The Taj, an Olympian and a Suspected Transsexual
Last weekend I made my first official trip out of Jaipur. And where better to go than Agra? Home to the Taj Mahal, it was definitely on my list of “must sees”.Michelle and I travelled there by train. Getting to the station was our first difficulty, having to wind our way through the sleeping bodies that littered the concrete entrance. Walking past “sleeper class”, I was reminded of a jail on wheels. There is no air conditioning, and so window holes are the only means of relief. Security demands three solid bars to cover each one. Hands and arms poke through them, writhing together in a chaotic cacophony. Thankfully we had chosen the 2nd class “AC sleeper” carriage, and did not have to join this crowd. Michelle had experienced a 20 hour journey in sleeper class, and told me that I would become ill if I attempted such a feat. I was willing to trust her judgement.
Our carriage was perfectly pleasant. From each wall hung three mattresses, which could also double up as seats (if you got the bottom mattress, that is – seats are preassigned). After years of gymnastics, Michelle deftly hoisted herself up to the top one, leaving a very grateful me in the bottom bed. We rested for some time, but the jerk of Indian trains is unavoidable in any class, so sleep was difficult. Michelle later rejoined me to sit on the bottom bed, when a very gorgeous Spaniard approached us to talk. His name was Jose. We learnt that he was touring India for three weeks, and always uses his work holiday allowance to travel. A wonderful idea, we thought! After further discussions, we were stunned to discover that he had been in the 1996 Olympics, playing water polo. More than that, he earned a gold medal. Finally understanding the reason for such a well built upper body, it’s safe to say that we were more than impressed. With great reluctance, we parted ways to go to our separate hotels. Giggling like school girls in our rickshaw, we cursed ourselves for not asking for contact details.
Our hotel was simple and clean, with a very pretty garden area. After a good night’s sleep, I enjoyed honey pancakes for breakfast, something I welcomed with great enthusiasm. After many final hair checks (I wanted good photos!), our driver took us to the palace. As we were walking to deposit our mobile phones, Michelle suddenly poked me. “Sam, is that him, is that him!” she whispered. No, it couldn’t be. He had planned to tour the Taj at 1pm, and the time was now 11am. Besides, there were thousands upon thousands of people here, and the chances were next to nothing. Deciding to try anyway, we shouted “Jose!” and were delighted when he turned round – it was him! We decided to tour the palace together.
The Taj was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum (large stately tomb) for Arjumand Banu Begum, his Persian wife. Built in 1630, it took 23 years to complete. After stringent security checks and parting with the hefty “foreign tourist” fee of 750 Rs (Indians pay just 20 Rs!), we were allowed to enter. You first walk into a large courtyard, with a huge 30m tall red archway at the back centre. The arch way has Arabic lettering from top to bottom, and a clever optical illusion is incorporated – the symbols at the top are much larger than at the bottom, so that when looking up, the letters appear to be of the same height. (If they were actually the same height, they would appear to get smaller at the top.) My guidebook says that the Taj is so hidden you will almost wonder where it is, and it was exactly right. Not until we got close to the archway could we even get a glimpse. Walking through, you are struck by the luminosity of the white marble (it is said to “glow” at night time), and by the intricate elegance of the palace. It was absolutely faultless. You must remove your shoes to walk on the Taj, but the heat was so intense that my feet scorched on the marble. (It felt a little like hop scotch, darting between the cooler dark stones.) Our tour guide asked us to guess the height of the centre spire, to which we said about three metres. He informed us that it was in fact ten, which really put the height of the Taj into perspective! We were fortunate to have such good weather, and got some lovely photographs (including one with the beautiful Jose).
After some shopping, and making sure to get Jose’s details this time (he even had a business card, much to our delight), we caught our return train to Jaipur. Michelle slept as she was tired, so I passed the time by chatting to another passenger, an extravagant lady called Brenda. However, I wasn’t quite sure that she was a lady. She was very well built, six feet tall, with long nails and a voice deeper than that of any woman I know. Nevertheless, she was fascinating to talk to. She had a strange history of foreign men, informing me of a failed one day marriage to a Romanian and a just-ended engagement to an Arab. (She left the US for good when she realised Mr. Bush would win in 2000.) She was also a Buddhist, and we spent a good few hours discussing the religion. It is primarily logical, with nothing to believe that doesn’t make sense. It incorporates a very peaceful philosophy, underpinned by the principles of harmlessness and moderation.
Reaching Jaipur, I actually felt disappointed to get off the train. I had thoroughly enjoyed talking to Brenda and Jose (well, just looking at Jose was good enough), and I do believe that I have caught the travel bug. Where will I head to next, I wonder?
posted by ladyinpink @ 2:20 pm
5 Comments:
We are all thrilled with the photos. You look very beautiful as always! Your friends seem to be a jolly lot! Makes me think of my wasted youth! Look forward to more of your adventures. How sad when you part company at the end, but hopefully, there'll be many chances of meeting up with eachother - maybe in other parts of the world. Love and xx's Gran
OMG I see what you mean about the upper body - he looks like he *could* life the Taj! Nice to see you're gorgeous as always (and dare I say it, getting a slight tan? :-O). Needless to say we all miss you here!
Speaking of trainees - not only have I just received another trainee, but we've raised another one today :-D Looking at the photos, methinks we're going to be getting you to organise some trainee parties this year!
Give me a ring as soon as you get back, I'm going to pounce on you with demands for details and ideas :-)
Love and kisses (well, if Gemma can get away with it...)
Will x
I wonder if Jose will find this blog [:)]
"doh" with the [:)] - still thinking T2U there :)
Oh hello you lovely, lovely people! My three absolutely favourite AIESECers. (Chris, you're still an AIESECer - don't argue.)
Hehe, glad to see you all enjoyed Jose! And Chris, if he finds this it would only be a compliment. I'm sure he was secretly laughing at how impressionable us young girls were!
Great news on the raise Will. And I'll be more than willing to go on about life here when I return, but we must sneak these chats in as study breaks!
Got to go and pretend to work. ;) Miss you all unbearably.
xx
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