The Nagpur Express Limited
-Part II of a lone traveler’s journey through Northern Hindustan
27/3/23
New Delhi train station at 10 o'clock in the morning is an experience one never forgets. Outside the station it is a sea of taxis, tuk-tuks, and buses bringing people in and taking them away. I came early as I was expecting a very long line through security. Turns out there was no line as no one was operating the x-ray machine. I also stepped through a metal detector which was switched off. I felt safe.
The inside of the train station looks like something out of a film. Everywhere there are people (many sitting on the floor), baggage, crates of produce, and animals. Good news though: there is a waiting lounge! However, it’s nothing more than benches in an area that has fans (no air conditioning) and anyone can sit there. I did see a sign for a women-only lounge, but God knows what that was like. The toilet situation is simply too horrific to put into print.
India has the fourth largest rail network in the World and it’s entirely owned and operated by the government. There are 13 classes of ticket you can purchase ranging from ‘quite nice’ on the tourist routes all the way down to cattle-class. I purchased a “1A” ticket for my trip to Agra. This secured me a berth in an air conditioned, first-class carriage which cost the princely sum of 1,300 Rupees...or about $16 dollars.
A note on booking train tickets in India: when you buy a regular ticket you are immediately assigned a seat. However, when you purchase a first-class ticket you aren’t assigned a berth until 2 hours before departure. There are four berths in a cabin, but even if you were traveling with four other people and all bought your tickets together, the chap who makes the seating chart could, and probably will, mix you all up. They try to keep families together, but if you’re a couple and not married you can forget about it. I was traveling alone so I knew I would have to make friends.
Another side note, this one on making friends in India: most Indians in the larger cities are used to Western tourists. However, some of the people from the more remote villages have never seen a white person in their lives. Because of this, they are going to want to talk to you, have you talk to their children (because their children are learning English at school), and probably want a photograph with you. It’s all quite charming, just be ready for it.
I had a bit of trouble finding my train. There are 16 tracks at the New Delhi station, terrible signage, and they only assign a platform 15 minutes before departure. Once your 9-digit train number appears on the board, it’s a mad rush. I know I have made this argument before and I will make it again: travel light!!!
My train was the ‘Nagpur Express’. I would be on a tiny 4-hour section of its 24-hour long journey from Amritsar near the Pakistan border down to Nagpur in central India. Even though I was only on for a short time, I still got a bunk to lie down on and a meal!
Once the train left the station, I got my first look at the beautiful north Indian countryside. It is mostly made up of flat grassland with farms, villages, and towns scattered in between. I really loved the farms because you can see the women working in the fields by the vivid colors of their sarees.
On the outskirts of Agra there are slums built right next to the railway lines. With the trains coming past 24 hours a day, I cannot imagine how these people live. However, the important thing to remember is that these people have been living the same way for hundreds of years; it’s the world around them that changed and they didn’t come along with it.
Agra Cantonment is the main railway station in Agra. It’s a madhouse just like the station in New Delhi, only smaller. The one difference is at the Agra station the taxi rides must be bought from a government official. Apparently, surprise, surprise, taxi drivers were taking advantage of tourists.
I went to the taxi stand and paid a man in a military uniform for a taxi to the hotel. I was then pointed to my cab, which had two people sitting in it. The chap in the passenger seat up front was talking to me the whole way to the hotel. It started innocently enough; asking where I was from, how long I was in Agra, etc. Then he started telling me about Agra and it hit me...a fucking tour guide!!! I stopped conversing with him the moment he told me about all the great shopping areas he could take me to.
For my time in Agra, I chose to stay at the Holiday Inn on MG Road. I tend to prefer Hyatt, but this hotel was perfectly adequate. I went to the hotel bar, got sauced, had dinner, then went to bed.
28/3/2023
I rose early Tuesday morning, popped a malaria pill, and got ready for my first full day in Agra. I needed to get to an ATM and withdraw some cash. Fortunately for me, there was a bank behind the hotel. No problem, right?
The moment I left the comforts of the Western hotel, I walked straight into ‘real’ India. All along the outer wall of the hotel are shacks where people and animals live. What was interesting was at 8am they were sweeping their own streets (the government sure as shit doesn’t do it). By 9am they would set up stalls selling everything from t-shirts to swimming pool inflatables.
The bank was deserted. I went to the ATM and inserted my card, when a local pulled up on a motorbike. He got off, walked into the bank, and stood awkwardly close to me as I was about to enter my PIN number. In a not particularly ‘James Bond’ move, I turned around and said, “Good morning, why the fuck are you standing so close to me?”. He then fucked off out the bank.
With 8,000 rupees in hand ($50 dollars), it was time to secure transportation for the day. I noticed there was a tuk-tuk sitting outside my hotel, but I didn’t see anyone in the driver’s seat...turns out he was sleeping in the back. I asked my newly hired driver named Shiva to take me to the Taj Mahal, might as well get the big thing out of the way first, right?
Let’s talk about tuk-tuks for a moment: I love them!!! For the uninitiated, an auto-rickshaw (aka a tuk-tuk) is a motorized, three wheeled version of the classic hand-pulled rickshaw. Very common all throughout Asia, they are the best way to get around Indian cities. As they are open to the elements, they offer the best view of the very lively Indian streets. Also, because they are so small, they tend to get through traffic, which is horrendous in India, much quicker than a regular taxi. Tip: NEVER hire an electric tuk-tuk, they are painfully SLOW. Tuk-tuks that are green and black are petrol powered, green and yellow are natural-gas powered, and any other color is electric and should be avoided.
To get to the Taj Mahal, it was necessary to go through ‘Old Agra’, which was quite a sight. If it wasn’t for the clothes and mobile phones then the cooking fires, cows, dogs, monkeys, elephants carrying goods, and open-air markets would make you think you were in the Middle Ages.
Once we left Old Agra, we ended up on a double lane motorway that runs along the Yamuna River. As we whizzed round a corner, Shiva had to take avoiding action as about 30 unattended cows were walking the wrong way down the road. Cows roam freely in Indian cities. Everyone in the community feeds them, then everyone takes a share of the milk when they need it. Also, keep in mind that Hindus believe that cows represent the spirit of their dead ancestors...so don’t run one over! To be fair, the cow would do far more damage to the tuk-tuk than the tuk-tuk to it.
Once we got to the Taj Mahal, Shiva turned around and said, “Let me tell you about my people: very bad!!! No matter what, you do NOT need a tour guide”. I responded, “Shiva, mate, you don’t have to bloody tell me!!!”. Shiva then taught me the most important Hindi word I would learn on my entire trip: ‘Jana!’, which means ‘Go away’.
The walk from the street to the West Gate of the Taj Mahal is about a quarter of a mile. After shouting ‘Jana!!!’ at hundreds of potential tour guides, I finally got to the ticket booth. Entry to the Taj Mahal costs $13.45 for foreigners and $.61 cents for Indians. However, they did throw in a free pair of shoe covers for when you go inside the actual Tomb.
As India has 200-300 terrorist attacks per year, security at the Taj Mahal was expectedly tight. There are separate buildings for men and women where they search your bag and wave the magic security wand over you. It’s a hassle, but what can you do?
After security, you then proceed through the gate of the outer wall. Once through, you will see the Taj Mahal for the first time. I have always found it quite bizarre being in the places that you normally see in National Geographic. It’s almost as if it’s not real but also incredibly real at the same time.
As it was early in the day, there were not too many people about and I managed to get some great photos. Kodak Ektar 100 is easily the best film for colour photography. It is the only emulsion that gets close to reproducing the vivid colours of the now discontinued Kodachrome.
After walking through the gardens, you reach the Taj Mahal proper. This is the point you put on your shoe covers, read a sign covering the rules (Don’t look any monkeys in the eye!), and get your ticket verified by security.
The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their FOURTEENTH child. Keep in mind, that is THEIR fourteenth child; it doesn’t include the children Jahan had with his other wives. Upon his death, Shah Jahan was buried inside next to Mumtaz which locals in Agra tend to get all romantic about. In case you’re wondering, Jahan’s other wives are buried in smaller tombs outside the Taj Mahal’s walls (Imagine that, ladies!).
Because Islamic tradition forbids the over decoration of tombs, the white coffins themselves are not anything amazing. What is amazing is the insanely intricate marble work around the coffins. They have people inside who will show you the quality of the marble by holding flashlights against it so you can see the light cutting through the stone. For 100 rupees they will shout your name and you can hear it echoing off the walls for what feels like minutes.
As I left the tomb and made my way towards the exit, it occurred to me that I had not seen any gift shops. I found this very strange as the Taj Mahal is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world, surely they would want to sell trinkets and postcards? Well don’t you worry, because the moment you step out of the Taj Mahal’s West Gate there is an army of “tour guides” ready to take you to the shopping area!!! I used the new words Shiva had taught me to get them to bugger off.
On the other side of the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort is the second most visited attraction in Agra. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was built in 1565 by Emperor Akbar to be the main residence of the Mughal Dynasty until the capital was moved to Delhi in 1638. From then on it was the site of many large battles until it was taken by the British in 1803.
Shiva dropped me off in front of the Fort and the most vivid memory I have of that day was trying to not get squished like a bug while crossing the road to the ticket booth. After I bought my ticket, you guessed it, tour guides!!! I dispensed with them quickly as I was NOT in the mood.
Agra Fort is incredibly beautiful as it’s made of red sandstone from Rajasthan. Sadly, you can’t enter through the magnificent “Dehli Gate” as that part of the fort is still being used by the Indian Military (specifically the Parachute Regiment). The inside of the fort is a labyrinth but really interesting. There are also some great vantage points that you can see the Taj Mahal from.
29/3/2023
That morning I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5 black and white film into my camera as I wanted to get some more photos of the Taj Mahal. Shiva took me over to Mehtabh Bagh, which is a large garden directly across the river.
Other than a group of women having breakfast, the whole place was completely deserted. I found this amazing as the views of the Taj Mahal were absolutely stunning. I can’t help but wonder how so many tourists miss amazing things like this, but then I realized: the tour guides aren’t bringing them here because there isn’t any shopping!!!
After picking up some postcards and a little marble elephant (yes, I went shopping), I realized that there was absolutely nothing else I wanted to do in Agra. I had another day booked, but it seemed pointless, so I called the hotel and changed my checkout.
This left the issue of how to get to my next destination, Jaipur. I couldn’t get a First-Class ticket with Indian Railways, and a regular seat is a bit dodgy when it comes to thievery. Fortunately, Shiva’s son works for a taxi company. After some negotiating, we agreed that he would drive me the 4.5 hours to Jaipur for $40.
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