My sabbatical: All the way to Agra, and did not even go to the Taj Mahal

15 - 19 August

Agra is the home of the Taj Mahal – one of the seven wonders of the world. My initial plan, in a city with such a massive tourist attraction, was obviously to avoid it altogether.

Originally, I was going to spend time in the mountains and greenery of Kashmir, trekking and seeing the seldom-visited region far up north, which apparently boasts a seriously good-looking stretch of botanical gardens. However, Narendra Modi had a different plan for me, and while in Leh (in the same province as Kashmir) he decided to annex these territories into India. I am not going into regional politics here (mostly because I don’t understand them very well), but in a short, it meant that tourists were banned from entering into Kashmir, and I all of a sudden had two/three weeks spare before going into Nepal. #firstworldproblems

With time to spare, I figured I could make it to Varanasi for a few days, which is a common, ‘relatively’ straight shot into Kathmandu (I must stress, relatively, i.e. 2 days travel, over 3 different buses).

Varanasi made logical sense, as it was the closest decent-sized city to Nepal. Also, the feedback I had received from fellow travelers was that Varanasi really was a place to see. So, it seemed to be the smart choice, and I am nothing if not someone who makes smart choices (I’ll ignore those sniggers and eye rolls - bastards).

The problem though is that I was currently in Leh, the farthest north state in India, and a direct trip to Varanasi would take about 4 days. I needed a place(s) to break up my trip. At the time, I could also travel the first few days of the trip with the Spanish guys I had done the motorcycle trip with – as they were going to Delhi to fly home. By travelling through Delhi, I was an earshot from Agra, and with not knowing when I would be back in this area of the world again, I figured I may as well go and see what all the fuss was about, before heading through to Varanasi.

Those sharp-eyed sparrows may realise that last post (pre-world cup tribute) was about Leh, and this is about Agra, what about Delhi?

Ok, in short: our first night we met up with some other travelers and had a seriously good farewell (I am told), so much that one of the them missed his flight the next morning. I was in Delhi for Independence Day, but missed the official ceremony because I had a bag with me, and was not allowed to have a bag with me, because of the political tension caused by Mr Modi up in Kashmir, bags were verboden. So I went to see some old buildings. There, that’s Delhi.

Parliament building lit up for
Independence day,
Delhi

Spice vendor, Delhi market

Garlic or onions anyone?
Delhi market

India Gate lit up for
Independence day, Delhi

Independence day celebrations, Delhi

Flags for sale on Independence day, Delhi

Qutab minar, Delhi

Now, if you don’t mind, back to Agra. You would think that if a place receives millions of visitors, and is one of the biggest attractions going around, the city would take a little care to spruce the place up a little. Maybe sweep a street or two? Pick up some poop (animal / people / indistinguishable)? Fix some broken pavements/buildings/everything? No, don’t be silly. Not in India.

Culprits of why the streets
are so dirty,
the streets of Agra

A bit of sweeping wouldn't
do much harm,
the streets of Agra

Agra as a city is really just as dirty as Delhi, but perhaps only less congested. In and around the tourist sites there is garbage everywhere, and these are surrounded by a very unimpressive, underdeveloped city that bears no features that would lend anyone to otherwise conclude it housed such a tourist jewel. It is no wonder people use Agra as no more as a passing point to see the Taj Mahal, one or two other attractions, and leave back to Delhi or onto a more desirable location - often the same day.

I had time, so decided to give the city a chance, and spent a few days there. With time on my side, I was able to see the other less-visited sites of the city, which in fact are quite nice and with less tourists visiting these attractions, one is able to enjoy their beauty in its calmness. I was intending to leave the Taj as the climax, on the last day of the trip.

The Agra fort is a massive, red-stoned fort that is well preserved and interesting to walk through. It also gave me my first glimpse of the Taj. Next on the list was something nicknamed the Baby Taj, which is strikingly similar in design to its namesake, although, as far as I know, bears no relation. The best part about this was how little tourists were here, so I was able to spend a lot of time sitting under its arches, enjoying the site. Oh, it was also raining ferociously that day, which may have contributed to the lower visitor numbers.

The entrance of Agra fort

Locals catching a view of the Taj Mahal
through one of Agra Fort's windows

The grounds of the Agra Fort

First Taj sighting, from
Agra Fort

One of the palace balconies, looking out into Agra, Agra fort

The baby Taj,
Agra

The highlight of the city for me was the Mughal gardens. The Mughals ruled this part of India and had established large, symmetrical gardens on the banks of the river that runs through Agra. Only two have been preserved, and the most famous is Mehtab Bagh, which is directly across the bank from the Taj. As a fan of a good garden, I was already happy to just be inside and appreciate how such a large space could be landscaped so symmetrically. Mughal garden design also follows a specific pattern of small plants being built closer to the centre, and as it moves out, the plants become larger and larger, finishing with the largest trees on the outer borders. Another added benefit, which the less-garden-inclined among us come for, is the largely unobstructed view of the north side of the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna river. Again, with so little tourists here, people could get great views of the site, without actually going in...

The Taj from Mehtab Bagh.
Note the complete lack of tourists

Happily posing for another photo.
Ahhgg. Fame

With all the rain that fell during the days I was there, I actually lost a full day to the weather. Now I had the choice of spending my last day at the Taj, or visiting a different village. It was an easy decision, as I had seen the Taj from a number of different angles, and was not going to pay a highly inflated entrance fee to be surrounded by people, To be quite frank, I did not find the Taj to be too amazing (Oooh, scandal). I mean, it is big. However, once you have seen a marble temple or two, they all begin to look the same, and after four months in India, I had seen my fair share.

So, it was off to a smaller town, about 40km outside of Agra, that a local friend of mine had recommended. And I felt so vindicated at my decision when I arrived at the massive gates of Buland Darwaza, the mosque compound of Fatehpur Sikri. I was even taken around by a volunteer/guide, at no charge (but obviously a donation was implied). Next to the compound was a large, preserved palace. The palace has an amazing, classically Indian, story. It took 12 years to build the palace, but they had to abandon it after living in it for 4 years, because there is no water close by! Foresight and logic - two traits I was sorely missing in my travels.

Also, the emperor had a tower built to commemorate his favourite elephant executioner – the elephant who he used to carry out death sentences by trampling on them. Just seemed like a really nice, forward-thinking bunch of guys. Far more interesting that a person who built a palace because he loved his wife.