Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? England! England nice country what you think of India? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj views
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj viewsAuto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj viewsAuto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj viewsAuto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj viewsAuto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj viewsAuto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Sir, auto-rickshaw?
Very cheap auto-rickshaw sir?
All sights sir, fort, Taj very cheap.
Hey my friend whats your name? What country? My name is Raji. I from Kashmir. You look my shop?
Cold water sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Hey sir auto-rickshaw?
T-shirt sir?
Cold drink sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Good price marble sir?
Carvings sir? Good price. Here's my card. Maybe later?
You come back after Taj sir. I remember your face then you come see shop sir?
Hey sir! Good food! Restaurant! Come see. Rooftop view Taj
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Want tour sir? All sights, Taj, fort. Cheap price!
Whip sir want whip? 20 rupees? No?! 10 rupees! Maybe later?
Chessboard sir? Look chessboard very good price 20 rupees. No?! 10 rupees!
Auto-rickshaw sir?
Auto-rickshaw sir? Good price!
Fridge magnet sir? You want lot of designs!
Elephant in elephant sir? Carving very good sir! Good price!
Rooftop restaurant sir, food good, Taj views
...etc etc et-fucking-cetera
An indication of just how much a tourist trap the Taj Mahal is presented itself before we had even got off the train. A tuk-tuk driver had got on the train a stop before Agra Cantonment to tout for business, suggesting that it was cheaper to get a tuk-tuk from this station than the Agra stop. Having looked on a map once we were in the hotel, it did look a 50/50 choice distance-wise, so he may have a had a point. Agra saw any patience or tolerance for touts evaporate.
Yeah, the Taj Mahal was big, white and lacked a bar, see the pics. When you get inside its about the size of a double bed. And there are lots of dead bees.
 |
| Doesn't really need a caption, does it. |
 |
| OK. |
 |
| Prayers at the Mosque inside the Taj complex |
 |
| Probably my favourite snap of the Taj. |
 |
| Agra Fort. Subject to a lot of renovation, and is danger of becoming the world's largest Trigger's Broom. |
Agra Fort detailing
 |
| Agra Fort Gate |
 |
| Can't avoid it. |
We also ventured further afield to Fatehpur Sikri, site of an an abandoned palace and an active mosque. The mosque was entered through a huge gate atop a huge set of steps. Inside the place was busy. A kid approached us "hey you want guide sir?" "No..." "Free sir! No money, I work here I do for charity" "No money? You sure?" "Yes sir, no money, you can kill me if I ask for money!"
So the tour began. He sure did know his stuff to be fair. We followed him round for about three-quarts of an hour through various sections of the mosque, him telling us in reasonably good English about various parts and their role and significance.
 |
| Bits and bobs at the Fatehpur Sikri Mosque. |
Uh-oh. Now this kid had been pretty good, so I humoured him as he showed us carvings of elephants in elephants, tealight holders, more elephants in elephants, frogs in frogs, more tealight holders, all the while telling him that I wasn't buying any of them.
"But good price sir and feel the quality!"
Sorry mate, I need to extricate myself from this before I go nuclear. Which I did. He followed us.
"Sir I show you all round mosque for free and you no buy anything. Give me money"
"You said it was free"
"Sir, I showed you for free!"
"You said it was free"
I relented and gave him 100 rupee, much to Graham's dismay.
Then another kid came along.
"Sir, postcard you want postcard?"
"No"
"Postcard very good price sir you want?"
"No"
"Only 20 rupee sir! Quality!"
"NO"
"Postcard sir!"
"I do not want postcards"
"Pen sir? You want pen?"
"No, I do not want some pens"
"You want pen sir! Only 20 rupee"
"No"
"Sir then only 10 rupee"
"FUCK OFF" (probably said a little louder than appropriate in a mosque)
"..."
"Fuck off kid, I do not want pen or postcards"
"Fuck you sir"
"No. Fuck you kid"
Now, the Fatehpur Sikri mosque is quite a sight, but it was thoroughly ruined by touts and kids. Frankly, the Imam should be embarrassed at the level of hassle tourists get in the place. It makes a mockery of the whole point of the Mosque in my opinion. This idea was reinforced later, in another mosque, where we were pretty much forced to pay baksheesh to some chaps at the door so that our shoes were still there when we got back. Seriously. What a fucking joke. India was heading down in my estimations pretty much every minute I spent in Agra.
 |
| The abandoned palace at Fatehpur Sikri, tout free! |
 |
| Columns at Fatehpur Sikri |
Next up (or down) was Varanasi/Banares/Benares.
 |
| Food-wallahs in Agra. Not in the tourist bit. |
Hahahaha! Love it Dave :)
ReplyDeleteHope your still having an amazing time! Bob was asking about you t'other day. When do you start the teaching shizz?
Take care! xx
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