From Pain to Beauty

Today we jumped onto a bus. It had massive sign-writing across the front of its windscreen that said 'Tourist'. It certainly felt like that was exactly what we were today; and that was the purpose! So, mission accomplished and thank you Agra for the opportunity to visit two World Heritage sites. It was a pleasure to marvel at the mastery of those that came before us.

However, the earlier part of the day was as far away from mastery as possible. A quick summary would read that we arrived in Agra at 1:15pm today (that being 7.5 hours late). So using a quick mathematical equation, we left 4 hours late and added a further 3.5 hours of lateness to the journey. Bearing in mind we left Hotel Surya at 2pm, we just ticked into the 24th hour of having been in transit between our origin and the new destination (which are about 500km apart in distance). Alas, we could cry, but in a nation of 1.2 billion no one would actually care for our complaints.

That was the quick summary, but you deserve more, so the details of the day went as such:

Thursday 19 December

1am/2am/3am/etc- The Editor wakes to check our location. Sadly as the hours past by his faith in a positive outcome (of arriving early morning in Agra) diminishes rapidly
5:45am- Expected time of arrival at Agra Cantt Station
6:15am/7:28am/8:55am/9:34am- Expected time of our new arrival
10am- The Editor gives up hope of ever arriving to where we were so enthusiastic about getting to
10:30am- Mr Jordan fronts with a few dozen samosas purchased from an abandoned train platform while the train stops yet again for no reason; no one complains about the food though (after all we haven't had dinner or breakfast at this point)
11:49am- We are now 6km from our destination. The authorities are still promising we are 5 minutes away. Meanwhile the locals laugh. As such, the time period in which lunch usually occurs passes by as well without an sustenance coming in our direction
1:15pm- We walk off the train!!!! Thank you Indian Railways for your complete incompetence
1:20pm- A contracted bus picks us up and provides a brilliant service in contrast to the norm we have come to expect
2pm- We walk through the Eastern Gate of the Taj Mahal with our superb guide, Rajeev. We then commence a two hour tour of this modern Wonder of the World. The boys marvel at the beauty of the structure, the precision of the 20,000 workers who constructed it over 22 years, the genius of those who developed a floating mechanism of water platforms under the tomb to ensure it would absorb the might of earthquakes if ever required, the bizarre nature of the Taj being a Muslim shrine in a dominantly Hindu world, and the sheer injustice of Shah Jahan being imprisoned by his own son years later thus meaning he was only really able of admire the masterpiece from a distance
4pm- We leave the Taj with numerous photos having been taken. The boys are encouraged to smile just for their mothers' sake
4:15pm- Arrival at the Agra Fort. This beast of a place dominants the landscape and is simply 'fit for an emperor'. Will Allen attempts to move in before he is informed by the group that no one would ever choose to follow a weirdo. Not too sure whether it was the squirrels or the moat that surrounded the Fort that caught most of the boys attention but either way they were captivated by the place
5:15pm- After a 10 minute drive we arrive at the Kesar Restaurant, an old favourite. After 27 hours of little food the opportunity to destroy bowls of curry, rice and naan is well received
7pm- We are on the road (thank goodness not on the track) with the new destination of Delhi calling. The ever sharp Hamish Fox notes we have seen the display of love (the Taj) but 'when we will witness the hate?'. Mr Jordan simply replies that most of the tour participants have been on the receiving end of others' hate and disappointment for the duration of their lifetimes so why would they desire more
11:30pm- Arrival outside the New Delhi Railway Station. Emotional farewells are made to the air conditioned bus and we are off on foot; a simple five minute walk up the Main Bazaar. And welcome to Hotel Namaskar. I'll leave the boys to explain the quality of this accommodation as it would be unfair for me to ruin the reputation of this classy establishment
11;45pm- We walk the block to get our bearing and to signal the key reference points. The boys laugh the entire 10 minute walk about the names of the sleeping quarters. There is Hotel Perfect, Hotel Sweet Dreams, Hotel Decent, All Iz Well Hotel- the list goes on. Of particular note as a selling point for our top end accommodation experience at Namaskar is the fact a public urinal stands out in full view as you turn up a narrow alleyway (as wide as two people walking shoulder to shoulder)
12pm- Lights out for the boys


So that was our day. Clearly not without the trials and tribulations but it beats a holiday job back in little ol' NZ.

Tomorrow presents a wonderful opportunity to briefly connect with the place we call home when we visit the New Zealand High Commission in Delhi. The boys will come to adore the superb hospitality that we have been extremely privileged to have received in both of the previous tours. That is tomorrow though so bring on the sleep!

Ben


MVP- Callum Ross. Now Cal was a superstar overnight. Not only did he watch the Editor's gear whilst the Editor roamed the train, but more importantly he was a source of great humour. He assisted yelling random words out loudly with Mr BD Skeen to provide a subtle hint (of shut up) to a fellow Indian passenger who constantly answered his phone each hour screaming at the top of his lungs about some arrangements for the Hari Krishna complex. Most importantly though, Cal claims the award because he kept the key secret of where the samosas could be found during the train journey. Whilst the majority of the team sat within 8 metres of him complaining about hunger, Cal was able to sneak off with 3 samosas to his top bunk without anyone clicking for well over 5 minutes. Total legend!

Thought- Be Honest, we all have shortcomings. Today's display of incompetence by the Indian Railways defies logic. While the locals kept feeding me through advice on what the probable time delays would do to our expected arrival time, the authorities continued to try and convince me we were five minutes away. Sadly, neither Google Earth nor common sense validated their promises. Why couldn't they just be honest? We knew it was a stuff, so why didn't they say 'we are sorry, we got this one wrong, and we are now doing our best.' Do we behave in the same manner when we get it wrong in our lives? What would the world look like if we did?