The Taj Mahal - saving the best 'til last

The sun comes out and our first sight of the Taj does not disappoint 

Random photo bomber can't detract from the beauty of the Taj

– surely this is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. 

Even the crowds do not detract from our visit and we both have to pinch ourselves – it was well worth saving this until the end of our trip outshining everything we’ve seen on our trip.

Getting the iconic photographs takes patience as everyone else is looking to do likewise but we persevere and eventually get our shots although I don’t think that they do justice to the amazing building.

Everyone does it!

As we get closer the detail becomes more intricate and the building becomes more imposing.  We place protective paper covers over our shoes to enter the marble mausoleum.

As we enter the tomb the detail of the inlaid marbling becomes intense with delicate relief carvings and beautifully coloured inlays of blue and orange flowers.

Indian tourists get in at a fraction of the cost we pay and the women all appear to be in their Sunday best whilst unusually, even the lads seem to have made an effort.

After the Taj Mahal, everything will pale into insignificance and we decide against a visit to Agra’s Red Fort – how can anything compare?  

Tomorrow, it’s back to Delhi where we plan to do nothing other than relax before we fly home on Friday. What a trip !

Agra - In search of the Taj

After a few days on the beach in Goa we travel back to Delhi for a short stop over before heading on to Agra.

The journey to Agra from Delhi seems to take forever and after the heat of Goa a foggy, cool day is a shock to the system. The fog as the locals call it is, I think be described as smog and its thick and damp as we set off.

On the way we stop for Chai and paratha at the side of the road. We pull into a little stall that has more monkeys than customers. 

The cook’s friendly enough but the kitchen is filthy and the monkeys are constantly trying to steal food and anything else they can get their paws on.  Having said that, the food is freshly cooked and is excellent.

Why can't we drink chai?

Aggie and Kim - where are you when needed?

About 40 kilometers from Agra we stop at Mathurah and a new temple that commemorates the birth place of Krishna – it’s not on the tourist trail and is interesting although no cameras are allowed so no photos.

First stop in Agra is Sikandra – Akbar’s mausoleum is a sandstone and marble tomb commemorating the great Mughal emperor.  

Reached through an impressive gate the site is peaceful and has deer running around with the stags trying to pick their favored does.

Ali our driver for the next few days recommends a little restaurant and sure enough the food is good. He suggests that because of the fog we should leave the Taj Mahal until tomorrow, and instead we visit Itimad-ud-Daulat,

known as the Baby Taj.

Built between 1622 and 1628, it was the first Mughal structure built entirely of marble and although not on the scale of the Taj, the Baby Taj has delicately carved jalis (marble lattice screens) and is well worth the visit.

Not to scale!

Close by in Mehtab Bagh we get our first glimpse of the Taj standing across the river Yamuna shrouded in mist.

first glimpse

Mr Ali correctly predicted morning fog so instead of a fruitless early morning visit to the Taj we have a lie in before heading to the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri. It’s a long drive and we pass through a number of scruffy desert towns where the locals huddle around small fires trying to keep warm – the roads are rutted and potholed and the ride is bone jarring.

Fatehpur Sikri is a world heritage site which has a large number of well preserved buildings dating back to the 1570s.  The last two kilometres to the site is via a shuttle bus from the car park.  As usual, we run the gauntlet of aggressive touting but politely decline all offers of guides, postcard and general tat.

The last of the Mughals

Next stop - the Taj Mahal................

Day 10 - Rickshaw Rally - Kanyakumari - Trivandrum

Our last day of the Rally – and our instructions are to get to Trivandrum by 12.30 and find the old theatre!

Day 10 - Final Briefing

The route is well signposted and a drive of about 90km should be straight forward but the road is in a bad state – it’s busy and it is pocked with deep pot holes, so deep that once in you might never get out again.

Lucy checks the route with Kim (Spam Fritters)

John drove the first part passing through all sorts of little towns with everyone heading off to work and school.   The main highway is a boneshaking hard slog which requires sharp reactions as we dodge the holes and the other vehicles also dodging the holes. 

At on point there are five rickshaws in convoy with Monocorn leading the way.  We approach a long queue of traffic waiting to turn left – it must be more than half a mile long – no problem, Monocorn darts out and proceeds up the outside followed by its convoy with us bringing up the rear.  At the front, a massive truck is waiting at the lights to go left, the lights change and it cheerily waves us all on ahead – I dread to think of the reception such a manoeuvre would have got back home.

The whole journey is through towns and built up areas so traffic is in abundance and we have a few hairy moments.  At one stage I come out to overtake a bus just as a lorry pulls out in front of me and I end up as the salami in a bus and lorry sandwich.  I thrash the hell out of the engine to get by and the noise is alarming but we get by – come to think of it the noise was probably John screaming in the back.

Bus Sandwick - take one bus (any bus will do)

There's still time in hand for a chai stop

We reach the designated rendezvous place by doing a u-turn across 4 lanes of traffic.  A closed gate blocks our route and an intransigent guard who is clearly not expecting 12 rickshaws to turn up with strangely dressed people aboard.  No amount of discussion can arrange access so we assemble on the main road forming a cavalcade to meet the press at our final stop.

Princely arrives and we are soon on the move to the finishing flag at the club next door.  After press photos we head inside for our final debrief.

Journey's End - Rally Completed

It’s been an emotional time for everyone - 10 days of constant travel has taken it out of all of us and as we hand back our toolboxes, first aid kits, mobile phones and rickshaw keys there was an air of sadness that the Rally was over.

With our trusty mechanics

All competitors received a medal and there are three further awards.  The Bonkers Award goes to team Monocorn who have driven in silver spandex suits and unicorn masks every day – as the organisers say, ‘you can’t describe bonkers but you know it when you see it’

The overall champions of the Rally are the Inglorious Bemble Boys – it’s an extremely popular choice as the two Germans, Uwe and Carsthen have been brilliant and have always been ready to stop and lend a hand with repairs and route planning.

And finally the Charity Award which goes …………to Team 6, Adventure Before Dementia.  Both John and I are so shocked we sort of blub a thank you.  We had no idea that we were in the running.  When the organisers announce that for every completed feedback sheet they receive, they will donate a further 15 Euros to our charity we are reduced to tears.  So humbling and very grateful

1268km on the clock - the gloves were an absolute godsend stopping the blisters

We say goodbye to our rickshaws for the last time – our rickshaw has completed 1268 km and apart from that mishap on day two, has not let us down.  

We all climb aboard a bus to take us on to our hotel.  It takes about an hour and with the addition of a couple of bottles of whisky and some red wine the journey was hilarious with everyone letting off steam singing and sending balloons out of the windows. 

We have to get a boat to the hotel and on arrival, we all change and jump into the pool.  I do feel sorry for the other guests having their romantic afternoon shattered by our hollering and excitement.

This Rally has been full of highs and lows, bruises and blisters, bad language and stress but it has been worth every minute.  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world although at this stage I’m not sure I’d do another one.

Finally, the money raised for the MS Society has been a bonus. We could not have imagined when we set of on this adventure that our friends and colleagues would be so generous and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has contributed.  Even as I’m drafting this money is still coming in.

Our home in Goa for retired Rickshaw Rally drivers

We also plan a final blog on the rally once the dust has settled and we’ve had a chance to sort through the photos so please continue to follow us.  Next stop the Taj Mahal.

Thanks

Day 7 - 9 Rickshaw Rally -Tuticorin / Courtallam / Kanyakumari

Apologies for getting behind with our blog but internet access is at a premium over here.

We've arrived in Kanyakumari after a couple of tough days and are billeted in a very comfortable hotel.  Our rickshaw has now covered almost 1,200 km and the end is in sight.  Our rickshaw skills are well honed and we seldom stall although mechanical problems usually associated with the petrol / oil mix still occur.

Over the past three days we've undertaken a variety of tasks and challenges including visits to a cocoanut oil pressing plant and a fruit farm and a cricket match.

I tried my hand at packing the containers at the pressing plant but this young girl left me standing

It was interesting to see what JLS is up to following their announced split

After the factory visit we head over to the Tuticorin dustbowl for a cricket match.  The locals play here all the time and are familiar with the variable bounce.  Rupert captains a mix of UK, Norway and German teammates, many playing for the first time.  John looks the part in his floppy sunhat but a dropped catch, 11 runs conceded on his over, and 8 runs scored with the bat suggest his best might be behind him.

John's floppy hat looks the part 

The result - a thrashing with team Rickshaw losing by about 50 runs.  Not demoralised, we head off shopping but John and Phil get bored and start messing about in the sari shop and pinch the wigs off the shop window dummies.  In the end they are banished to the naughty step.

Tuticorin to Courtallam is a long drive and on the way we visit a fruit farm to undertake a 'pongol' challenge.  But first we're required to put on local dress.  The women look great in their saris

whilst the men are rather more self-conscious in their garb.  The challenge itself involves making pongol, a sticky rice dish served at harvest time.  We're given the basic ingredients, a stack of dry leaves and an earthenware pot to cook pongol in.  John's in his element and soon has a good blaze but despite our joint efforts we are placed in mid table when our pongol is judged for taste and presentation.

Flames lick at John's nether regions

The road to Courtallam takes us through the lush green fields of Southern Tamil Nadu and today we make good progress and arrive in good time with only minor scares and no breakdowns.

We never have a prescribed route so teams find their own way from A to B - we often pass fellow challengers and there is a great atmosphere.  Rupert contributes by serenading rickshaws as they pass him by.

On the way to Kanyakumari our challenges take us into a tiger reserve in search of information about a large dam.  We're surprised that the authorities agreed to let us in in our rickshaws - with no real protection and a slow top speed I'm glad we didn't meet one today.

Turns out the tigers were the least of our worries.  We park our rickshaws and the monkeys are on us like carjackers.  One brazen monkey pulls a plastic bag out of John's hand and runs off with the contents whilst others loot the rickshaws looking for goodies - crisps, biscuits, fruit, water bottles all go, along with dipsticks and filler caps and anything else that takes their fancy.

We like to break up our journey by stopping at the roadside for chai and goodies - the locals are always glad to see us and are extremely friendly.

Back on the road I have a near miss with a bus which gives no quarter on a bridge but I'm pleased to report that these rickshaws are tougher than they look.

In truth, the Indian driving has been surprisingly good and the buses which are usually in a rush have cut us a lot of slack.  Our record of prangs to date includes:

• hit wall - damage light
• hit team mate (x3) - damage slight
• hit other vehicle - knocked off wing mirror - knock for knock
• hit petrol pump attendant - small bruise on head caused by wing mirror

The Rickshaw Rally has been tough at times - driving through the towns is stressful and its hot and sticky but we're having a great time and we can't believe that it's almost done.  The sights we've seen, the people we've met along the way who have helped us and welcomed us and the rickshaw teams have made this an unforgettable experience.