Quaint old buildings

An early start. Wrapped up in our warmest clothes we queued to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise – a surreal experience and not spoilt by the hundreds of tourists who had opted to do the same thing.

The misty mornings and evenings are India at its most atmospheric and no more so than at the Taj Mahal. The amber sunrise on the mausoleum sees it change colour every minute, every type of red, orange and pink before becoming brilliantly white. We walked up gawping at its beauty and hopping barefoot on the cold marble slabs.

However, the most surprising thing about Agra is the disparity between the inherent wealth and beauty of the Taj Mahal and the extreme poverty and degradation that exists right outside its gates. There’s no gradient – you are greeted by beggars and touts, people missing limbs, there’s sewage running in the open drains and run-down buildings. It’s inexplicable that next to one of the greatest architectural wonders of the world that millions of Indian and foreign tourists flock to every year, that there is not some spread of the tourist buck that doesn’t extend to just a few chain restaurants and hotels.

Having had breakfast on a rooftop café overlooking the Taj (deliberately not looking at the kitchen as we entered) we made our way to Agra Fort by 10 and were greeted by monkeys at its gates. Agra Fort is a million times better than the Red Fort at Delhi. Not only is it bigger, but it is in better condition, more ornate and doesn’t contain British military barracks.

On the road again and next stop, Fatehpur sikri, an ancient palace just outside of Agra with huge buildings dedicated to each of Emperor Akbar’s three wives in the 1500’s. It’s a big area in the middle of nowhere and looking over in the distance you can see crumbling walls on the horizon which suggest that there is a lot more of it.

There’s a busy mosque but beautiful mosque next door, Jama Masjid, which contained more hassle from touts and kids than you might expect.

We then had a long drive to Jaipur across flatlands interspersed with ancient chimney stacks and rice / spice fields and we arrived at our hotel after nightfall.

An old Haveli just outside the old centre of Jaipur called Nanaki, the place is run by an old lady whose family owned the house since it was built more than one hundred years ago. It’s secluded location just outside the old city walls means that it’s a world away from the dirty and hectic streets outside its walled surroundings. Even the auto rickshaw drivers had problems finding it.