How to do the Taj Mahal and Commonwealth Games (in a day)

The Taj Mahal, similarly to the Grand Canyon (though obviously totally different) definitely doesn’t fail to amaze. Arriving in Agra we found a cheap hotel with a fantastic rooftop view and were just in awe of the sheer size of the “monument of love”. Saving a trip to the Taj for sunrise the following morning we spent the afternoon watching the sunset from Agra’s fort - the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal was eventually imprisoned by his son here but could still see his wife’s memorial from his prison chamber.

Agra's fort at sunset

Elizabeth posing for pictures - often in India just being a westerner means you're treated like a celebrity!

So at 5.45am we arrived at the west gate of the Taj only to experience true Indian bureaucracy as the ticket desk refused to open until exactly sunrise (6.12am for those interested). Sunrise is by far the best time to visit as the crowds are far fewer and the heat of the day has yet begun. The photos can speak for themselves...

By now the Commonwealth Games had begun in Delhi so we thought we’d take the opportunity to watch world-class athletics for the price of a coffee in the UK and still full of energy from our early start ventured back to Delhi and to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.  The athletics events were great to watch with the crowd erupting every time an Indian athlete took their position on the track.

 
Getting into the stadium was incredibly stressful (see below) but the atmosphere and entertainment of the athletics made up for it!

How the police close a road in India - just instruct several buses to block the route

The men's 200m final

The crowd went crazy every time an Indian athlete ran past

At this point we were about three weeks into our tour of India and felt capable of dealing with most situations thrown at us. Thankfully a year of travelling has taught us a thing or two...

Some examples of trials and tribulations faced in just two days in India (and how best to deal with them):

1.      Commonwealth Games tickets appear to be unavailable for events on a Sunday (despite semi-final athletics taking place) – book online anyway and hope for the best when you arrive, as expected, at a half empty stadium

2.      Nearly crushed to death on Delhi’s metro and again exiting the station as thousands of spectators are herded through a cattle separator – scream at the top of your voice and push your way through with the best of them

3.      Told at the stadium gates due to security that books aren’t allowed (including our guide book that’s got us there!) and because there isn’t somewhere to store belongings we need to dispose of it along with our whole backpack (deemed too big) with camera etc inside – when all else fails wait for the guard to look the other way and sneak past him and his 4ft long rifle, with fingers crossed...

4.      Trying to book train tickets during a Hindu festival (there are festivals almost every week but this was a big one!) – wait all day at a station, attempt to board first train until told every seat is full so learn from first mistake and board second train nine hours later and buy ticket onboard (see 5.)

5.      Being overcharged by three times the actual amount by the “Chief Ticket Inspector” who switched personality quicker than you can say “Taj Mahal”. He initially refused to speak English, then became our new best friend shaking our hands and patting our backs, but when questioned about the extortionate price he slyly suggested we should each pay him extra for absolutely no reason – stand your ground, match his aggression with a smile and ask for his name and badge number at which point all unravels

Despite the “obstacles” mentioned above, interspersed throughout these two days were some really memorable moments. The Commonwealth Games (once we were seated in the stadium), despite international press suggesting otherwise, were brilliant. During our day on the train platform we were approached by literally 30 Sikh “soldier saints” complete with swords and daggers who chatted to us in Punjabi (we smiled in response relieved that they weren’t annoyed at Tom taking their photo from afar). Onboard the train we sat with a lovely Indian family who took us under their wing and alerted us to the dodgy ways of the ticket inspector, when I ask why did he try to rip us off they simply replied with resignation “To make money, as always”. 

The soldier saints at Agra station