Agra

It was late evening when we finally reached Agra. It being dark and none of us (not me, not even R. and definitely not M.) having been here before, we - ok R. - asked our way through to the hotel. (All in all, having him around was a big help, especially when it came to asking for places, things or directions since my Hindi - as we all know - is beyond limited.) We found it eventually and after some mix and match, we settled on the final occupation of the rooms. M. got the room with the balcony to go out and smoke and give access to mosquitoes and flies while I got to share the room with a spoilt brat who kept complaining about the allegedly not working A/C (which blew cold wind at me where ever I was) but who to his credit was a really easy person to stay with plus he doesn't snore ;-).

"I'm dying to shoot Taj Mahal at sunrise." Those were the words I repeated when someone asked me what I wanted to do in Agra. A time lapse film, possibly some HDRs, that was my idea. Sunrise was going to be around 6.30, so we left the hotel for the West Gate about an hour earlier. First setback: the gate wouldn't be opened before 6 a.m. Second one: the queue at the ticket counter was huge. And number three after having solved two with the help of the world's best Taj guide: no tripods allowed.

Ok fine, I swallowed my disappointment, settled for HDRs and started making a run for the palace, leaving the other two far behind. A guy who appeared to be a guide asked me a few details of my life ("Which countrrry, madam?") and showed me a few places to take the standard Taj pictures from. Guy pointed behind me and asked: "Are those your friends? They're calling you." I recognise R., then M. behind him. They point to our guide, signalling me to wait. 

When the guide catches up to me, he proves that he is determined to give us our money's worth. In a speed I slightly struggle to keep up with, he shows me to the best (I mean seriously best) spots to take photos from, pointing out what exactly to go for from what position. On the run, he tells me more about the story of the palace and forces me into ridiculous poses to take my picture. I'm not sure you'll get to see them as they are plain embarrassing.

Catching our (metaphorical) breath, we walk up to the other two, "your mum and your friend", as the guy assumes.

Walking more slowly all over the area, the guide explains and shows the magic of the precious stone inlays in marble which, as either the sun or his flashlight hit them glow like fire. We once again come across K. from the Netherlands, henceforth known as "the stalker". Speaking of: The squirrels here are small and striped, so of course I had to do some squirrel stalking. A few flamingoes aka schoolgirls in pink uniform near the main gate and we had left the Taj ground.

Upon our return to the hotel, we had (a very meh) breakfast and after another fight about the A/C and even a change of bed, went back to sleep for a while. Later going outside, grabbing a bite and taking nocturnal pictures of Agra Fort. Quite impressive, rather majestic but together with Taj Mahal the only reason Agra gets so many visitors. My general impression of the city is rather negative. Crowded, dirty and extremely touristy are just some of the adjectives that come to my mind. Besides, the traffic is crazy (and I have seen Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad) given the comparatively narrow roads.

So after one last evening on M.'s balcony, I wasn't too sad to leave Agra behind, just wished for a moment that the brat could have kept travelling with us. 

Next morning: off to new adventures in the form of a cab drive to Jaipur/Rajasthan ... but that will be a new chapter.