Well played, old man

I guess I could compare my Taj Mahal experience with my Machu Pichu experience – no matter how many pictures you see in advance, the real deal is truly magical. Wow. The only thing missing was robO (countdown 1 day)!
I got up early to see the Taj at sunrise. Highly recommended as for about the first half hour the fountains aren’t on so I could get some pretty good reflection pictures. Of course I also got a quintessential Princess Di pic on the bench!
Next I walked to Agra Fort, which was also very photogenic. On the walk there I also had the chance to see some burning ghats (maybe ‘chance’ isn’t quite the right word).
Finally I made my way to the ‘Baby Taj’, smaller but much more intricately decorated than the Taj.

I consider myself to be quite a determined and ‘directive’ traveller in that I bargain pretty hard and think I’m pretty good at holding my own against crafty touts (if you want proof, ask robO to tell you the story of when I almost jumped out of a cab in Suriname over $5). But these Agra guys are ‘careers’. I have to give them credit.
This afternoon I was headed toward my hotel and this old man on a cycle rickshaw comes along and says he’ll take me there for 5 rupees (10 cents). Knowing this to be a little too good to be true, I questioned him, to which he gave me the puppy dog eyes and said “any trip is worth it for me”. I decided to do it, with the intention of paying him what I thought it would be worth (50 rupees or $1). On the way he tells me his plan: we stop at 3 shops along the way. At each one he receives a commission of 20 rupees just for bringing in a whitey (no matter if I buy or not). A proposed win-win I suppose. I had to admire his ingenuity and at least he told me what he was up to, so I shook on the deal! I couldn’t even be mad when he dropped me off at a spot about a kilometre short of my intended location. Well played, old man!

I could provide more examples of their schemes, but no need – nothing was lost for me, and they’re eeking out their living however they can.
I spent the late afternoon at a rooftop restaurant enjoying the sunset view of the Taj.

Tomorrow I head back to Delhi to meet robO Monday morning!
Here’s the photo frenzy…