Tigers and the Ganges (1 of 4): Delhi to Agra

The second thing that struck me after arriving in Delhi was that the light was softer; whether this was due to dust or pollution in the air I don't know but it was nice. The first thing that struck me was the traffic madness on the way to my hotel from the airport. Buses, cars, auto-rickshaws, motorbikes, cycles and cows, all weaving in an out around each other at speed. After reaching the hotel I went for a walk, with a few of my fellow travellers, around the local area to get orientated. It was a chaotic mass of people, horn-honking speeding traffic and men peeing in the street. Welcome to India. Even though I was expecting this it was still quite a shock to the system. This apparent chaos however turned out to be nothing compared with what I'd experience by the end of my two week stay in the country. Not that my trip was all craziness, there were a lot of quiet serene moments amongst the noise.


Old Delhi market wasn't one of these! It was a maze of alleyways and tiny shops. I've never seen so many people packed together. Street kids and beggers (some disturbingly disabled or deformed) are there to meet you. On the whole everyone seemed genuinely friendly.

One disheveled old man wanted to say hello and shake my hand. I turned and looked at him, there was blood in his mouth and shit on his outstretched hand. I recoiled in horror and walked away. I felt awful about this. An experience I won't forget.

After a night in Delhi, we got a nice early morning air conditioned train to Agra. Indian train stations really have to be seen to be believed. Having read some of the warnings for travellers in the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides our group was perhaps overly paranoid, huddled together, eyes and hands on our bags and money. Better safe than sorry though.

There are two main reasons people go to Agra: The large impressive Red Fort and the majestic Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is quite rightly one of the top seven tourist wonders of the world. It is very impressive. A beautiful mausoleum created out of the love of a man for his dead wife.

When Princess Diana visited, she and her entourage had the Taj to themselves, we however had to share it with thousands of others. Despite the crowds it's a must see.

After Agra it was time time get on a train again, heading away from the bustling cities and into the Indian countryside...