We departed Udaipur on Saturday evening via a train bound for Jaipur. After arriving at Jaipur at 6am on Sunday, we weren't sure how we wanted to spend the day before our 5pm flight. I had already been to Jaipur and didn't have a huge interest in revisiting some of the major sites. Some were cool, but some were a let down last time. I don't know where it came from, but Woodson came up with a hare-brained scheme to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, some 250km away. I saw the Taj in December and we tried two weeks ago on our way back from Varanasi (see "One Fine Day" blog entry).
I figured it might be a reasonable idea. We talked to a few taxi drivers and they said it would be impossible to make it to Agra and back, given our flight time. We were told that it was four hours each way and that we would miss our flight. (You have to remember, this is India. The 250km, which is 155 miles, isn't on an interstate that you can rock 65mph on.) Upon hearing that, we decided to give up and go to a hotel to drop off our bags for the day. Woodson - destined to see the Taj Mahal while in India, but now twice thwarted - looked like a heartbroken puppy who lost his way. Perhaps it wasn't to be. As we got into a rickshaw, it being 7am, a wily and determined taxi driver came up to us and said, "I can do it. Let's go now!" I've never seen a fire lit under an Indian's ass like that. We were off.
The driver broke all known land-speed records (and probably a few laws of thermodynamics) in getting us to Agra. At long last, the ever-determined Memphian got to see his prize, the Taj Mahal. I was glad to visit the Taj Mahal again, but, in all honesty, there are a lot more interesting things to see and do in India. However, I don't think a trip around the world to India is complete without seeing this magnificent work of art.
Sweet, Sweet Victory
Despite the warnings from the taxi drivers in the morning, we made it to Agra, saw the Taj and made it back in time for our flight - with a few minutes to spare. We showed them.
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