazaar- basically the hub for backpackers. This proved our first Indian challenge. This probably should have taken us max. 10 minutes but it ended up taking an hour! We walked up to the main railway station, all we had to was either walk through or around the station and then we'd get to our destination. Simple? We went into the main railway station but there seemed to be no obvious way to just walk through, every entrance you had to go through security checks. A bit anxious, we thought we'd try it but whilst queuing a guy came up to us next to one of the security guards and said that it wasn't possible to go through the station into the main bazaar because the bazaar was on high security alert due to a bomb scare earlier in the day. We instantly thought he was having us on, but being next to the security guy we decided to pull out of the queue and rethink our plan. Our next thought was if we couldn't go through the station perhaps we could get a tuk tuk to drive around and drop us off. We spoke to a tuk tuk driver but he said it wasn't possible to go to the main bazaar because of a bomb scare and that if we wanted to go there we would have to buy a foreigner pass! Once again, we were wary of this story! We tried to call the hotel but the phone number didn't work. We approached a station guard and asked him how we could get to the main bazaar, he didn't mention a bomb scare but he said we would have to buy a platform ticket for the train station and then we could pass through it. The queue for the tickets was about 50 people! We asked another guard who eventually told us that we didn't need any ticket, we didn't need a foreigner pass, we could just walk through the station! Fiiiiiinallly someone actually told us the truth!! In all but 5 minutes, we walked through security, walked across the railway bridge, arrived at the main bazaar which was bustling as usual with no hints of a bomb scare. Something that should have been so easy became so hard! I feel this isn't the last time something like this will happen!
The main bazaar was booming, people shouting at you from all sides to come to their shop, stay in their hotel, eat at their restaurant. The shops sold everything; bags, sunglasses, clothes, jewellery....Our hotel was right on the main bazaar. The staff were a little shifty, they didn't once smile or look us in the eye. We could tell they weren't in the mood for a chat! The rooftop restaurant was a nice respite from the madness on the ground. Although it had a strange and perhaps worryingly broad menu apparently specialising in "breakfasts, veg. & non veg. Indian, continental, pizzas and sandwiches." You could even get a "Whole Afghan Chicken", I have no idea what that entails. Ed also decided to fully embrace India by vowing to have a lassi a day, something which he will surely regret.
N
The following day we woke up really early to catch a 6am train to Agra. Walking through the Main Bazaar to the station, it became clear that this was witching hour and various really dodgy looking people either approached or made weird noises at us! After doing a half run to the station we managed to find our train for the 2 hour trip. We arrived in Agra and made our way out into what we called the "ocean". We had decided that while in our hotel or at a tourist site, it was like being on a very nice ship where you could enjoy yourself and not worry about being hassled. But when you ventured outside onto the streets of Delhi or Agra, or arrived in a new place and looked slightly lost you were in the ocean where hundreds of sharks lined up to consistently harass or try to scam you. The entrance to Agra train station was like the middle of the Atlantic. There was supposedly a pre-paid tuk-tuk/taxi booth where you could get a fair price but when we approached, it was surrounded by about 40 drivers blocking the entrance and insisting that we take their tuk-tuk for the "local price". We eventually agreed a price with a driver to take us to the Taj Mahal, before he got in a fight with the other drivers for supposedly jumping the queue in their number system! About 5 minutes sitting in the back of a parked tuk-tuk and a lot of heated discussion later, a different driver got in and took us to the Taj Mahal. The Taj itself was spectacular. We were a little worried that it may have been ruined a tiny bit by the huge amount of tourism but we weren't disappointed one bit. We spent a good 3 hours wandering around the entire complex and admiring the building. We also ate lunch on a lovely rooftop cafe overlooking it and ate our weight in curry. Matt and I decided to have a competition of who could go the longest without taking immodium for Delhi belly, so far we have held strong! We spent the afternoon looking around Agra Fort which had beautiful grounds and nice areas just to chill out and relax. After a long day we headed to the station to catch our 8 30pm train back to Delhi to find that it was delayed by 3 hours! This would've meant us getting back to Delhi around 2am so we decided to split a taxi. Bad idea! Within ten minutes the guy proceeded to rip us off, stopping in the middle of nowhere and changing cars. The new car was beat up and rubbish compared to the one we'd agreed on and we even had a new driver who was really strange! Every time we spoke to each other he would shout "PROBLEM???!!!" to which we quickly replied "NO PROBLEM" and we drove on in silence. The taxi didn't take the 3 hours he said, instead it took 5 1/2 hours meaning we got back around the same time we would have done with the delayed train, but added to that we had a stress-filled 5 hour journey weaving in and out of traffic. He eventually got us back to Delhi and had the nerve to ask for a tip! We ran back down the main bazaar dodging suspicious men and packs of dogs and have honestly never been so thankful to get into bed. Over the first two days (which felt like 2 weeks) we really had a love/hate relationship with India! Nina summed it up well in her diary by saying "This place truely is the craziest place I have ever been!".
E
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