I spent a fortnight in India in January - the reason I have waited so long to blog about it is not due to some traumatic experience in an ashram but because my photos are so poor that until now I couldn't bring myself to illustrate a post with them.
I was told that everyone in Delhi would try to con me, and at the airport I was glad to be able to ignore the advice I received from a passing taxi driver that the underground railway was shut due to fog. In town I found a rickshaw driver who suggested I call my hotel to get directions. He let me use his phone, and was even kind enough to key in the number himself when I read it out. The hotel explained that they were terribly sorry but all the roads around had been closed due to the huge religious festival in town that weekend. The driver suggested he take me to the Official Tourist Office of India so that they could find me a hotel. He took me to a building which in hindsight may not have been the Official Tourist Office of India, although they did have a poster of the Taj Mahal. The man there invited me to speak on the phone to a few hotels, which were all full and which I now realise were being voiced by someone in the next door office. The only thing for it was to go to Agra for the night, and by happy chance this fellow owned a travel company that could sell me a trip there for a very reasonable price! And so it was that I got to see the Taj Mahal and returned to Delhi in time for my flight to Udaipur a satisfied customer of this intricate and impressive scam.
I was told that everyone in Delhi would try to con me, and at the airport I was glad to be able to ignore the advice I received from a passing taxi driver that the underground railway was shut due to fog. In town I found a rickshaw driver who suggested I call my hotel to get directions. He let me use his phone, and was even kind enough to key in the number himself when I read it out. The hotel explained that they were terribly sorry but all the roads around had been closed due to the huge religious festival in town that weekend. The driver suggested he take me to the Official Tourist Office of India so that they could find me a hotel. He took me to a building which in hindsight may not have been the Official Tourist Office of India, although they did have a poster of the Taj Mahal. The man there invited me to speak on the phone to a few hotels, which were all full and which I now realise were being voiced by someone in the next door office. The only thing for it was to go to Agra for the night, and by happy chance this fellow owned a travel company that could sell me a trip there for a very reasonable price! And so it was that I got to see the Taj Mahal and returned to Delhi in time for my flight to Udaipur a satisfied customer of this intricate and impressive scam.
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| This might be the worst photo ever taken at the Taj Mahal |
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| The dream tourist site for a Brit. No idea what the queue was for. |
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| I don't think this photo is bad |
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| Magnificent view of Taj Mahal from Agra Fort |
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| None of this sign makes sense to me, but nonetheless I would like a wazoo tank installed in my flat. |
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