From Hotter-than-Hades Agra to Relaxing Rishikesh

I have taken advantage of most of my weekends here in India by traveling. The first weekend I went to Agra to visit the wonder of the world on everyone’s bucket list: the Taj Mahal. I went with 9 other students from AIIS by hired car. We spent 7 hours on treacherous Indian highways. Not many fatalities happen within the cities, despite chaotic driving, but on the highways vehicles hit speeds high enough to do serious damage. Riding in a car in India is a special kind of thrill. Dodging cows and goats and wedding processions on the highway adds a whole new element.

I insisted on going to Taj Mahal at dawn, because the heat in Agra during the summer is legendary, and everyone says the Taj is beautiful at dawn. So we slept not even four hours before hauling ourselves out of Siddarth Hotel at 5 AM and down the road to buy our tickets. Our guide, Ali, was an energetic little man who was eager to get us the best views in the best light. He called me his sister and talked about how well I spoke Hindi. (Everyone does that. You say two broken sentences in Hindi and they proclaim that you speak it like a native!)

We saw sunrise over the Taj Mahal and the river that runs beside it. The marble shone pink and different colors in the stonework glowed. It is a beautiful, magical place. It was smaller than I expected, but also more intricate. There are meters and meters of ornate Arabic script surrounding the doors that are all carved out of Belgian onyx. There are flowers formed by different precious stones such as tourmaline and lapis lazuli and jade.

By 8 AM, my linen shirt was soaked through with sweat. Ali took us to a good, inexpensive local restaurant called Joney’s where we ate the cheapest, tastiest breakfast I’ve ever had.

We decided to nap the heat of the afternoon away, siesta style. Unfortunately our rooms were not air conditioned. Around 2 PM I finally went down to the front desk and asked if they had AC rooms. They said yes, but for a charge. Desperation born of sleeping (or attempting to) in my own sweat for two hours led me to grit out: “How much?” I have made every effort to do India on the cheap, with the most basic of living necessities. But there comes a point when AC is a basic living necessity. July in Agra is one of these points. Thankfully, my roomie Tori had no objection to paying a bit more (250 rupees) in exchange for physical comfort. My only regret is that I did not make this decision hours sooner.

That evening we went to the Agra Fort which is awesome. It’s a mix of red sandstone and white marble. It has great views of the Taj. The next morning we were supposed to go to Fatapoor Sikri, but rain and a tired group voted down those of us who really wanted to see it.

We drove back to Lucknow, stopping for lunch along the way. I fell into a classic tourist trap. I saw a man with a basket with a snake in it and got all excited. My first snake charmer! I started snapping photos instantly. His charming skills, however, extended to holding up his defanged and completely disinterested cobra while grinning at me toothlessly. One of the Indian men standing by finally yelled at him to play something, so the snake charmer put the snake back in the basket and proceeded to play about 6 bars of music. Because we had taken pictures, he expected us to pay him. I parted with my ten rupees bitterly.

If Agra was a whirlwind of heat, touts, a tight schedules, the following weekend was exactly the opposite. We had a long weekend for American Independence Day, and I had many travel-buddy offers. When I thought about what I really wanted to do, however, peace and quiet were the two big words that came to mind. I decided to travel to Rishikesh alone.

Rishikesh is the birthplace of yoga, and known for its outdoor activities, meditational atmosphere and spas. I stayed in a yoga resort called Narayana Palace. I recommend this spot to anyone traveling to Rishikesh. My agenda consisted of the following:

yoga at sunrise, Indian breakfast, read, massage, buy fruit at the market for lunch, nap, shower, sunset yoga, paneer butter masala for dinner, watch some Hindi television, sleep.

I did this for three days. And Letitia was happy. I am hoping to actually return to this spot with my friend Garima in September, when rafting and hiking will be available. Monsoon season puts a cramp in most outdoor activities (and train schedules, but we’ll talk about that later) but it also makes things much cheaper in the off-season. My only concern is that I think I might receive a proposal or two for marriage if I go back. I became quite endeared to the staff at Narayana.

My train ride back to Lucknow was a fun little adventure I will relate later. In the end, I reached Char Bagh train station exactly an hour before my first class. I snagged a cycle rickshaw, rode it to Wazir Hasan Road, grabbed some bread pakora from a street vendor, and settled in to another week of Urdu. Everyone commented on how refreshed I looked, despite the fact that I had come straight from a sleeper train, so that retreat in Rishikesh obviously did some good!