Experience: New Year's Eve in Bangkok

Since the early days of my trip planning, when it became clear that Southeast Asia was going to be my destination of choice, I commented with my friends how awesome might it be to spend New Year’s Eve in Bangkok – considered by far greater minds than mine to be the craziest spot in the world. Little did I know that such a vague desire would become a very real experience very soon.

By the end of December my friends and I were chilling in Kolkata again, recovering ourselves from the great but tiresome trip north to Darjeeling and Gangtok. During the previous weeks I had tried to coax some of them into joining me to a Bangkok sortie during New Year’s Eve, and even got my Vietnamese-Australian friend Dûc to consider it, but in the end there was no one to go with me. Not really willing to go there alone, I had resigned myself to spend the date in Kolkata. But then, Fate had other plans.

On December 29^th I was convinced by strange forces in the cosmos to face Kolkata’s hellish transportation procedures to accompany my girlie friends Juanita (from Mexico), Kimlee (Australia), Fernanda and Micaela (both from Brazil) on a shopping trip to New Market, the city’s biggest open bazaar. After some oh-so-very-fun-please-God-kill-me-now hours of negotiating and fending off touts, we decided to take a late-afternoon walk in Park Street. When passing in front of the place’s McDonald’s, Fernanda madly insisted that we go in for her to grab something to it, since she hadn’t have a good lunch. We conceded the point after a while, and entered the place.

Having lunch at New Market's street food stalls

Meanwhile, in a different part of the city, our German friend Julia decided to finally pay a visit to the Victoria Memorial, Kolkata’s main landmark. While at it, she was struggling to take auto-photos (we’ve all been there), when two guys approached her to help. To her surprise, they were also German, and so they hanged together for the rest of the afternoon. By the end of the day, they also moved to Park Street, and since Julia could hardly touch any Indian food, they found their way to a McDonald’s to eat something. In a very crowded restaurant, they managed to choose the same floor and find a table right next… to us.

Thus I was introduced to Julian and Tobias. Juli and Tobi are two very smart and laid-back guys that were just ending their Indian loop of more than one month and going to Thailand the next day. I was excited to find people that were going to do exactly what I previously had in mind, and after a while it became clear that I could get along well with them. They half-jokingly invited me to join them and I told them I’d check prices and availability and try to make it, but even I didn’t believe it would be possible in such a short notice. From that point, one thing led to another, and December 31^st found me in a plane heading to Bangkok!

Tobi, Juli and I

Half-disbelieving that I was actually doing that, I arrived in Bangkok by late afternoon and thanks to city great public transport system and orderliness, I quickly found my way to Tobi and Juli’s hostel. We met there, and by 10 pm we joined the other foreigners there into Bangkok’s crazy nightlife.

The hostel – by the way one of the best I’ve ever stayed at – was actually set up and run by Dave, a 60-year old American man who loved Bangkok and was living there for the last 12 years. He was a very nice and friendly guy, and offered to be our guide for the parties. “Believe me, if there was any better way to spend New Year’s Eve, I’d know it”. We gladly joined him.

Dave, our host and guide to Bangkok's nightlife

Well, some of you might be expecting a very thorough and detailed account of New Year’s Eve there, but the truth is that some stories are better left untold, and frankly, I don’t recall everything that happened there all that clearly, so… I will let the pictures speak for themselves. For further reference , you may watch The Hangover 2. =D

The gang - we even had our own Japanese guy

Nana's `hood

By sunrise, we proclaimed total success: we were alive and in one piece, with all fingers and teeth, no tattoos, and no ladyboys had their way with us. I even had my camera with me, despite its travelling from hand to hand like crazy in one of the nightclubs.

Victorious, we slept the sleep of the just. For a long time.

Destino: Agra e o Taj Mahal

Depois de nossa curta passagem pela mística Varanasi, e depois de dizer adeus a alguns de nossos amigos que voltaram diretamente para Kolkata, nosso grupo partiu em direção ao único destino que está presente em toda viagem para a Índia: a cidade de Agra, no estado de Uttar Pradesh, mais conhecida por abirgar um das mais famosas criações humana de todos os tempos: o Taj Mahal. De fato, a fama do monumento é tão grande que poucas pessoas sabem que ele está localizado em Agra antes de virem à Índia, e muito menos que a cidade tem mais a oferecer do que o Taj - o que faz muitas pessoas chegarem lá, tirarem algumas fotos e correrem para Jaipur (para aqueles na rota do Triângulo Dourado) ou de volta à Delhi.

Agra foi fundada em 1501 para ser a capital do do império do Sultão Sikander Lodi. No entanto, a cidade foi conquistada pelo império Mughal em 1526. Ser uma cidade fundamental para o poder do império fez com que Agra florescesse, especialmente durante os reinos dos imperadores Akbar e Shah Jahan. Foi neste período que os principais marcos da cidade, incluindo o Taj, foram construídos.

Chegamos em Agra ao amanhecer, e fomos surpreendidos na própria estação de trem por uma vista impressionante  a estação fica colada na imensa muralha de arenito vermelho do Forte Agra. Passamos pela sempre presente chateação de negociar um preço mais-ou-menos justo com os motoristas de rickshaw, e fomos para nosso hotel, que se chamava Saniya Palace e ficava perto do Portão Sul do complexo do Taj Mahal. Ficamos muito impressionados com a incrível vista para o Taj do restaurante no terraço do hotel, que nos permitiu nosso primeiro olhar para ele.

A vista do terraço

Depois de descansar um pouco, e já que tinham nos dito que a visita ao Taj era muito melhor pela manhã (um bom conselho, aliás), investimos nossa tarde em uma visita ao Forte Agra. O forte foi construído para uso militar pelo imperador Akbar em 1565, mas Shah Jahan o transformou  em um palácio completo com várias adições ao projeto original. Ironicamente, depois de ter sido deposto por seu filho, o forte tornou-se sua prisão pelos últimos oito anos de sua vida, uma prisão de luxo de onde ele podia admirar sua criação, o Taj Mahal, à distância.

O forte é uma construção massiva e impressionante, com altas muralhas e inúmeros pátios, alguns dos quais abrigando jardins, espaço para exercícios militares, salões para audiênciaa públicas ou apenas passeios ricamente decorados.

As modificações de Shah Jahan são facilmente reconhecíveis por serem todas construídas em mármore branco, seu material preferido, em oposição ao arenito vermelho das muralhas e estruturas principais.

MADNESS? This... is... SPARTAAAAA

Parte do sistema de coleta e drenagem de água da chuva

Depois de visitar o forte, fomos dar uma olhada no chamado "Baby Taj". Este pequeno mas bonito mausoléu abriga os restos mortes do avô da princesa Mumtaz Mahal (para quem o Taj foi construído), e dizem que serviu de inspiração para a arquitetura geral do Taj.

Uma vez que tínhamos decidido visitar o Taj apenas pela manhã, nosso motorista nos levou para um pequeno parque localizado do outro lado do rio que corre atrás do Taj Mahal, onde pudemos apreciar uma bonita vista do monumento, juntamente com um belo pôr-do-sol.

Acordamos às 4h00 da manhã e começamos a caminhada gelada entre nosso hotel e o Portão Sul do Taj. Como acontece tão frequentemente na Índia, havia um sistema de segurança lento, burocrático e altamente ineficiente funcionando no local. Tivemos que comprar o caro ingresso em um guichê que ficava relativamente distante da entrada (e claro que não havia placas informando nada aos recém-chegados), e depois esperar longos minutos em uma fila mais longa ainda, até que eles começaram a chamar as pessoas, revistar roupas e bolsas, e liberar o acesso. O problema é: TODO MUNDO sabe que turistas que se dispõem a estar às quatro da matina no portão, enquanto ainda está escuro, estão atrás de uma vista/foto do Taj ao amanhecer, mas os guardas não mexem um dedo para começar os procedimentos de segurança até que esteja totalmente claro. O resultado óbvio dessa equação é que quem está na frente da fila literalmente CORRE que nem louco para conseguir uma boa foto antes que a multidão tome conta do local.

Dito isto, o Taj Mahal é verdadeiramente uma experiência inesquecível. Muita bobagem é dita por mochileiros presunçosos sobre como o lugar é "batido" ou "turistinha", mas quem vai lá raramente saira desapontado.

O Taj foi construído pelo imperador Shah Jahan como um mausoléu em homenagem à sua amada terceira esposa, a princesa Mumtaz Mahal, que morreu durante o parto de um de seus filhos. Os mais renomados arquitetos persas e árabes, assim como artesãos de todo o mundo conhecido foram chamados para produzir esta maravilha, feita quase inteiramente de mármore branco. Ao amanhecer, os raios do sol fazem como que o mármore adquira tons rosas e avermelhados, aumentando ainda mais sua beleza.

Uma pessoa poderia passar todo o dia andando pelos jardins super bem-cuidados, e ainda se impressionar com a calma beleza do lugar. Poderia também passar semanas indo lá todos os dias, dando a volta no Taj e entrando em suas câmaras, e ainda se maravilhar com as paredes esculpidas em mármore, a simetria da arquitetura, a beleza da caligrafia árabe das passagens do Corão gravadas ali, e com tudo o mais. Todo e qualquer pequeno espaço, ainda que aparentemente insignificante, é repleto de beleza, e dá para se notar em cada detalhes como todo o complexo foi cuidadosamente planejado e construído. É realmente um dos maiores, senão o maior, feitos do engenho humano, e é impossível não ficar embasbacado. Aquele imperador REALMENTE amava sua esposa.

Nossa pequena estadia em Agra estava chegando ao fim, e tivemos de correr para o hotel para fazer as malas e ir para a estação pegar nosso trem para Jaipur. Não foi sem uma ponta de tristeza que dissemos adeus ao belo Taj, uma magnífica joia em meio a uma terra de deserto impiedoso. Também nos despedimos de alguns membros do nosso grupo que estavam voltando para Kolkata. Pelo menos teremos esta foto, e todas as memórias incr;iveis de Agra, para guardar com carinho pelos anos vindouros.

Próxima parada: Rajastão!

Destination: Agra and the Taj Mahal

After our short stay in mystical Varanasi and saying goodbye to some of our friends who went straight back to Kolkata, our group headed to the one spot that is present in each and every Indian trip, the city of Agra, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, home to one of the most celebrated man-made creations of all time: the Taj Mahal. In fact, the mystique over the building is so intense that few people even know it is located in Agra before coming to India, and that this city has actually more to offer than just the Taj – leading many people to stop by, take a few pictures of the marble wonder and go straight to Jaipur (for those on the Golden Triangle route) or back to Delhi.

Agra was first established in 1501 as a capital city for Sultan Sikander Lodi. However, the city was conquered by the Mughal Empire in 1526. Being a central city to Mughal power made Agra flourish, especially during the reigns of celebrated Mughal emperor Akbar and Shah Jahan. It was during this period that the main landmarks of the city, including the Taj, were built.

We arrived in Agra by sunrise, and were greeted right there on the station by an unexpected impressive view: Agra’s railway station is set at the shadows of the great red sandstone walls of the Agra Fort. We went through the all-too-constant hassle of negotiating a more-or-less-fair price with the rickshaw drivers, and found our way to our hotel, which was called Saniya Palace and was located near the South Gate of the Taj Mahal complex. We were very impressed by the incredibly good view of the Taj provided by the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, which gave us our first peek at the thing.

The view from our rooftop

After freshening up a little, and since we had been told that visiting the Taj Mahal by the early morning would be much better (good advice, for that matter), we invested our afternoon in a ride to the Agra Fort. The Fort was built for military use by Emperor Akbar in 1565, but Shah Jahan transformed it into a full-fledged palace with a lot of additions. Ironically, after his son overthrew him, the fort became his prison for the last eight years of his life, a gilded cage from where he could admire his creation, the Taj.

The fort is a very impressive building of high walls and lots of courtyards, some of them housing gardens, training grounds, public audience halls, or just beautifully decorated walkabouts.

Shah Jahal’s additions to the original project are easily recognizable as they are all built with white marble, as opposite to the red stone of the walls and main structures.

MADNESS? This... is... SPARTAAAAA

A part of the water collection and drainage system

After visiting the fort, we went to take a look at the so-called “Baby Taj”. This small but beautifully decorated mausoleum actually houses the remains of Princess Mumtaz Mahal’s grandfather, and is said to have inspired the general architecture of the actual Taj.

Since we had decided to pay the Taj Mahal a visit only on the next day’s morning, our driver took us to a small park located across the river that goes behind the Taj Mahal, where we were able to appreciate good views of it and a beautiful sunset.

We woke up at 4:00am and started the chilly walk from our hotel to the Taj’s South Gate.  As it happens so often in India, there was a slow, bureaucratic and highly inefficient security check system in place. We had to buy the very expensive ticket in booth that was relatively far away from the entrance (of coursew there were no signs or anybody explaining that to newcomers), and then wait long minutes in an even longer line until they started taking people in, checking their handbags and pockets, and allowing them into the complex. The catch is: EVERYBODY knows that tourists that come to the gate while it’s still dark (and there are hundreds of them every single day) are trying for a sunrise view of the Taj, but guards will not make a move to start the security check until it’s fully clear in the morning. The obvious result is that the front-liners literally RUN like crazy to get a picture of the thing BEFORE the swarm of people envelops everything.

That said, the Taj Mahal is really, truly, once-in-a-lifetime unforgettable experience. Much is said by contempt-filled backpackers about how “touristy” and “mainstream” the place is, but whoever goes there rarely, if ever, leaves disappointed.

The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahal as a mausoleum in honor of his beloved third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died at childbirth. The finest architects from Persia and Arabia, as well as the greatest stoneworkers and artisans of the known world were called to produce this wonder, made almost entirely of white marble. By early morning, the sunlight turns the impeccable white marble pink-reddish, further adding to its beauty.

One could spend all day walking through the remarkably well-tended gardens and still be impressed at the quiet beauty of the place. One could spend weeks going there everyday, circling the Taj and going in and  out of its chambers, and still be amazed at the wonderful marble inlays, the symmetry of the architecture, the beautiful Arabic calligraphy of the Quran’s chapters inscribed there, and everything else. Every single little and apparently insignificant space is filled with beauty of some form, and you can see how well-planned and carefully built the whole complex was. It is indeed one of the great, if not the greatest, feats of human endeavor, and it’s impossible not to be awe-struck. That guy must REALLY have loved his wife.

Our short stay in Agra was coming to an end, and we had to rush back to the hotel to pack our things and run to the station to catch our train to Jaipur. It was not without regret that we said our goodbyes to the Taj, a beautiful jewel in the middle of an otherwise scorching, unforgiving land. It was also parting time to some members of our group that were heading back to Kolkata. At least we’ll have this picture, and all the incredible memories of Agra, to cherish in the years to come.

Next stop: Rajasthan!