Out of Agra

On the last afternoon there, the driver came and I said I did actually want to buy a last present and I'd heard there was a big market. A friend of his also got in the front and drove. Straight away, I wondered what this was all about. The driver was being friendly enough though so I let it go. They then stopped at one of his friends' shops which sold marble ornaments. It wasn't what I wanted and left the shop straight away. My rucksack was still in the rickshaw and I was wondering if they were planning to steal it. I had to try not to let them think I was thinking this, however, told them I wanted to go to the market and they just took me to another friend's shop. The stuff was too expensive and I didn't have that much money on me so I just said forget it, take me to the bus station. I thought I'd just get something from the airport.

I got there at 5pm and asked at the first bus, which the man said was for Delhi. He said it was 150 Rs. So I put my bag on then he called me back and said it would be another 100 for the bag. I told him I've never had to pay extra for my bag so picked it up and took it off. I went to the bus behind it and got on that one without the extra charge. However, this bus had almost nobody on, and those people got off to wait outside. I figured this wasn't going to leave before the other one which was now filling up. It was getting to half past 5 and I needed to get to the airport. I had no choice but to get on the first bus again. I sat on the back seat and had to put my bag on the seat by the window. I expected the conductor to charge me for that as it obviously meant someone else couldn't sit there. When we left and he came round to get the money, he sat on the seat in front of me and people handed him their fares. He didn't turn round and I just gave him 150 but expected him to ask for the rest. He seemed to have forgotten about this so he handed me my ticket and went back to the front of the bus. I was glad to have got away with it without any hassle.

I had space to stretch out for practically all of the way, which was good as it was hot and sticky. I had no idea how far we were from Delhi but it was taking quite some time. I finally saw a road sign which said it was still over 90km away at about 9pm! We must have taken a long route as Agra is not much further away than that so I started worrying about if I was going to make it on time.

As we finally reached Delhi (after stopping for refreshments), I looked in my guide book as we were passing metro stations. Knowing the airport was in the south, it would be better to get off before getting to the bus station as that was in the north which would slow me down more and cost more in a taxi. I scrutinised the book and the stops and worked out where I was and where would be the closest to get out. As it was by a metro, I hoped there would be taxis there. Some other people got out so I did, too and found out there were only motor-rickshaws. I asked how much it would be to the airport and a guy said 500. I haggled him down to 450 and just had to take it as it was now 11pm. The one who drove me looked no older than 16 and I learned it was 35km to the airport. It was hard for me to understand just how enormous this city was. The lad drove off along the motorways and main roads and luckily, the rickshaw was fast. It felt a bit dangerous travelling through the night with cars and buses around us and I had to take my hand off the side rail when they got too close! But, he got me there in good time and I was so pleased with his service, I just gave him the full 500. He was very happy when I told him he had done a good job and shook my hand. I then crammed myself onto the bus to get the rest of the way.

I luckily remembered I had seen it was Terminal 3 on my email confirmation and checked in all right. Going through the x-ray section, they noticed I had my lighter in my bag. I told them the lighter didn't work and I only used it as a torch. I took it out and showed that was true. The woman had a look and handed it to her male colleague, who said I still couldn't take it. He handed it back to me. I held it and looked at him. Why have you given it back to me then? I asked. He said I couldn't take it. So what was I supposed to do with it? The woman looked at me. I looked at them both. I was lost for words and just put it on the table and said 'just take it, then' and walked away. Don't even try to understand...

I had plenty of time in the end, which was a relief and I found some tea to take back for my dad, which I thought he should like. There was a bar there showing the Indian cricket so I went and watched that while I had a beer. That alone cost 650 Rupees, more than I'd paid in total for the last hostel, meals and drinks!

The flight was at 2.20 and I got onto it with no final problems and it was a relief to be on the plane with no mishaps at all. I'd lost nothing, had nothing stolen, got no illnesses (only the chilblains) and slept for about 5 hours before landing in London at 6.45am. I would even arrive home in the morning which was the first time I'd done that after a flight.

In Agra

I got to the train station more than an hour before I was due to go and found where I thought the train was leaving from. It was fairly empty on the platform so I sat down and read a bit. Then, suddenly, three kids came and sat next to me (as has often happened now!) and of course demanded my attention. They were friendly so I chatted with them in broken English (them more than me...) and then we were joined by another man and a few kids selling stuff. Other people were sitting staring at me so I fet quite uncomfortable. I rested my arm on my bag in case one of them tried to take it but eventually they all went away without incident. I went over to the desk where people were getting their tickets checked and found out I was in the right place. Two other westerners came over to do the same thing and I got talking to them. We each found our carriages and I ended up in the same one as the woman, Sophie. It was in first class but it seemed to correspond with the number on my ticket. There was no-one else in the compartment and we got talking and passed the time easily. The inspector came and told me I should be further down but I managed to convince him to let me stay there to talk and said I would go to my place later to sleep. When I went, it wasn't what I expected. I was on the top bunk so no-one could sit on my bed anyway, there was air conditioning and it was fairly quiet. I lay down and managed to sleep for about 4 hours until I had to change at Delhi. I'd chained my bags up but I don't think there was any incident at all. Despite being nervous about this journey, it was more like the most luxurious travelling I've had here!
I felt in good spirits after I got off the train and waited for three hours in a civilised waiting room where there was nothing to be worried about. I got my next train at 7.15am after dozing a little while I waited, and went the rest of the way in a comfortable carriage with plenty of space and got into Agra at 10.30.
I got a rickshaw to the hostel I'd booked and the driver offered to take me on a tour of the city. I had arranged to meet Sophie at a café at midday so just asked him to take me there. When I got there, I saw she had left me a message saying she'd changed her plans and wouldn't be meeting me. That was annoying as I was now where I was meant to meet her so I had to think of what I was going to do that day. Then, as the café was getting full, two more customers joined me at my table. The man from from Barcelona and the woman from Colombia. We got talking, of course, and decided to go somewhere together. They were very nice people and we went to the fort wth my driver and walked around there chatting and getting on really well. It's good when things like this happen. It was, however, the hottest day I'd experienced, 40 degrees and really humid. So we walked slowly and sat down to talk more before I left for the Taj Mahal and they went elsewhere.
I got in through the gate at around 5pm and saw the famous sight. It was obviously beautiful to see. The main thing that makes it so nice is its size but inside, it is nothing spcial at all. Just a mausoleum with the two tombs in the middle and nothing else of any note to see.
I sat down outside to try to cool down and left just after 6. I had been invited to eat at the hostel by the family as it was their daughters birthday. Other guests also ate there so I got talking to them. We had a good evening in and I chatted till 1am with Alan, an Australian who has been travelling the world on his savings for the last three years. I happily slept well there and decided not to do anything on my last day. I was due to just go into Delhi and straight to the airport in the evening so talked more with Alan, who wasn't feeling very well and stayed around for some time. I will be picked up by the driver from yesterday at 4.30 to go to the bus station and then, it's off to fly back.
I felt it is time to leave India now. I have done my work and seen a few places but really, it's too hot to be here any longer after this much time in the country so am quite content to go. It's a shame I couldn't see more places though, like further south but it was quite fitting to finish by seeing the Taj Mahal.

In Amritsar

I left soon after breakfast on Saturday morning. The ceremony that they gave me was very emotional as I'd got to know a lot of people and shared some good times with them. I was presented with a book of letters from the students which was very nice and received a hug from everyone there.
I got a taxi to Dharamsala bus station and soon got my first bus out of there. I needed to change at Pathankot and made it to Amritsar, in the Punjab, at 4pm. Straight away, I remembered what it's like in the cities again. This was the first one I'd been to since my first week. I'd got used to small places which were manageable but this was back to chaos. I got a bike rickshaw into the centre and managed to find the hotels more easily than other places I'd been to. As it was now properly hot, that was good but there weren't any with free rooms and the other factor I took into consideration was somewhere away from the roads. The horns were constantly sounding again but I managed to find a room in Hotel God Gift. It was 800 Rs but had hot water, the bed was soft enough and it was quiet enough.
I checked in and went to the Golden Temple, which is the main attraction here.

This is in the main Sikh region of India and the temple was a pleasant, relaxing place to be. However, I found that there are some Indians who simply demand that you speak to them, as though you are obliged to. I had one guy on the bus talk to me as long as he could and here, I had people wanting photos taken with me and them wanting to talk. When I sat down, one lad sat next to me and decided that I was his for the rest of the afternoon. He was nice enough but became quite annoying! After spending around 2 hours with him, I told him I was hungry, gave him a fake email address and wished him luck!
I went into the free kitchen which Sikhs have at their temples. You sit in a large food hall, on the ground like when I went to the wedding, and eat what is dished out. It's a nice idea and very communal (even though Indians don't mind about pushing their way past you) and I left my donation.
I went back to the hotel after that to try to finally get a good night's sleep, which I did, happily enough.
I had a shower as I was very sticky from the dirt and the heat and went to the Jallianwala Bagh memorial park. This is where the British gunned down and killed over 1600 peacefully protesting Indians in 1919. Here in Amritsar, there are very few foreign tourists and we are treated like tourist attractions. I got quite annoyed of people demanding my attention so had to try to ignore them completely. Some of them have no shame about approaching you and asking you everything they can think of but it was like being famous just because I am a westerner.
That afternoon, I went to the border ceremony. This is at the border with Pakistan and both sides put on a stunning ritual which is said to be them both showing how strong they are, but you can see it is all done as a performance. It has been likened to Monty Python's ministry of silly walks, except that it is sillier than that. Guards march down the path at high speed, do turns and kick their feet higher than their heads. The Indians congregate in the grandstand to the east, the Pakistanis to the west and they all chant and cheer. You would hardly believe these countries are sworn enemies, it all looks so much fun. It lasted for half an hour and I went back in the car with 9 other people to the city.

I had a quick wash before eating as I went back to the temple kitchen and I was horribly dirty from being crushed between loads of people on the way to the ceremony. By the way, that ceremony looks like it should happen once a year, so big and grand it is, but it actually happens every day.
I ate with a few hundred people again, got food one my t-shirt from people pushing into me with their trays on the way out and went back to my next hotel, which was cheaper and they had a room on this day. It was noisier but I managed to sleep enough.
I went into the Golden Temple the next morning after queuing for 45 minutes. It is worth it as with the 750kg of gold it is made from, it is pretty special to see. I couldn't take photos inside though.
After that, I ate in a cafe, which was a rare find and found an internet cafe to spend a couple of hours in while i waited for my train at 4.15pm. The overnight one. I've bought chains to lock my bags with and this is going to be the real test of not having anything stolen. Once this is out of the way, and hopefully without incident, I will be able to relax.
That reminds me - after I came out of the temple last night, on the way back to collect my shoes, I realised I'd lost my number tag. I went back to where I'd sat down but couldn't find it. I hoped I could get back before someone else stole my trainers and to my relief, I did and I found them again. If I didn't, I would have had to walk through the streets barefoot to the hotel. But, that's what a lot of the locals do anyway. Maybe not to my hotel, however.