Memoirs of a Chan

We left Goa on boxing day and headed to Delhi. We caught a taxi to our hotel in Paharganj, which is a backpackers area. It reminded me of Khao San road in Bangkok or Thamel in Kathmandu but dirtier. It isn’t the area for everyone and it’s particularly dodgy at midnight. Our hotel wasn’t too bad. It was noisy in the morning but it was clean and had hot water.

The next day we had breakfast at a restaurant opposite our hotel. The food was excellent but Janice will suffering from bowel problems and had to stick to mashed potato and plain naan.

After lunch, we tried to catch a taxi to Akshardham Temple but instead were taken to a local tourist bureau where we ended up hiring a private car to take the girls on the ‘Golden Triangle’ tour. Our driver was a very nice and accommodating man called Sanjay.

In spite of the horrendous traffic, at my request he took us to the Akshardham temple. I was pretty keen on seeing it as a colleague had recommended it, describing it as Delhi’s rival to the Taj Mahal.

This is what it was supposed to look like.

Instead, it looked like this.

It was Sunday so the queue to get in was horrendous. Visibility levels were poor because of the pollution and sand around it.

Sanjay also stopped by the India gate for a photo opportunity.

We headed to Agra at around 5.30pm, stopping by McDonalds for dinner. I had an Indian potato cake burger which was really novel. We arrived in Agra at approximately 11pm, checking into Hotel Sidhartha which was 2 minutes walk away from the Western Gate of the Taj Mahal.

Janice and I had the worst sleep that night. The area we were staying in was pretty noisy as it was but there was a Muslim festival in the city so the mosque and music were blaring all night. Not to mention there was no hot water in the hotel! Needless to stay, we didn’t feel we were looking our prettiest the next day.

All complaints were forgotten the next morning when we finally feasted our eyes on the beautiful Taj Mahal.

The entrance itself was imposing enough.

We hired a professional guide to take us around the Taj Mahal and give us the history on it. He also gave us tips on the best places to take photos.

Most of the time he took the photos for us.

The Taj Mahal is not in the least bit overrated. It is the most beautiful piece of architecture I have seen on my travels thus far.

The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emporer Shah Jahan for his third and favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal to whom he made a promise that he would not marry again. She died giving birth to her fourteenth child.

It took 22 years for 20,000 men to build the Taj Mahal. It is made of incredibly strong marble and the intricate designs in the marble were carved on, not painted. We went to a shop afterwards owned by descendents of the men who did the carvings and the art is still carried on today.

The white marble is painted red so that they can see what they are carving and semi precious stones around ground into shapes to put into the carving. While I liked the blue and green semi precious stones, it was the orange coral that glows when you shine light on it.

We didn’t tire of looking at the Taj Mahal or taking photos of it.

After the Taj Mahal, our guide to us to a restaurant for breakfast. Aside from Janice, we all had ‘Thali’.

After breakfast, we went around the Agra fort which is a pretty impressive. We probably would have been more impressed if we hadn’t just seen the Taj Mahal.

The time for me to say goodbye to the girls was fast approaching.

After lunch, Sanjay drove me to the train station where I was to catch the train back to Delhi. I said goodbye to the girls and headed off to catch my train.

When I was younger I used to wonder why my mum’s sisters used to cry everytime we left Singapore, especially when we went back for family holidays every year. Having said goodbye to Janice for the third time in 18 months, I wouldn’t say it gets easier but I manage it better, especially when I know I’ll be seeing her again in 9 months!

The train station was pretty hectic but I booked myself a first class ticket so I only had to share the cabin with one other. It happened to be a Japanese guy who just couldn’t get it through his head that I wasn’t Japanese, despite me repeating that I couldn’t understand him (In English).

All through our travels in India, we were generally greeted in Japanese or asked if we were Nepali. I began to wonder if it was easier just to pretend we were.

Upon arriving in Delhi, I checked into the Intercontinental for a night of luxury before heading out early the next morning (after the buffet breakfast of course) for a Tuk Tuk ride around Connaught Place and other parts of Delhi.

Delhi can be a culture shock to those who haven’t done much travel around Asia. It really reminded me of Malaysia or Bangkok but 10 or 20 years ago. It is a hectic and busy city, with dangerous drivers, terrible traffic and sadly, alot of poverty. It made me realise yet again, how truly fortunate I’ve been.