For me, this part of my trip was the least enjoyable, I got the least out of it, as all that was gained was anger and illness! But like any experience I wouldn't take it back. We headed on a quick stop off to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal before Kaz departed from India as 'you can't go to India and not see the Taj', is what everyone tells me and seems to think. I was not so concerned about it as I could guess the hassle attached to seeing a major tourist attraction. The Taj is of course a beautiful building, but it was incredibly busy, and even at sunrise, you are still queing to get in for an hour. I was personally more suprised by Agra's fort, as I had not been bombarded by images of it and so had no idea what it looked like.
The most amusing part of Agra had to be the India people coming up to you in constant drabs, asking to have a photo taken with you. You begin to feel a bit like a movie star after a while. It is very strange, but it can also be a good opportunity to talk to some Indians. and test out a bit of Hindi. We must have had more then 20 different groups of people take photos of us. Eventually I decided that if they were going to have a photo with us, I needed a few of them. Hence the amusing photo below. Check out how funny the guy next to me looks.
We tried to do Agra in a day and it was ridiculously tiring and the polloution was disgusting. We had the most annoying rickshaw driver that tried to take us to shops that we didn't want to see and took us to a 'cheap' restaurant in which we had our most expensive meal yet, which ironically probably also made us ill. Every person was trying to sell you something or scam you in Agra. Especially as they are used to some people paying $150 a night for a hotel, they try to get as much out of you as possible. I hate the stuff that too much tourism brings as it's just not the true India anymore.
We then went to Delhi and spent 3 days in Parah Ganj, the backpacker area however we literally only left our guesthouse for food and internet because we got DELHI BELLY! Yes, I got ill, again, not quite so bad but I had to get back on the antibiotics and Kaz and I were both forced to stay in bed and watch films on TV for the final days of Kazes trip. as we went through waves of nausea, diahorrea and dizziness. So we didn't really see any of Delhi at all! But I liked the street we were on (below), a good place to get a bargin, so I did do some cool shopping and got more random stuff that I probably don't need and will fall apart after one wash! I love the clothes that you can buy here, lots of colour and pretty patterns, amazing pashminas.
It was a shame for Kaz that her last few days were spent in bed, but alas, that is India for you - true India! So on Wednesday 25th February we departed ways and now I am well and truely travelling alone, although however 'alone' you are, it is pretty hard to be truly alone in a country with over a billion people. This is where the real adventure starts............... total freedom! Stay tuned.
The most amusing part of Agra had to be the India people coming up to you in constant drabs, asking to have a photo taken with you. You begin to feel a bit like a movie star after a while. It is very strange, but it can also be a good opportunity to talk to some Indians. and test out a bit of Hindi. We must have had more then 20 different groups of people take photos of us. Eventually I decided that if they were going to have a photo with us, I needed a few of them. Hence the amusing photo below. Check out how funny the guy next to me looks.
We tried to do Agra in a day and it was ridiculously tiring and the polloution was disgusting. We had the most annoying rickshaw driver that tried to take us to shops that we didn't want to see and took us to a 'cheap' restaurant in which we had our most expensive meal yet, which ironically probably also made us ill. Every person was trying to sell you something or scam you in Agra. Especially as they are used to some people paying $150 a night for a hotel, they try to get as much out of you as possible. I hate the stuff that too much tourism brings as it's just not the true India anymore.
We then went to Delhi and spent 3 days in Parah Ganj, the backpacker area however we literally only left our guesthouse for food and internet because we got DELHI BELLY! Yes, I got ill, again, not quite so bad but I had to get back on the antibiotics and Kaz and I were both forced to stay in bed and watch films on TV for the final days of Kazes trip. as we went through waves of nausea, diahorrea and dizziness. So we didn't really see any of Delhi at all! But I liked the street we were on (below), a good place to get a bargin, so I did do some cool shopping and got more random stuff that I probably don't need and will fall apart after one wash! I love the clothes that you can buy here, lots of colour and pretty patterns, amazing pashminas.
It was a shame for Kaz that her last few days were spent in bed, but alas, that is India for you - true India! So on Wednesday 25th February we departed ways and now I am well and truely travelling alone, although however 'alone' you are, it is pretty hard to be truly alone in a country with over a billion people. This is where the real adventure starts............... total freedom! Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment