10 am, 20 Nov
Found the “baraat” bus. Waited for AM and his family to arrive from Allahabad. The entire family got on to the bus and thus started the journey to Jaipur.
An hour’s drive. Stop at a resort. Breakfast. Good sandwiches. Decent gulab jamun. Soak in the sun. The journey starts again. Bad road. Potholes galore. Unable to fall asleep. Small talk with CS. Singing and laughter in the background. AM’s cousins seem to be enjoying themselves. Enter Rajasthan. Keep staring out of the window for a glimpse of the desert. No such luck. Better roads. Fall asleep. Hear someone say that we’ve entered Jaipur city. Wake up to see this extremely well planned city. Wide roads intersecting at right angles. They call it Pink City. Nothing pink about it. Brick red if anything. I am color blind. Don’t listen to me. Reach the hotel. Got a room. I like it. Watch TV. Eat Kurkure. Fall asleep. Wake up at 7 pm. Call AT to know the hotspots in Jaipur. Get a list of a few places. Reach Country Inn. Good lounge. We are the only people though. The place supposedly has a good disc in the basement. Denied entry. Reason given: All stag group not allowed. Move to Jeffrie’s. Has been renamed as Henry’s. Very “thanda” place. It’s friday night for cryin’ out loud! Down a couple of beers. The verdict – NIGHTLIFE IN JAIPUR SUCKS. Head back to the hotel. Some function underway. AM’s cousin hands a peg of whiskey. Down it. And then one more. The function drags on. Time for food. Hog. Get back to hotel and crash.
2:00 am, 21 Nov.
6:45 am, 18 Nov
Boarded the AP express to Agra. Boring journey. Reached Agra at 5:15 am the next day. Was freezing. Called CS. He said his train would take at least an hour to reach Agra. An hour in the waiting room did not seem too bad. Murphy takes over. Train reaches at 8:30 am. Three boring hours staring at the wall. Breakfast at Comesum. Few choices. Bad Chola Bhatura. Fight between taxi guys on who gets to fleece us. We pick a winner and part with dear cash for a trip to the hotel room. Room with a view of the Taj. Ok. I am lying. But crane your neck enough and you could get a glimpse of the dome. Took a long needed bath. CS says he isn’t feeling well. Looks like fever. Pops a Crocin and dozes. I doze off too. Wake up at 2 pm. Take a walk to the Taj Mahal. Isn’t as awe-inspiring as I thought it would be. Talk about unreasonable expectations. Realised the view is better from afar. Took a walk in the streets of Agra. Reminded me of the houses and streets in the movie Delhi 6. Connected roofs, intertwined electric wires, rundown shops selling pretty much everything, stray dogs and open sewers. Every other shop is named Taj Mahal. Got into the Rooftop Taj Mahal Cafe. Supposedly finds a mention in Lonely Planet 2009. At least that’s what the hoarding says. Chilled beer in the afternoon and an obstructed view of the Taj Mahal. Plain, non-spicy North Indian thali. Excellent Dal and Paneer ki Sabzi. Stuffed up on the food. Auto to Agar fort. The seat of the Mughal empire. The place from where medieval India was ruled. Reminded me of the Red Fort in Delhi. Hajaar buildings inside the fort. Nice view of the Taj from the fort. Got bored of seeing buildings. Left for the hotel room. Called up home. Called up bro. Watched TV. Time for dinner. Excellent puri, aloo ki sabzi, dal and rice. North India has good food. Watched a chick flick on Star Movies. Slept.
11:30 pm, 19 Nov
