So once again, my lack of any useful knowledge of India showed through when I was attempting to go to the Taj Mahal. Apparently, getting there by train is not as easy as one would suspect it would be for a major tourist site. So after the manager of my hotel gave me a quick run down of the journey and told me that I would have had to purchase my tickets many days in advance I opted to hire a car and a guide to take me there. Yes, this seems ridiculously luxurious, but this is India, where as one of the venders told me later that day, "life is cheap so you can buy anything for next to nothing." And following my less than steller experience seeing Delhi by myself the previous day, was not exactly amped about the prospect of visiting a major tourist site alone. A car and guide were necessary and relatively cheap.
If I thought Delhi was bad, outside the city was worse. Driving in India would definitely be the most terrifying experience of my life, if I wasn't already on sensory overload and immune to pretty much everything around me.
A comparison to the US: Let's say that you were headed East on a four lane highway with a median and you wanted to get to something that was on the West side of the highway. In the US, standard procedure would be to pass it, wait until an appropriate moment make a U-turn, then back track your desire location. When leaving, you would head West on the highway, until the appropriate moment then make a U-turn and continue your journey East. Well in India, prior to reaching your location, you cross over the median and drive on the shoulder in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic dodging rickshaws, pedestrians, and camels and honking your horn to make people aware that you are coming. When you wish to continue you on your journey, you cross two lanes of traffic heading in the opposite direction then cross the median and go on your way. I have no idea how I spent six hours in a car traveling to and from Agra without dying. And camels was not a typo, there are cattle, horse, and camels transporting goods on the same high way as cars and trucks. Prior to this, my only experience with camels was at fairs where you could pay money to ride on its back in a tiny little circle. I would also have to say that there are more Indians then the enormous country can reasonably hold. People were aimlessly wandering around everywhere. Even through the busy intersections. You know in movies, sometimes people spontaneously become clarivoyant and then go insane because there are just so many racing thoughts. Despite there being people everywhere, I don't think that would happen. From what I could tell people don't do anything there but stand by the roadside. I couldn't imagine what a single person there could possibly be thinking. It seemed as though they had nothing to do with their time. Maybe this is just me being an ignorant foreigner, but shouldn't people have jobs or hobbies or at least be talking to one another? It was truly odd.
Ok, first off, the Taj Mahal was a mausaleum that Shah Jahan built for his most favorite wife when she passed away giving birth to her 14th child. I don't know about you, but I did not know this prior to deciding to visit it. Of course I had heard of it and seen pictures, but I just never inquired further into it. I think once upon a time someone told me that no one really knew what the Taj Mahal was because it was so old. That is completely wrong, thanks public school eduation.
Now, I am sure all of you are wondering what the Taj Mahal was like. In one word foggy. Apparently in the winter, Delhi and the surrounding area is foggy. Usually, the fog all burns off by 9 in the morning, but for my visit, it decided to hang around. Sadly, I missed all the beautiful long views that you usually see in magazines and post cards. And the lack of light meant that I couldn't appreciate the true beauty of the white marble.
But I would still say that it was very impressive. The attention to detail and work that went into it was unbelievable. And don't worry, my guide got to make sure that I had the opportunity to witness this work first hand and get trapped in another show room with people trying to sell me stuff. I did get to try carving marble by myself and only ended up with a very pretty jewelry box. I managed to get the price down by half, but I guess in touristy spots like this even that was not enough. My complete lack of bargaining skills really showed through here. Even the vender was encouraging me to lower the price. He was taking off five to ten buck everytime I said I wasn't interested. Then he suggested that I name a price that was 50% lower which I did and he quickly accepted. Then he through in a tiny marble elephant for free. I fail at bargaining. The second showroom I was led into I would say I did much better. I had a panick attack and demanded that they show me out. I say that tactic was the only successful one I found for dealing with Indians.
Other major sites in Agra are the Agra Fort and Akbar's Mousoleum. Most of the fort is occupied by the Indian army so you can't see the pearl mosque or the gem mosque. According to my guide the only really great part is that you can view the Taj Mahal as Shah Jahan did when he was imprisoned there by his son. But due to the fog you couldn't see this, thus I skipped the fort all together. I was pretty tired at this part. I did see Akbar's Mousoleum. I would say the most interesting part of this was the monkey's chilling in the courtyard.
This ended my time in India. Overall I enjoyed India, just as long as I didn't have to actually interact with Indians. Everyone kept touching me and trying to get my money, not my idea of an ideal vacation. But I am still fascinated by the culture and history of the country. I would love to back and see it again, but I do not think that I would go alone. It was just too stressful of a place not to have someone to joke around with and cheer you up when the starving man on the street looked like he was about to freeze to death.
I haven't fully edited this post, but I am a few days behind and anxious to move forward. If I have time I will make corrections. Otherwsie just deal with it. And don't expect post cards. I was too scared to step inside a tourist shop so no one will be getting anything for India.
If I thought Delhi was bad, outside the city was worse. Driving in India would definitely be the most terrifying experience of my life, if I wasn't already on sensory overload and immune to pretty much everything around me.
A comparison to the US: Let's say that you were headed East on a four lane highway with a median and you wanted to get to something that was on the West side of the highway. In the US, standard procedure would be to pass it, wait until an appropriate moment make a U-turn, then back track your desire location. When leaving, you would head West on the highway, until the appropriate moment then make a U-turn and continue your journey East. Well in India, prior to reaching your location, you cross over the median and drive on the shoulder in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic dodging rickshaws, pedestrians, and camels and honking your horn to make people aware that you are coming. When you wish to continue you on your journey, you cross two lanes of traffic heading in the opposite direction then cross the median and go on your way. I have no idea how I spent six hours in a car traveling to and from Agra without dying. And camels was not a typo, there are cattle, horse, and camels transporting goods on the same high way as cars and trucks. Prior to this, my only experience with camels was at fairs where you could pay money to ride on its back in a tiny little circle. I would also have to say that there are more Indians then the enormous country can reasonably hold. People were aimlessly wandering around everywhere. Even through the busy intersections. You know in movies, sometimes people spontaneously become clarivoyant and then go insane because there are just so many racing thoughts. Despite there being people everywhere, I don't think that would happen. From what I could tell people don't do anything there but stand by the roadside. I couldn't imagine what a single person there could possibly be thinking. It seemed as though they had nothing to do with their time. Maybe this is just me being an ignorant foreigner, but shouldn't people have jobs or hobbies or at least be talking to one another? It was truly odd.
Ok, first off, the Taj Mahal was a mausaleum that Shah Jahan built for his most favorite wife when she passed away giving birth to her 14th child. I don't know about you, but I did not know this prior to deciding to visit it. Of course I had heard of it and seen pictures, but I just never inquired further into it. I think once upon a time someone told me that no one really knew what the Taj Mahal was because it was so old. That is completely wrong, thanks public school eduation.
Now, I am sure all of you are wondering what the Taj Mahal was like. In one word foggy. Apparently in the winter, Delhi and the surrounding area is foggy. Usually, the fog all burns off by 9 in the morning, but for my visit, it decided to hang around. Sadly, I missed all the beautiful long views that you usually see in magazines and post cards. And the lack of light meant that I couldn't appreciate the true beauty of the white marble.
But I would still say that it was very impressive. The attention to detail and work that went into it was unbelievable. And don't worry, my guide got to make sure that I had the opportunity to witness this work first hand and get trapped in another show room with people trying to sell me stuff. I did get to try carving marble by myself and only ended up with a very pretty jewelry box. I managed to get the price down by half, but I guess in touristy spots like this even that was not enough. My complete lack of bargaining skills really showed through here. Even the vender was encouraging me to lower the price. He was taking off five to ten buck everytime I said I wasn't interested. Then he suggested that I name a price that was 50% lower which I did and he quickly accepted. Then he through in a tiny marble elephant for free. I fail at bargaining. The second showroom I was led into I would say I did much better. I had a panick attack and demanded that they show me out. I say that tactic was the only successful one I found for dealing with Indians.
Other major sites in Agra are the Agra Fort and Akbar's Mousoleum. Most of the fort is occupied by the Indian army so you can't see the pearl mosque or the gem mosque. According to my guide the only really great part is that you can view the Taj Mahal as Shah Jahan did when he was imprisoned there by his son. But due to the fog you couldn't see this, thus I skipped the fort all together. I was pretty tired at this part. I did see Akbar's Mousoleum. I would say the most interesting part of this was the monkey's chilling in the courtyard.
This ended my time in India. Overall I enjoyed India, just as long as I didn't have to actually interact with Indians. Everyone kept touching me and trying to get my money, not my idea of an ideal vacation. But I am still fascinated by the culture and history of the country. I would love to back and see it again, but I do not think that I would go alone. It was just too stressful of a place not to have someone to joke around with and cheer you up when the starving man on the street looked like he was about to freeze to death.
I haven't fully edited this post, but I am a few days behind and anxious to move forward. If I have time I will make corrections. Otherwsie just deal with it. And don't expect post cards. I was too scared to step inside a tourist shop so no one will be getting anything for India.
2 comments:
Don't think of it as bargaining down from the price they suggest. Think of it as bargaining up from zero. Don't offer more than 1/2 of what you'd actually be willing to pay. Having been tremendously fleeced on a camel ride before, I feel your pain!
1/2? When I was there I'd say 1/3 would be my starting price, and if they seemed genuinely offended by that (n.b. genuinely), then you talk for a bit longer, but not discussing the price, just the (maybe questionable?) quality. Then about their family, etc., and if you still can't settle on a price around a third of what they asked, offer to throw in a cup of chai as a sweetener. They generally like that, especially as a half-joke. If they don't like that either, walk away. There are plenty more places to sell you the same stuff, that you don't really need anyway, and many times they'll run after you down the street and accept your price.
Haggling with tigers may require a different etiquette.
Nick
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