If you come to India, chances are very high that you will visit Agra. The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous attractions in the world, and deservedly so. There is also Agra Fort plus a couple smaller local sights, and Fatehpur Sikri is about an hour away.
By all means, do come to Agra. But get out quickly, or stay at one of the nicer hotels outside the Taj Ganj area.
I think 15 nights of independent travel in India and some marginal accommodation started to catch up with us, because the “h” word was uttered quite a few times during our stay in Agra. If I had to summarize my non-sightseeing impression of this place, I would say Night of the Living Dead with zombies coming at me from obscured positions. Other than that, it was awesome.
We arrived on New Year’s Eve and wandered around the alleys briefly, peeping some camels and a rat and endless touts. Where are you going? Um, I don’t know, but do you want my social security number, too?
We considered one of the rooftop buffets/parties but it was way colder than we realized (in the 40s, so do not pay extra for an air conditioned room this time of year!) and they didn’t look so great. Instead we had delicious shahi paneer and an amazing banana lassi at Shankara Vegis restaurant, where we would end up spending most of our non-sightseeing time in Agra.
It was a sensationally undignified close to a momentous 2013 for us. The highlight was that our room had a TV, and I found Predator. Things deteriorated quickly though when I heard our neighbors grunting and dropping turds in the middle of the night since our lovely hotel room has a bathroom with a large square near the ceiling open to the next bathroom. I would’ve complained to the manager, but by now I know it wouldn’t have done any good. Like when you show up and the WiFi is out of service, there is no apology or recompense.
You are probably thinking what the #$@ am I doing staying in places like this? And I am wondering that, too! I think for most of the rest of the trip we’ll find better places. We also could afford to spend more, but we set a budget and we’re trying to stick to it. So it would be nice to make a few bucks while we travel and expand the expense-side guilt free. If you have any consulting gigs let me know!
New Year’s Day was quite a lot better as we visited the Taj Mahal. We woke early and were in line for the open. Apparently the weather is frequently foggy this time of year, and we encountered some of that. Travelers we met in Mumbai said they couldn’t even see the Taj until around 11 am. We could see it fine the whole time, it just wasn’t sunny. Hence all the flat light photos. Nonetheless, it was definitely worthwhile to arrive first thing in the morning because it was not crowded and many times more visitors were there when we left around 10:15 am.
After clearing security we emerged into the Chowk-i-Jilo Khana which itself leads to the stunning main entrance to the gardens and Taj. Once through the gateway you see the Taj at the end of the gardens, and if you come before the fountains start (around 10 am when we visited) and at the right time of year (?) you should see its reflection in the waterways. Magnificent from afar, one does not appreciate the scale nor detail until much closer. It really is an exquisite monument.
We admired it a while and then visited the onsite museum for several minutes. Nearby is a tree loaded with lovely green birds with long tails. The sun never did emerge and we left a few hours later.
Do you know about gulab jamun? It is so freakin good. It is basically a fried ball of dough soaked in rose water syrup. We had one with our thali lunch at…Shankara Vegis.
Then we hit Agra Fort for a couple hours. It features gorgeous carving and inlay work and some views of the Taj and river, plus a few more green birds. At both the Taj and the Fort, Indian tourists greatly outnumbered foreigners.
From the Fort, we took a rickshaw across the river for sunset views of the Taj. Good call, Kenny. Ask to be taken to Mehtab Bagh, but you do not need to pay to enter the gardens if you just want to enjoy the view. Instead, walk right past that entrance and down to the river. The only discernible difference I noticed was that the free view comes without eye-level barbed wire.
This is a great vantage point not only for the view but the relative calm and silence. You see thousands of tourists marching like ants around the mausoleum, but hear only birds and music. Perhaps the water level was unusually low for our visit as we did not see the reflection that Kenny mentioned.
I also enjoyed the calmer and friendlier feel to this side of the river. Much more peaceful, and of course additional goats wearing sweaters.
Instead of massive log-droppings and grunts, Thursday we were woken by some man incessantly making a karate kid “haayyaaaa” sound followed by loud banging. I thought of Miyagi, of course, then Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam.
The sun came out and we enjoyed marvelous views of the Taj during breakfast on hotel Kamal’s rooftop. And we saw more monkeys. And an Indian man working on his roof who ran inside when he saw the monkeys running along the rooftops his way and shrieking.
Most people here seem fazed by nothing, but this man was terrified. Which made us uneasy about these aggressive monkeys all around. We escaped unscathed. Oh, and Jenni named baby monkeys “bonkeys.” That makes so much more sense than wasting two syllables.
In the afternoon we drove about an hour to Fatehpur Sikri, the former imperial capital (briefly) of the Mughal emperor Akbar. As our cabbie from the airport said, seat belts are not allowed in Agra. We think he meant required, but the effect is the same.
It is funny how often drivers do things like stop on the way to pick up a personal item, or just get out of the car to use the bathroom without saying a word. And today’s guy sucked just like our Sri Lanka driver. More on his dishonesty in Practical Info.
Fatehpur Sikri, though, was quite lovely. The palace has some alluring sandstone buildings with splendid carvings. Apparently Akbar was religiously tolerant but he sounds like quite a dirty bird. Rumor has it he used to play pachisi in the courtyard with slave girls in costumes for live pieces. And his harem was legendary. We’re talking Wilt numbers. He had a super wide bed raised about 7 feet off the ground with no attached stairs, i.e. his servants had to bring the stairs as necessary. Yeah.
The palace contains three different areas, one each for his Turkish wife, his Christian wife (?) and the Hindu wife who bore his first child as prophesied by Sheikh Salim Chishti, which sheikh got a white marble tomb inside the Jama Masjid that we visited right after the palace. Jenni beamed with Turkish pride at the fact that such wife did not care about a big house but got the finest carvings, gems and art work.
The Jama Masjid (mosque) might have been even more impressive than the palace. We initially entered the square a different way, but the Buland Darwaza (great gate) is breathtaking. The square itself is bustling with activity. The prayer hall facing Mecca has its own grand gateway and Sheik Salim’s white tomb marks a brilliant contrast against its sandstone surroundings.
Inside the tomb there is a steady stream of visitors making wishes and tying cloth around the lattice marble screen window. Check out the insane bee clusters on the gateway ceiling in one of the photos below.
We were hustled a while by this adorable kid who said he spoke five languages, and his introductory Francais, Deutsch and Espanol were solid. Another of those kids who might be a star in the US, as I mentioned in my Mumbai post.
Back in Taj Ganj we had dinner at Joney’s but I was hit with something like a 24-hour virus so I could barely eat and spent the rest of the night shivering. And we watched Wild Things 2 which only made it worse.
Practical Info
Transportation: A pre-paid taxi from the airport cost Rs 400 but it could be 600 depending on your destination. A rickshaw from Taj Ganj to Agra Fort cost Rs 100. From Agra Fort to Mehtab Bagh and back to Taj Ganj we paid Rs 250 in a rickshaw. Our return trip by car to Fatehpur Sikri cost Rs 1100.
Accommodation: We stayed at Hotel Siddhartha near the West Gate of the Taj Mahal. It is conveniently located for Taj visits and some of the cheap food options on Chowk Kagzi, and at least slightly removed from the noise and hassle of Chowk Kagzi. I could almost have recommended it as a budget option, but hearing so clearly your neighbor shitting is an offense I cannot forgive.
There are a bunch of other budget options in the Taj Ganj area and some nicer places outside. Being in Taj Ganj was not a fraction as appealing as I thought it would be, so if you can afford it I would probably stay elsewhere. Unless there is some home stay with excellent reviews. If you stay in Taj Ganj, I cannot speak to any other qualities but Kamal’s rooftop has amazing views of the Taj. While many multiples of our budget on this trip, I hear the Oberoi Amarvilas is worth a splurge.
Food: A number of the restaurants recommended in my guidebook are outside Taj Ganj, and it was generally just not that nice around Agra and dealing with the touts was unpleasant so we did not venture out. Shankara Vegis on Chowk Kagzi was tasty and cozy with nice owners and reasonably good WiFi. We also ate at Joney’s one night and it is very cheap and good, but I was sick that night so I can’t fully judge it. Jenni didn’t love the malai kafta which is one of their signature dishes, but the banana and honey paratha was mighty tasty. We had breakfast at The Stuff Maker atop Kamal (hotel) and the food was OK but the views of the Taj are stupendous. The best rooftop views we saw.
Sights: The Taj Mahal opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, I believe. It is CLOSED ON FRIDAYS. Someone told us it opened at 6 am, so we showed up around 6:40 am but in fact they didn’t let in anyone until sunrise. Perhaps it is the ticket window that opens at 6 am. Foreigners pay Rs 750 and you get a 0.5 liter water bottle and some shoe covers to use when in/around the actual mausoleum. Keep your ticket stub as it will give you a Rs 50 discount on admission to Agra Fort the same day, and I think some other same-day sights/discounts. There are separate lines for men and women and for Indians and foreigners. They will pat you down and search bags, but the rules for what you can bring were not clear to me. We were told that neither phones nor guidebooks are allowed, but we saw plenty of each. I did see someone forced to get rid of their cigarettes and lighter to enter. The museum opens at 9 am.
Agra Fort is the second most famous attraction in the area. We spent a couple hours there and I recommend you do the same. Admission is Rs 300, or 250 with a same-day Taj ticket stub. There is a sound and light show after sunset.
Fatehpur Sikri is about an hour’s drive from Agra. Beware the guide scam. Our driver brought us to a parking lot where guides produced official department of tourism I.D. cards and insisted we must pay Rs 600 for a guide and that cars are not allowed any farther etc. In fact, official guides are available at the entrance to the palace (we used the Diwan-i-Am entrance) for Rs 250 and cars are allowed to continue a little farther. It is true that cars are not allowed to drive up to the entrance, so you can either walk from the car park as we did or take a CNG bus for Rs 5/each. If you walk, either retrace and take the paved road up or continue down the same road and opposite the UPTDC Gulistan Tourist Complex turn right up a dirt path. Entry tickets cost Rs 260. Visiting the Jama Masjid is free though you are expected to tip the shoe guard and can expect pitches on buying cloth and flowers for an offering at the Tomb of Islam Khan.
December 31, 2013 – Jaunary 3, 2014 (Tuesday-Friday)
AL Is Not Lost 