Our Agra Trip together was long overdue; tried
twice in 2011 but it couldn't get through…2012 it had to be! Bandita hadn't been to Agra & Taj Mahal ever and I was there last in 1998 – faint memories
of that trip so off we went to Agra
Took all the available information on Agra
I wanted my parents and Bhai’s family to
accompany me and to make it a faun-family trip but then it wasn’t to be…Bhabhi
had a slip-disk recently & she could not travel in a car for so long, it
was a weekday so my nieces couldn't join us and my parents ditched us a day
before the trip! So it ended being a “couple” trip!
The other reason for my excitement was that it
was supposed to be my first long-drive trip on the Blazing Red Machine! The
Ford Fiesta Classic which I gifted to my parents in May 2011 but never got a
chance to take it for a long spin…I have heard great stories about this car’s
skills & performance and this trip was going to be my first bout with this
machine! To make matters more enjoyable and comfortable The long-awaited &
planned Taj Yamuna Expressway had also recently opened & a lot of my
friends had zipped on that road so off we went…….
We started real early – exactly at 4:45 AM in
the morning to avoid the early morning office traffic with a light fog and
chill being our company till the Sun broke out! Crossed the Greater Noida
Expressway enroute and made our first stop at the first Toll Plaza Toll
Plaza
The next Toll Plaza Agra
We reached the Taj Premises at 8:15 AM; the
traffic hadn’t built up by then and it was relatively empty too! Did some
Shopping too – bought the world famous Agra Razaai (quilt) and some Marble
Artefacts for our home and as gifts for friends back in Kuwait
The words mesmerizing, beautiful &
magnanimous take an all-together different meaning after you take that first
look at the Taj Mahal! Awestruck as we were but we didn’t lose our mind though
& tried to soak in the moments…the weather wasn’t very clear but just about
not-too-misty ensuring a decent view of Taj from a distance…wore those Shoe
Covers and entered the precincts of the Taj after clicking endless number of
pics trying to capture and add to the unlimited counts of pics to India’s
most-photographed monument and the one which earns us maximum revenue as well!
I am sure every given day atleast a million photographs are taken at the
Taj…atleast I say!
Due to it being a weekday the crowd was quite
manageable and allowed us many moments of silence as well while we were busy
admiring the intricate carvings on the pristine white marble walls! After
finishing one round we sat down on the very-cold Marble Floor providing ample
chill to our “you-know-what”! The Yamuna behind us was slowly limping to life
with a solitary boatman rowing towards the other shore ready to start a long
day ahead of him…the misty weather gave it a surreal look! Though I rued the
fact that it wasn’t sunny as it would have looked far more beautiful bathed in
Sunlight!
We got ourselves clicked the routine Taj Poses
– and yeah not those trick photography ones as I hate each one of them! There
was a huge group of tourists from Prudential ,
Philippines
While going out we were pleasantly surprised to
see a South-Indian movie shooting with the choreographer teaching the heroine
some real awesome Pelvic & Bust thrusts! Soon a big crowd built up and she
obviously got embarrassed and moved away from the public glare robbing us some
filmy dance pose preparation moments! So much for the over-enthusiasm of the
lecherous crowd which had gathered…
Had my customary dump – (yes how I could miss
that?) and surprisingly the Washroom was spotless-clean and odour-free as well;
high five for the Taj Authorities especially for this! Another memorable dump
moment adds up to the long & illustrious list!
We left the Taj Premises at 11:00 AM and as we
had lots of time left decided to head towards Fatehpur Sikri – not the best
decision we took but still had some fun moments there!
Reached there at 11:30 AM and hired a guide who
had a peculiar name – Gabbar Ahmed but fortunately he wasn’t dressed as the
legendary Gabbar nor sounded like him! Rather he had quite a shrill voice!
This was the first time both of us were
visiting FS and were quite obviously excited – surprisingly I had no idea about
the history of this popular monument so it was going to be one educative visit!
First up was the Buland Darwaza – the
magnificent and dominating entrance gate of the FS which is 40 metres high and
50 metres from the ground and looked quite impressive! Akbar built it to
commemorate his victory over Gujarat in 1601
A.D.
Gabbar then took us inside the monument while
constantly blurting out his routine text to us while we were trying to digest
all the information being thrown at us & trying our best to slow him down
but then his body is perfectly conditioned for the regular flow so our efforts
were a complete waste!
It is a very well-constructed and preserved
monument I have ever seen! More information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatehpur_Sikri
The most prominent feature is the white marble Tomb
of the Sufi saint, Salim Chishti and it is so beautifully made…the white colour
of the marble providing the perfect break from the monotony of the red
sandstone all around! It was constructed by Akbar as a mark of his respect for
the Sufi saint, who foretold the birth of his son, who was named Prince Salim
after him and later succeeded Akbar to the throne of the Mughal Empire, as
Jahangir. The intricate “Jali” work is beautifully carved and provides a
surreal view of the monuments outside – no wonder it is famed as one of the
finest examples of Mughal architecture in India
We also visited the Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Aam
and Mariam-uz-Zamani's Palace while Gabbar was moving on with his recorded
speech! We also bought some hand-made Marble Candle Stands which had brilliant
carvings after a longish bargaining session! Left FS at 1 PM and then the
ordeal started!
There was a huge traffic pile-up as we were
approaching the Taj and the 39 kms long journey took us 2 arduous hours to
finish! All this while I was busy trying my best to find a way through the
traffic…finally we entered the Agra
City Delhi
Now about the Expressway:
The road is real nice and quote a pleasure to drive on even though I don't know why it is made up of concrete and not of the normal Tar; concrete makes it a bit bumpy but not that much. Plus the EW is very-very boring to drive on, atleast it was for me! as there are literally no cars to overtake and not many in the rearview either! so you are just driving in a straight-line! Plus the views on the left-right are very monotonous...endless stretch of Fields - and half of them you can't even see properly!
And I must say that the speed guns (even though I couldn't spot even one of them) are damn efficient - the maximum allowed speed is 100 kmph for light vehicles! on my way to Agra I sped up once till 130 kmph as it was becoming impossible to control and when I reached the 2nd toll-gate it showed up and the attendant said "Sir, fine lagega"; I requested him"Yaar, subah ki baat hai, aage nahin karunga" and luckily he let me go! Up next I once went up to 110 kmph and it showed up again - this time the attendant didn't point it out as 10 kmph isn't much! Pretty efficient system I must say! though very boring for the speed-bred drivers of Kuwait like me who has done 230+ kmph speeds here ;)
But then the smart & cunning me found a way out! while coming back I thought of a way to speed up and still not get caught! I passed the last toll-gate and then zipped! as I knew there were no more toll-gates ahead! 152 kmph was the highest I reached and then I got a bit scared and slowed down! and I constantly drove at 120 kmph types! and Bingo...no fines and full thrill! TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK...please don't quote me!!!
So full marks to the Expressway! even though the toll-fee is a bit steep (600 INR for a return journey) but then it provides a literally zero-traffic way of a Delhi-Agra-Delhi trip and I didn't mind paying that money for saving me the pain of all those overtakings, traffic jams and encountering all sorts of vehicles on a normal highway!
After that the drive was incident & trouble free till we reachedNew Delhi
The road is real nice and quote a pleasure to drive on even though I don't know why it is made up of concrete and not of the normal Tar; concrete makes it a bit bumpy but not that much. Plus the EW is very-very boring to drive on, atleast it was for me! as there are literally no cars to overtake and not many in the rearview either! so you are just driving in a straight-line! Plus the views on the left-right are very monotonous...endless stretch of Fields - and half of them you can't even see properly!
And I must say that the speed guns (even though I couldn't spot even one of them) are damn efficient - the maximum allowed speed is 100 kmph for light vehicles! on my way to Agra I sped up once till 130 kmph as it was becoming impossible to control and when I reached the 2nd toll-gate it showed up and the attendant said "Sir, fine lagega"; I requested him"Yaar, subah ki baat hai, aage nahin karunga" and luckily he let me go! Up next I once went up to 110 kmph and it showed up again - this time the attendant didn't point it out as 10 kmph isn't much! Pretty efficient system I must say! though very boring for the speed-bred drivers of Kuwait like me who has done 230+ kmph speeds here ;)
But then the smart & cunning me found a way out! while coming back I thought of a way to speed up and still not get caught! I passed the last toll-gate and then zipped! as I knew there were no more toll-gates ahead! 152 kmph was the highest I reached and then I got a bit scared and slowed down! and I constantly drove at 120 kmph types! and Bingo...no fines and full thrill! TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK...please don't quote me!!!
So full marks to the Expressway! even though the toll-fee is a bit steep (600 INR for a return journey) but then it provides a literally zero-traffic way of a Delhi-Agra-Delhi trip and I didn't mind paying that money for saving me the pain of all those overtakings, traffic jams and encountering all sorts of vehicles on a normal highway!
After that the drive was incident & trouble free till we reached
Drove through the manic & office-traffic
Delhi-Gurgaon roads and reached our home finally at 8 PM…then there was the
routine enthusiastic show of all the shopping we did while my parents were busy
watching their daily Soaps! Had our dinner and then dozed off after a wonderful
& eventful day spent in Agra
Cheers to life…
Che would be back on the road again…
Till then ride safe and have safe sex…
Hasta la Victoria Siempre…
Jai BoP!
Cheers to life…
Che would be back on the road again…
Till then ride safe and have safe sex…
Hasta la Victoria Siempre…
Jai BoP!
