DAY 1 ......143 Mile ride to the Taj Mahal

I got up early with a route planned on my map and was ready to leave at 5:30am.  I was about to set out when the taxi driver from the hostel, who was doing a day trip to Agra, advised me against my route and suggested I followed him and take  the express Delhi-Agra highway, which he assured me I could use. Stupidly I agreed and found myself immediately cycling full pelt trying to keep up with a taxi driver that thought my bicycle had an engine. He was at least easy to spot as he occupied the middle lane with left indicator on at 25mph with traffic snarled up behind him.

He took me as far as he could and explained I must go straight and would reach the highway.  On arriving at the toll gate the policeman was quick to tell me I couldn’t take my bicycle on the highway! I decided to take the small road which ran parallel to the highway. I went past everything from complete poverty (seeing a man sitting in his hut with no legs) to the Indian grand Prix racing circuit before my side road turned into a sand track, which later disappeared into a tunnel and  into a field. I decided it was best to climb the motorway embankment and over the barb wire fence to get myself on the highway.  I knocked out approximately half the journey on this road before deciding to take a route on smaller more interesting roads.

Curiosity into a white man on a bicycle with yellow hair intensified greatly on the smaller roads and villages....it was not possible to stop without being mobbed by locals who would form a tight circle around me within seconds (definitely no exaggeration!!!).  This was often as many as 50 people within a minute. Most of it super friendly, but with the occasional more dodgy moment where the police intervened.  I would also constantly find myself cycling surrounded by curious locals on their motorbikes or bicycles. Some would speak a small amount of English and have little conversation, some cycle right by my side for ages starring at me and some keep speaking Hindi at me! The only one I objected too was the guy who stopped to watch me take a piss at the road side one foot away from me! Night fell as I got closer to Agra and the roads got a bit dodgier.  Some  of the kids were riding their motorbikes completely hammered, one  kept weaving around me and slamming his brakes on....repeatedly saying the words “very beautiful”...not quite sure what he was looking for but pretty sure I wasn’t interested!! I finally arrived to Agra at around 9pm after 143 miles, definitely an interesting first day on the road!!

A warm welcome to India

Agra itself is mainly known for the Taj Mahal...which is insanely beautiful in the flesh and well worth the 1000 Rupees tourist price (30 for locals). After visiting the Taj I was invited to go to an Indian wedding a long with some others who were staying at the hostel. He borrowed me a suit jacket which actually fitted quite well and crammed as many western looking people as possible from the hostel into his car and drove there at full speed.

 Westerns are very welcome at Indian weddings. We stopped just before the wedding venue and the driver chucked the empty bottles of spirits out of the window...a minute later the police pulled up and parked directly in front of us and made the driver get out the car. After a half hour argument (apparently based on who each  person knew and their seniority) a 1200 Rupee fine was issued. Surprisingly this was issued to due to making excessive noise outside of a religious building and the fact the driver was drinking spirits whilst driving and had 7 people in his car was given no consideration! The wedding itself was incredible. It was a 5 day affair which finished at 4am on the last day.

seconds after stopping to buy some food!!