Day 3 (December 31): A Fabulous Journey

Apparently we were not the only ones with the idea of spending New Year’s Eve in Agra. And apparently if we wanted a train from Delhi to Agra, we should have booked it a lot earlier. So. We ended up taking a cab. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. The roads were packed, and there was copious horn-honking and careening around various other cars, trucks, busses, auto-rickshaws, and motorcycles. Many of those were full of a lot more people than one would have seen in the States. Along the road we saw poverty like you don’t really see in the US. I tried to get some pictures, but we were going too fast for good clean shots. We saw tons of animals, many eating garbage, and people living in a variety of home-made shelters by the side of the road and on the edges of the fields. Parts were just beautiful, and parts were just heart-breaking, and reminded me how fortunate I am.

Eventually we made it to our hotel (note to self: print a map to your hotel so your cab driver can find it and/or double-check the phone number before you have no access to the internet). It was gated, and they had a mirror on a pole to check under the car (for bombs, I assume?). They also checked the engine before letting us in. We were greeted, and people unloaded the car for us. They took our luggage to be x-rayed, while we tipped our driver a *lot* because he presumably had to drive all the way back to Delhi on New Year’s Eve. Once we walked through the metal detector, it was like we entered a different world! Incense was waved around our heads, and a bindi was painted on our foreheads. The lobby was gorgeous! We were asked to sit while they checked us in, and they brought us lemonade. Mmmmmm.  We asked if a Taj-facing room was available, but the hotel was full, so no joy. When we got to our room, we hardly cared about the view, because the room was so amazing. Marble screen (small), fancy carpets and lamps and bedding, a chaise lounge – very classy. Plus, it was dark, so we couldn’t enjoy a view anyway.

We rested a bit, and then went down to the “Gala New Year’s Eve Party.” The display of food was beautiful and varied (Indian, Continental, and Chinese). The entertainment was… well… entertaining. There was a band, but it seemed more like karaoke, with the playlist including songs like Hotel California, Hello (by Lionel Ritchie), Achy Breaky Heart, and others I’ve now forgotten. Julia wrote down the playlist though – maybe I can get her to post it later. Some dancers also performed – very nice. The party was not compelling enough, though, so we went to bed at 10:30, figuring we could welcome in the new year in the morning. J