Agra, India
3/27/2008
Agra. This place is like a roller coaster ride. Wherever you go, you get swarmed from all sides - Postcard sir? No. Statue? No. Maybe some drink? No. I have many cold drink--NO! Take a look sir, please? I SAID NO - NOW GET THE HELL AWAY FOM ME. Get rid of him and you get another one. Tour guide sir? No. Very cheap. No. I can tell you every...NO! Only 200 ruppies! I SAID NO!! You have to beat these guys down before they leave you alone. They follow you down the street - they're absolutely relentless! Then you get the beggars everywhere and the rickshaw and taxi guys trying to hustle you. They're even worse on the women. On top of this, you have the traffic and the horns. People here use their horns more than their brakes. Then to top it off - this place is hot - really HOT - hotter than Bangkok. This will wear you down quick!
The Taj Mahal is really something to see, especially in the early morning light. I got there early - about 7 AM, it was fairly quiet although there were a few people there. By the time I left it had started filling up fast as the tour buses started to arrive. Perfect timing! Got out of there just in time.......