India: New Delhi and Agra

Roughly halfway through our Round the World trip, nothing we’ve seen so far, nor ever before, prepared us for what we have encountered in India. Chaotic and exhausting, India has been sensory overload since we landed. The food and hospitality has been incredible, while the constant scams and widespread poverty has been unsettling. Nevertheless, we are certainly not short on stories since arriving in New Delhi from Bangkok last week.

After a quick stay in New Delhi, India’s hectic capital, where the fog was so thick we couldn’t see any sights, we boarded an early morning train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. The New Delhi train station at 5:30am was swirling with choas (and very few other tourists). We were approached by several people telling us our train was canceled so they could sell us other tickets or book us a car to Agra instead. These scams are common and fortunately we knew about them beforehand. With our limited wardrobe, we were definitely looking the part of tourists and were of constant interest to those around us.

Our train to Agra departed 90 minutes late, and the scheduled 3-hour trip took 10 hours due to intense fog in the region. This dramatic turn of events didn’t seem to bother anybody so we

concluded that train delays are the norm in India. In fact, the train station loudspeaker regularly blared out train delays of 7, 9 and 11 hours. We spent the long day on the train reading, sleeping and chatting in our first class cabin, which we shared with a friendly English-speaking local who lived in Agra. (He is apparently quite famous here in India as people flocked to him in the Agra train station. He was kind enough to give us a lift to our hotel.) The train was moving so slowly in the fog that the wild cows, goats, donkeys and even 3-legged dogs next to the train moved briskly passed us. Looking out the train window was mesmerizing as we never knew what we’d see next: from wild animals fighting over garbage scraps to kids having rock fights to countless masses huddled around a fires along the tracks.

The following day, we hired a private car to take us to the famed Taj Mahal. Built by Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his favorite Queen, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is a World Heritage Site and a masterpiece of symmetry. It took 22 years (1630-1652) and 20,000 workers to construct. The frenzy of rickshaw drivers, touts and beggars outside was a stark contrast to the peaceful and striking memorial inside. The afternoon was a mix of sun and haze, and the Taj looked like it was painted against the sky, making for one of the most memorable sites of our trip thus far.

From negotiating rickshaw prices to haggling with tour guides to the level of spice in the curry, India has had a steep learning curve so far, but we’re getting better at it. We’ve learned our lesson about the trains (!) and hired a car to take us to our next stop in India, Jaipur, known as “The Pink City” and Rajasthan’s capital. Stay tuned.