Our hotel in Agra was one of the worst we have ever had the misfortune to be in. You might say, "what more can you expect from a budget hotel?" I can expect a good 3 star hotel in Florida for the same price, that’s what. The hotel was Hotel Taj Plaza, and believe me a "plaza" it was not. I had read some review from a woman who was so enthralled with the view of the Taj Mahal that she saw sitting up in her bed at this hotel, that I went after the same room she talked about. Well, the view was excellent. The room was not. On entering the hotel room our noses were assaulted with a horrible smell. I realized that the bathroom did not have an exhaust fan and the scents/smells of whoever had occupied the room before us still lingered. The floor was white marble and I could see ants scurrying around. I went into a tantrum (best defence when dealing with hotels misdemeanors) and had the reception send people to spray the room and clean the floor. On enquiring about the exhaust fan, I was told that the city of Agra does not permit the hotels near the Taj Mahal to install exhaust fans. Unbelievable !! Also, no elevators in this hotel. Lucky for us we were here only 2 nights.
The Taj Mahal has rightly won its place on the list of the seven wonders of the world and it does not have to worry that some other wonder might replace it. It won’t happen, not in our lifetime. My guess is that the eternal love story also adds to the mystic of the Taj. The Taj complex is huge and awesome. The usual photographs we see are of the actual tomb where the sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jehan are placed side by side. However, when you visit the Taj, you will realize that there are imposing gateways to the marble monument and these gateways are a work of art themselves. The view from the rear of the Taj Mahal is another endearing feature of this marvel. You can see the Yamuna river winding its way like a drunken sailor, coming in from the east and making its way to the west. On the river itself you will see tiny little boats and folks of birds flying all in a frenzy. Indian birds always seem to be in a hurry, just like its people. Beyond the river banks you will see as far as the eye can go, field upon field of farming land and beyond that the foggy gray of a mountainous range. Ideal place in the early morning hours for an ordinary person to turn into a verbose poet.
We were so saturated with the splendour of this marvel that we did not want to make our way to Agra Fort, which is a short ride away, where Shah Jehan spent his last years imprisoned by his son. Having our fill of the Main Course the Taj Mahal was enough, and we had no place for the dessert, The Agra Fort.
We took a walk back to the hotel in the hot scorching sun as vehicles are not permitted within a certain distance of the Taj. On the way back, we stopped for a vegetarian lunch of "Potato Bhaji" (potatoes cooked in spinach and spices) served with Puris (little flat cakes deep fried in oil) and consumed litres of Limca (a lime flavored drink which is a little like lemonade with a sharp tang).
Foreigners are charged Rs.750 (approx. C$20) for admission to the Taj and Indians are charged Rs.20 only. I fail to see the logic of this huge discrepancy. Although we bought the Rs.20 admission tickets, the guards at the gate tried to deny us entry, presuming rightly that we were non-resident Indians. Yes, we are Indo-Canadian, and I will not admit here in writing exactly what I said and did to gain entry on the "Indians Only" fare. Suffice to say my performance was successful enough to let us roam about the grounds of the Taj to our hearts content.
The next day by 11:30 am we were at the Uttar Pradesh Bus Depot for journeying to Delhi. Buses to Delhi are once every hour on the hour.Rs.220/pp. The trip takes between 5-6 hours. This was a good way to see the lay of the land and my daughter managed to get several pics of the countryside.
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