Travel Designers Jaipur to Agra, a day too long
Today, Taj Mahal, the highlight of the tour, but my day starts at 1am when I am woken with stomach cramps and a strong feeling of nausea. I head to the bathroom and spend the next 2 hours having a very long conversation with the big white telephone. I eventually get back into bed and sleep for a couple of hours only to repeat the white telephone conversation again. I have hot and cold sweats, my body aches and there has to be nothing left inside me. Note to oneself “Don’t eat anything that is not cooked!”
My alarm call to my room at 6am is not a welcome one and I begrudgingly pull on some clothes and head down to reception to meet with the rest of the group. The drive to Agra is to take 7 hours and has to be the worst 7 hours traveling I have ever done. We stop 1 hour from Agra to visit Fatehpur Sikri, the deserted medieval city built by Akbar the Great in the 16th century to serve the capital as a vast empire.
After being sick again on the bus, I feel too ill to get out the coach in the heat of the mid day sun so decline this tour and place a towel on the floor and take the opportunity to stretch out and get some sleep. The rest of the group arrive back after 1 and a half hours feeling tired and hot but claiming it is worth visiting early morning to take time to explore the site.
We head off to the Gateway hotel for our lunch stop and inspection tour. After lunch we are visiting the Taj Mahal and this I definitely do not want to miss so take the opportunity to check in to one of the rooms for a shower and an hour of sleep, compliments of the very kind manager at the Gateway Hotel. Food is definitely not on my list of priorities. The staff here are very attentive and concerned offering a visit by their doctor, I decline and opt for the shower and sleep.
The visit to the Taj Mahal is wonderful and everything I thought it would be. We all have our photos taken on the Lady Diana seat, holding up the Taj Mahal, jumping etc, you name it the guide has done all photo shoots a hundred times before. One piece of advice to anyone going to the Taj Mahal, particularly if you do not like enclosed spaces, avoid going into the actual building.
Outside is tranquil and wonderful to look at, inside is madness, too many people, hot smelly and most of all noisy, with hundreds of people and police officers blowing their whistles constantly. The views out on to the river are wonderful at sunset and the Taj Mahal changes colour as the sunsets.
We leave as darkness falls and make our way out through he many street sellers. Some of our group shop for souvenirs of the Taj Mahal whilst the rest of us watch at the hustle and bustle around us. As we wait we witness one tuk Tuk crash into another. All of a sudden everyone surrounds the Tuk Tuk and a policeman is on the scene instantly pulling the man from his Tuk Tuk kicking him up the backside and slapping him around his head. We are reminded of days of old when as a young child you would get a cuff around the ear from the local bobby. Much shouting and jeering takes place and eventually both Tuk-tuks are separated and they get on with their way. We actually end up in the Tuk Tuk that was crashed into so it wasn’t such a problem after all.
We arrive back at the hotel for a quick change, cocktails and Indian tapas with the Manager of our hotel the Radisson Agra. By far the managers of the Radisson hotels have been the most interested in our visit to India and we spend longer than our itinerary has allocated but it is a great evening. The rest of our evening is planned for a site inspection of the Oberio Amarvilas and then for dinner at the ITC Mughal.
Unfortunately, my body can’t cope with that so I head to bed for an early night and the others head off to continue the itinerary. The manager of the Radisson is most attentive and asks if I need to see a doctor and if I need anything just to call the reception, I decline and head back to my room. At this point I have to say the Radisson beds are fantastic, my body sinks into the soft mattresses and I’m sound asleep in minutes.
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