In Agra right now, what's next?
 

I'm in Agra right now looking for the best tour of the city and the Taj this morning. Coping with all the touts is rather annoying but still managable.
Do I just do a private tour to the 3 main sites with one of those touts for 500Rs or should I look for some better organized bigger group or a one day tour?

Maybe planning ahead would have helped, but as usual I just book a ticket and fly. :-) It's raining but no real monsoon right now, so the heat does limit movement somewhat.

Thanks!

Is that a car/driver and guide? If so, choose the one with the most understandable English and AC car and I'd say you got a good deal

Yes, it would be driver and guide.

I'd not do a bus tour...you'll end up shopping more than sightseeing. Even with the 500Rs guy, you're going to really have to put your foot down over the carpet and marble stops!

Keep that tout out of your dealings!
Ask your hotel to fix up a car, if you do not have one hired already. At the Taj Mahal / Tomb of Itmaduddaulah, you do not need a guide, keep your guide book handy.
At the Agra Fort, you have licensed guides available at the ticket window...just ask for an English speaking fellow & he will do a fine job.
Monsoons have arrived, finally & enjoy the rains!

Hi Logos

We spent 2 days there from 30 May to 01 June and had PHILIP from "Travel Assistance" mobile phone 09425140666. Extremely knowledgeable and he also speaks German.

We visited the Ghost town and the new Fort plus 3 times the Taj Mahal which was fabulous.

At the Taj it was okay but at the ghost town it was very annoying - beggars, vendors etc.
It was that bad - I wanted to buy some fans from a lady but in the end we left without búying anything.

Enjoy your time!

SV

oops - of course Philip came with a driver in A/C car!

SV

Thanks, I made it back home :-). I found out, I can comfortably survive 45C without A/C without any problems. :-) However, I do have problems with Tuck-Tucks on bumpy roads.

I took the driver from the hotel that day. It was "only" 800 in an A/C car. Monsoon is still not there, they were expecting it, but it may take a few more days..

The Taj Mahal alone was worth going to India!

I hope that you will do a trip report.

I still have to recover form the stress. I did hope for some supermarkets or western brands, but even the basics were hard to find. Not at all like anywhere else on the planet. Water, electricity is a problem, even in the capital only 6 hours of electricity per day were quite normal.
Well, summer and the A/C in the wealthier peoples homes running all the day, there's not much left for pumping the drinking water to the poorer peoples homes. Let alone the wells in front of the garbage dumps that the poorest are forced to get their drinking water from.

Yup, I wanna read this trip report, too! I sense a kindred spirit. Tell all.

Oh well, I started with the usual procedure. Pack as little as possible, but enough to be able to access the internet. Expecting good weather all the time, so three shirts, one pair of pants, 3 days underwear, a mobile and my EeePc should suffice for two weeks. Whatever else I would need, I believed, I could buy. I booked a cheap 3 star hotel close to New Delhi station the day before I left and boarded a Lufthansa flight to Delhi in the early evening. Without having gotten any sleep, I found myself in the international arrivals hall of Delhi IGI airport at 8am. Finding an ATM and a shop to buy a SIM was the easiest part. There didn't seem to be any public transport, well there actually was one bus outside going to some place I was unable to decypher. So I opted for the prepaid Taxi taking me downtown to the station. Hopfully I could find some maps or a tourist information there. I survived the cab ride, almost laying down on my seat to prevent my head from hitting the ceiling while we sailed over the potholes. It was fun seeing the driver use every millimeter of space available on that road constantly switching between brake and full throttle while honking. After 30 minutes I was standing in front of what was supposed to be a train station between hundereds of people walking around or lying on the ground between the dust, piles of trash, baggars, and all kinds of smells, looking for the tourist information...

I think this is going to be a good story. Settle back, guys...

Everything logos. Everything.

Well, there was none. After passing the metal detectors and a security guard which didn't seem to be very convinced of the usefullness his work, I crossed the bridge over the platforms and entered the station. What was described as tourist information was actually the ticket booking office for foreign tourists. Anyway, a good option to buy tickets. The Taj Mahal, so I've heard was not that far away in the town of Agra. Completely exhausted, after uttering a few dozend more "No thank you" to everyone that moved, I found my hotel, where the clerk told me, that I didn't hold a reservation. However, there would be a better room than the one I booked for only little more money. Of course I declined and instantly went into "you do not do this to me now, or I'll start to bark" mode. That worked nicely. and 10 min later, I was already sleeping in "my" bed.

I'm enjoying this very much. Thank you.

MORE MORE!!!

At 5pm I woke up. It was the time when you have barely slept enough but the street noise from outside does wake you up. That endless honking, like they felt entitled to run over anyone on the stret, if they just honk loud enough. A/C was off, since there was no electricity. I went ouside exploring. The place looked as if there was an air raid, just minutes ago, looking down not to fall into any of the holes in the street, but also trying not getting too close to the baggars that had lost a foot or an arm, who knows if it was contagious in any way. (I did watch Ben Hur, when I was a kid..., poor guys and I'm prejudiced!) Downtown supposed to be called "Connought Place", knowing it wasn't far, I walked ("No thank you"). I was amazed not to find any of the big international companies there, no ads for products, but an underground mall consisting of a number of small stalls. They all wanted to sell their leather belts and usb sticks to me. But finally, I found it, the MC Donalds, I was saved, so I thought. But what, no meat, what are they thinking, I want my slice of grilled, minced cow parts. I need them to survive, what else was I supposed to eat. There is no packaged food in that town, none, and so I've heard, they don't use toilet paper. Well, I found the underground station, bought a 3 days travel pass and went back. It was already dark. I managed to buy a two liter bottle of water on the street and 10 bananas. That and the fries at McD were enough for the day. There would be breakfast in the hotel the next morning anyway.

Great stuff. I'm not sure that lobbing into India with no preparation is a clever move - but I've done exactly that in my youth. I found India incredibly difficult then, but I was 21. The simplest things can be impossible - even now. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this. Bravo!

which hotel did you stay at in Delhi, and would you recommend it?

live42day, the answer to that will be in the next part ;-).
If they just would have let me sleep.