India Tourism

Fighting Anxiety at Cochin International Airport

18 May 2023travelingpersecond

A concern came with the alertness of the Air Asia AK 39 cabin crew who were busy checking all passengers as a sign that the plane would soon be landed on the Cochin International Airport runway.

Air Asia’s six wheels even hit the ground before one o’clock in the morning, while my head was still full of questions.

“Will there be a passenger waiting room at the airport after the immigration counter?”

“If there is no such facility, is it true that I have to wait outside the airport building until the sun rises in Kerala?”

“Or do I have to carry out Plan B where I will sleep while sitting in a restaurant outside the airport terminal building?”….Yes, that was my final plan if there wasn’t a waiting room at the airport after completing immigration matters.

Never mind, I’ve prepared myself for all possibilities….

The beautiful Indian flight attendant smiled while signaling that it was safe for passengers to leave the cabin. I stepped along the aisle of the cabin confidently.

Took a Look at the Arrival Hall

Walking through the non-glass aerobridge made me unable to enjoy the situation around the apron. Because usually I would stand on the side of the aerobridge and take some pictures of the unloading activity around the plane. But I was still lucky because I was directed through the arrival hall corridor with glass walls, I thought the windows were wide enough and allowed me to enjoy the airport view facing the runway.

Cochin International Airport Terminal 3 starting corridor.

The duty-Free area before the immigration counter.

Came on, took a peek at the toilet….It was clean…

I stared at the eight-filled arrival card that the flight attendant gave me a moment before landing while continuing to rush along the floor without a carpet until I arrived at the immigration counter.

“Stupid….”, I cursed myself that apparently had lost the only pen to fill out the arrival card. At the tables where foreign passengers filled out the sheets, there wasn’t even a pen that could be used.

As a result, I had to go around borrowing pens from passengers who had finished filling out the arrival cards. Without hesitation, several passengers seemed to ignore me and chose to refuse on the grounds of being in a hurry.

But an unexpected incident came….The male passenger who sat next to me on the whole flight came over….

“For you….Just keep it”, with an Indian accent, he smiled.

“Thank you, Sir…”, I said

“Happy traveling….”, he smiled and walked away leaving me to immediately join the group of worshipers from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple who seemed to be pushing towards the immigration desk.

Table?

Yups, this is the most unique immigration counter I’ve ever encountered.

At Cochin International Airport, the immigration counter is not in the form of standing counters, but a counter that is set very similar to an interview table. Every foreigner will be seated in front of the immigration officer and interrogated with several questions. It’s tense, but for me, the excitement side stands out more.

I took out my passport, eVisa, and Hotel Booking Confirmation while waiting for a European woman to be interrogated at the immigration desk. After that, I was asked to sit down and the officers began to interrogate me.

Two attendants stood by to question me at the counter, one sitting facing the laptop and one standing.

As soon as I handed in the documents, an officer sitting in front of a laptop immediately started looking for information about me in their immigration database.

Immigration officer: “Mr. Donny Suryanto? If yes, you’ve visited India once, haven’t you?”

Me: “Yes, Sir. New Delhi and Agra. Beautiful cities in your country”.

Immigration Officer: “How long will you visit Kochi?”

Me: “Two days”.

Immigration officer: “Oh, just two days. Why?”

Me: “This is just a transit trip to get a cheap flight to Dubai, Sir. Cause I’m a backpacker, Sir”

Immigration officer: “Clever…No matter for a very short vacation. Happy traveling, Mr. Donny”

Me: “Thank you, Sir”.

I very quickly and easily went through the interrogation stages at the Cochin International Airport immigration counter. Now I hurry and swing through customs and easily arrived at the exit door.

I was so happy when in front there was a small row of seats.

“Yeaaa….I’ll wait for the morning in that row of chairs”, my worries have vanished.

This was the waiting chair.

It was on my right-hand side that was where I exchange Dollars.

But before actually sitting down, I started hunting for Rupees for purposes while exploring Kochi. I approached the foreign currency exchange counter owned by Thomas Cook Change Currency.

Me: “How much is the minimum Dollar which can be exchanged here, Sir?”

Counter clerk: “100 Dollars, Sir”

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, I just need to change a few dollars into Rupees”

Counter clerk: “No problem, Sir”

I left the counter to go to another counter that can serve exchanges under 100 US Dollars. Finally I was able to exchange 5 US Dollars and 5 Malaysian Ringgits to get 320 Rupees at the Weizmann Forex Money Exchange. That much rupees would even be left over for my two day adventure in Kochi. Very cheap right?…..

Meanwhile, for communication access, I decided to use an Airtel 4G SIM card. Because I bought it after exchanging US Dollars, I bought the SIM card with a 3GB quota using a 5 US Dollar bill.

“It takes four hours to activate your card”, said the seller to me as soon as I left the telecommunications counter.

Although in the end, I would never be able to activate the SIM card that I bought during my adventure exploring Kochi….Damn.

Several Rupees were in hand and communication access was in hand, now I could sit in a row of empty seats at the last end of the arrival hall. India was known for its cold air in January, so I feel grateful to be able to wait for the morning to come inside the airport.

It was still half past three in the morning when I sat on one of the benches…..

For more than five hours of waiting time, I could only witness the discipline of a soldier guarding the entrance gate to the area inside the airport. The soldier was never tired of combining sitting and standing movements for hours to check the traffic of airport staff, airline ground staff, and other officers when going in and out of the area inside the airport building.

Or witness the typical ritual when some guests pickers place their palms on the feet of the person being picked up as a form of respect. The rest I could never completely close my eyes in that waiting chair.

And so on, until exactly eight in the morning, I decided to leave the waiting room to go to the Royal Wings Hotel which was located 1.3 kilometers in the west of airport.

As usual, before I left the airport area, I took the time to explore all sides outside the airport building. Here were some spots in Cochin International Airport that I could show to you.

Cloak Room to the west of the Terminal 3 exit door.

If there were no waiting chairs in the airport building, I planned to wait at the Chili Restaurant which was open 24 hours.

The elegance of Cochin International Airport located in the Aerotropolis Nedumbassery.

Solar panels ground which was the main source of energy for Cochin International Airport.

Did you want to know the Departure Hall of Cochin International Airport?…I would show you later….Be patient.

Came on, explore!….

What’s in Kochi?….

Failed and Succeeded: The Story of India’s eVisa Hunt

11 May 2023travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

I have experienced that applying for an eVisa was easier and the chances of being accepted were greater than applying for a Regular Visa. It was enough to attach the required documents and pay at the online payment gate, the e-Visa would be issued according to the planned time of arrival in the country.

At least I had made eVisa Taiwan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman. Everything went smoothly and the eVisa was easy for me to get.

Well, this time I will share a little story about how I made India’s e-Visa three times.

India’s eVisa is the second eVisa that I’ve ever pursued after the first eVisa that I’ve taken care of, i.e. eVisa Taiwan.

At that time….End of 2017….

The mental challenge that was so heavy after getting a Jet Airways flight ticket towards the capital of India, made my quest for an Indian e-Visa less enthusiastic. Getting an Indian eVisa was indeed very easy. I only needed to complete the data on the e-form and attached documents in the form of a photo of myself and a scan of the passport biodata sheet requested by the official India eVisa website. Then I only needed to wait some time for the eVisa to be issued. But the lack of enthusiasm in dealing with the e-Visa lied in the feeling of anxiety about visiting that Gandhi’s Country.

The eVisa validity period to entering India was short, which was around four months, making me had to apply for this eVisa close to the departure date.

I myself applied for this eVisa twenty days before departure and the eVisa was approved the day after submission after paying 50 US dollars at the payment gate. The application address was as follows: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/

This was my first story of hunting for an Indian eVisa.

The next day the eVisa application had GRANTED status.

Check it out!…. Any entry point in India that could use this eVisa.

Tracking eVisa status on the application page.

Second Experience

Whereas my next experience in applying for an Indian eVisa occurred on November 8, 2018.

At that time, India’s eVisa was made free by the Indian government on June 18, 2018. The idea itself was conveyed by Nerendra Modi during a meeting of the Indian Diaspora in Jakarta.

Where was my destination at that time?….

Mumbai….Yups, I planned to get out of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport heading to the city center during a transit of more than 13 hours. At that time Jet Airways would take me from Dhaka to Colombo and transit in Mumbai.

Maybe due to a change in policy from a paid eVisa to a free eVisa, there had been a change of address on the India eVisa page. I submitted the eVisa application myself, exactly two months before departure.

Because the Web URL that I entered was wrong, the decision to accept or not my eVisa application never reached my email. The URL I went to at that time was https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/

Do I then plan to reapply?

No….Because at the same time, there was a change in Jet Airways flight from Dhaka to Mumbai. The change in flight schedule didn’t allow me to get out of the airport, let alone head to the city center. Because the change in flight schedule apart from shortening the transit time also made 80% of my transit time fall at night. Hence, it would be impossible for me to explore Mumbai at night….Too risky.

In the end, I decided, I wouldn’t continue the continuation of this eVisa application because basically, I didn’t need it anymore. But my curiosity was prolonged, finally, I tried to find the correct Indian e-Visa application page address. And I found it, here is the URL in question: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/eVisa/

Even though this page was wrong, the appearance of the e-form turned out to be exactly the same as the e-form on the correct page.

The page for checking the status of eVisa applications was also the same.

Third Experience

The third submission for the India eVisa was when I intended to explore the Middle East Region and decided to take entry to Dubai from Kochi.

The decision to jumping off to the Middle East from Kochi was of course closely related to the budget conditions I had. This condition was strengthened by the availability of low-cost Srilankan Airlines flights from Kochi to Dubai with temporary transit in Colombo. Of course, I chose to jump from Kochi also based on a strong desire to return to nostalgia with the rich culture of India.

The next opportunity occurred at the end of 2019. I applied for India eVisa to explore Kochi.

I processed this application by visiting the eVisa India page twice.

On December 4, I filled out the e-form partially due to busy work. Partially filling out the e-form during the day, I had to complete it in the afternoon until finally at four o’clock in the afternoon I was able to submit the e-Visa application.

This was the advantage of applying for an India eVisa where we could fill out the e-form several times (not fill in once). Usually, at the opportunity to fill out the first e-form, we would be given an Application ID No. which was entry access to our submission data if we wanted to edit or complete data.

On the third occasion of making this India eVisa, I submitted my eVisa application on December 4, 2019, and eVisa got GRANTED status on December 8, 2019.

Email sending that filling in the partial filling of my eVisa application was stored.

Notice that my e-Visa submission e-form was successful and waiting to be processed.

So, it was easy to make an Indian eVisa….

Come on, the pandemic was over, let’s go to India.

Second Chance to India: Air Asia AK 39 from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Kochi (COK)

3 May 202311 May 2023travelingpersecond

<—-Previous Story

Air Asia flight route AK 39 (source: flightaware).

Going to India always has a thrill in a side of my heart. The provocation of irresponsible information sometimes succeeds in making the guts tremble.

Gusts of news ranging from security factors, culinary hygiene, scam variations, and other gripping things began to cloud my mind that afternoon.

Therefore, before leaving for India, for five days I warmed my guts in Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur, hoping that by leaving them I would be able to carry courage. But that afternoon it seemed as if I was still building up the courage from zero again.

In the continuation of my adventure, India would be the prelude to my main destination, i.e. the Middle East. Why was that?…. The only reason was that India was always giving many chances to get cheap tickets to the main tourist city in the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. Dubai. In addition to tickets, India also provided a variety of starting points to jump into that city.

As for my adventure history, after New Delhi and Agra two years earlier, this time I chose another point of departure, i.e. Kochi, an exotic tourist destination in southwest India.

—-****—-

I enjoyed the soft texture of white rice at Quizinn by RASA after 24 hours of not tasting this idol’s food. The white rice at that time also represented the last Ringgit I had, starting the next day I was using Rupees.

Five minutes before the Air Asia Ak 39 check-in desk opened, I finished eating white rice with the last piece of fried egg.

As I stated above, instead of getting excited, my chest was beating fast…” Oh India, please make peace with my adventure this time”, I calmed my heart.

Rising from my seat in a corner of the food court on the 2M floor, I carried my favorite blue backpack. Stepping up to the Departure Hall on the 3rd floor.

“It turned out that the queue was long….”, my confidence to become the first queue fell.

The contortions of the queue, which was dominated by Indians, kept me in the bloated queue. After all, I remained calm, there was still a long way to the flight, still four hours away. I started taking out the zipper bag to prepare documents, i.e. passports, hotel booking confirmations in India, tickets to and from India, and free Indian e-Visa sheets.

“Do you have a Visa?”, the check-in desk staff firmly asked me.

“This is Miss”, I handed over all the documents I had prepared.

“Was Indonesia to India enough with e-Visa, Sir?” That female officer asked her senior colleague.

That senior staff confirmed and that female officer finally printed the boarding pass for me.

The first stage was over, I rushed to the International Departure Gate which was heavily guarded by several Aviation Security. In the front queue, there weren’t a few prospective passengers who were being held back due to carrying too much cabin baggage. In addition to Aviation Security, several Air Asia airline ground staff closely monitored passengers who cheated by carrying excess cabin baggage.

For me?….. It was easy, I pass through the gate without checking. Even with the inspection, I would still pass, because I had weighed the entire load of my backpack before heading to the check-in desk….Easy, only 6.5 kilograms.

“Where is the direction to gate L14?”, I asked myself.

I continued along the long corridors until I descended an escalator which at the bottom was already blocking several columns of the screening gate.

As usual, I always took off my shoes when I pass through the screening gate, it was all because I would feel lazy if I had to repeat the screening process when my shoes rang the screening door.

I easily pass it….

Now I only needed to continue through the remaining corridors to reach gate L14.

One of the corridors in the International Departure Hall is KLIA2.

Those are the directions to the Air Asia AK 39 departure gate.

A little after seven in the evening, I arrived at the gate in question.

“Hhmmmhhhh….An hour and a half to boarding”, I sat on a chair outside the waiting room which was still tightly closed.

I decided to perform the prayer and filled up drink bottles at the free water station. And in the remaining time, I just sit waiting until the waiting room door opens an hour before the flight.

Luckily while waiting, my boredom was dampened by the cute behavior of a little Indian toddler whose behavior was so adorable.

—-****—-

Waiting in the waiting room, I was again stunned by a large group of Hindu congregation. From the all-black uniform worn, I could identify the congregation as coming from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, located in the State of Kerala, India.

The peculiarity of the Indian Hindu congregation was that they do not use footwear. Some Hindus in India believed that not using footwear was a form of respect for the Gods.

Dressed in black and Lungi*1) was also the religious appearance of the group. I had to sit mingled in the waiting room with their group.

While the view in the glass window was a perfectly parked Airbus A320 Twin Jet aircraft, dominantly white with a blue-red color combination and bearing the tourism promotion jargon “Sarawak More to Discover”.

Waiting patiently for it to end…

Boarding calls for Air Asia flight AK 39 filled the airport ceiling.

I immediately got up and prepared my passport and boarding pass to pass the final inspection of prospective passengers before entering the cabin. Ahhh….I couldn’t wait.

At half past nine I started boarding…..

Passing the aerobridge to the aircraft cabin.

Cabin situation while hunting for a seat.

Look at those Indian citizens…..Do you want to go to India or not?

Entering the cabin of the small-body aircraft, I looked for seat number 11E. On the next 3 hours and 40 minutes of flight, I would sit in the middle column, making it difficult for me to capture beautiful portraits of the earth.

When the boarding process was over, in my row there was only me and one of the Hindu congregation. Therefore, I decided to move to an aisle seat to get relief from the 3,000 km flight.

—-****—-

To my surprise, when I opened the Travel 360 inflight magazine, I found a self-portrait of a travel influencer that seemed familiar to me. I was very familiar with his surname….Groves.

I made sure it was a beautiful traveler from Aussie whom I had known a year earlier in Samosir, Eloise Groves. He once told a story under the Naisogop waterfall that he had a brother named Jackson Groves who was a travel influencer. Seeing the similarity in the facial expressions of the figure in the inflight magazine I was reading with the figure that often appears on Eloise’s Facebook page, I’m 100% sure it was her big brother.

And it was true, later I would get confirmation from Eloise that it was her sibling after sending a short message through the Facebook messenger application when I arrived in India.

Trying to close my eyes after flipping through Travel 360, I tried to sleep. But I didn’t sleep. That was how I was, never completely fell asleep every time I sat on the plane.

That was Jackson Groves in Air Asia’s Inflight magazine.

Arrive at Terminal 3 Cochin International Airport.

Finally, the awaited time has arrived….

At one o’clock in the morning, Air Asia AK 39 landed at Cochin International Airport, a magnificent airport in the State of Kerala in southwest India.

Thank God….

Now I was even further away from home.

Kochi which was nearly 9,000 km from Jakarta.

Let’s explore….What was in Kochi?

To get flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi, you can search for them on 12go Asia Asia with the following link: https://12go.asia/?z=3283832

Next Story—->

Description of the word:

Lungi*1) = A long piece of cloth that is wrapped around the waist and is a typical Indian dress.

Hypothermia Danger at Taj Express towards New Delhi

30 March 202028 March 2020travelingpersecond

I was chased by a little beggar who didn’t satisfy because I only gave him a chocolate which I brought from Jakarta since a week ago. “No….I need money,” he said while he continued to follow me from behind. Even when I unpacked my backpack to control whether any suspicious objects which enter in it after I have put it in taxi baggage for a full day, he still stood while endlessly raving in front of me who squatted in station corner to tidy up my backpack. “Hi kid….I don’t have much money … Sorry”, I brought my face closer for about an inch from his face. He was smile while showing his rabbit teeth.

At exactly 17:00 hours, I smoothly passed a metal detector of Agra Cantt station, although a mustachioed police continuosly watched me. A step later, I headed to platform and looked for Taj Express 12279 departure information on a simple LCD board. Temperature is listed at 12 degrees….”Starts to cool”, I thought….”Delay”, my brain recorded a information. Even though I should leave Agra on 18:40 hours.

Ticket class CC (Chair Car) which its price was only USD 3.8 certainly didn’t have access to station lounge which offers warm air and good food in it. Sadly, I was scattered with ecomomic passengers along Agra Cantt station’s platform which grew colder.

Trains passed over and over again that continuously promising a hope….But it wasn’t immediately arrived.

The longer I seated, my fingers began to get numb. Damn….I brought wrong clothes, my jacket wasn’t thick enough. Sometimes toilet became a temporary place to refuse freezing. But it couldn’t be long, the paid toilet spread urine smell to everywhere.

The temperature was below 10 Celsius degrees when entering on 10 pm….”an alert” for me.

I was unable to hide panic when temperature touched 7 Celsius degrees. My socks which were penetrated cold and slowly getting wet made me feel like I’m soaking feet in ice water. While a double t-shirt under my jacket was unable to capture body heat….I started to lightly shiver in the middle of night.

Look at that Indian boy!….I wanted to take away his blanket.

Resistance used a small cup of chai (a pulled tea) and a small burger didn’t last long. Finally I just kept moving to overcome the cold.

Taj Express approached the station around 1:30 hours in the morning. I was absurdly excited to enter the coach, but my hope vanished when I didn’t feel a change in temperature after 5 minutes sat on the coach. No wonder…Apparently, there were small gaps in all train windows which put cold air into….Oooops.

Even that dirty bench didn’t disgust me because my focus was only against the cold.

Even more annoying, the train was completely motionless almost 40 minutes after arriving. Now, condition at coach inside wasn’t different from condition at station’s platform. While local passengers had fallen asleep and tightly closed with their blankets, while I was still busy to fight against to the increasingly threatening air. I began to think about hypothermia. Panic began to grow in my brain.

The coach which couldn’t save me from being cold.

I didn’t care anymore even though train continued to slowly approach New Delhi. I really huddled panting. I chewed a last burger to generate body heat so that it extended my effort to conquering cold.

The more machinist increased train speed, the more I couldn’t move. I looked like having no hope, huddled and rigidly hugging backpack all the way. Only prayer as the last weapon which I have. At 3 Celsius degrees and all feet got wet, palm puckered and lips cracked, I felt like having a hard breathing.

3 hours 10 minutes, I really looked like a statue until finally I was able to jump from the seat and made sure about what I saw across window. Yes….That was Metro Delhi train…. I arrived. Oh, not yet…. it was still half an hour before actually arriving. The last half an hour that made me able to faintly smile before entered Hazrat Nizamuddin station in New Delhi.

Goodbye Agra and welcome to New Delhi.

Thank you God.

Red Brick Charisma of Agra Fort

26 March 202026 March 2020travelingpersecond

“Get off here and walk straight there. I will wait here for maximum 2 hours“, said full-day rent taxi driver after spitting betel nut out of taxi window. Betel spittle traces evenly looked in car parking area…. Pathetic.

Not wasting time, I immediately sneaked into the visitors queue to buy a ticket. Shortly….Not more than 10 minutes, a ticket was already got.

I sank into Red Fort grandeur. This city fortress is really high as if watching every step of people who approaching it. Mughal City seems to be the safest city in the world with a thick wall.

Like other fortress, I must cross a canal through a bridge which connects main street and fort gate itself. Entering it, every lane in fortress inner side must be traversed between high walls which slowly changed from creepy to comfortable.

The second gate with 21 meters high wall loomed and I was be like a dwarf.

This 4.5-century old UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to all members of Mughal royal family. Red Fort automatically stopped functioning when the capital of Mughal kingdom moved to Delhi. Agra Fort itself was initiated to be built because of several wars between several kingdoms around Hindustan until Afghan area.

Then….My cunning began to acquire myself when “free fare” intuition led me to follow a tour guide steps who was carrying Chinese tourists. Every explanation which came out of his lips tried to understand by me. Some tourists frowned when I was caught eavesdropping, they realized that I was an intruder in their group.

One interesting amusement was when I was offered a pinch of yellow powder by an old man. I’m confused with it. It turned out that a few seconds later little squirrels got into my hands and ate this powder. I just saw a super tame squirrel like that.

Benign squirrels around the fort approached to visitors.

Peeking conditions around from top of fortress.

Taj Mahal was faintly monitored from Agra Fort.

Then steps led me into a white building nicknamed as Khas Mahal which was the king’s private palace. This building is made from marble with beautiful paintings in it.

Not far from Khas Mahal, you can see a white two-story building with a large garden in front of its yard. This section is named Anguri Bagh.

Anguri Baghh means “The Grape Garden” which is a private garden belonging to female members of kingdom..

Buildings around Anguri Bagh were being renovated.

And the last part which I visited was Jahangiri Mahal (often also called Jahangiri Palace). This is the heart of Agra Fort. A magnificent palace intended as a residence of king’s wife.

Check the video in this link: https://youtu.be/fTQTuLa7bBE

Short words and short steps later….I rushed to Agra Cantt station. Awaited a train to New Delhi.

Tracing Shah Jahan, Enjoying Taj Mahal at Mehtab Bagh

22 March 202018 March 2020travelingpersecond

After tired in taking care of Mughal government, I usually head to Taj Mahal to monitor progress of its construction. In afternoon, I invited some Taj Mahal workers to cross Yamuna river and I continued to take shelter under trees in a field to enjoy Taj Mahal which stood majestically doused by orange-red sunset….So beautiful, I imagined it. Imagine?….Yes, because I’m not Shah Jahan. Only he who can do that activity in the past. Who am I ?….Haha.

Taj Mahal was captured from Mehtab Bagh.

I arrived after 10 minutes earlier still exploring Itimad ud Daulah in Northwest Mehtab Bagh. The beautiful and spacious garden hadn’t stolen yet my attention, because I was more interested in old man action who flipping through his fried food so that it gave off aroma of arouse my appetite. No wonder, many people were willing to queue to taste it. I paid for USD 0.75 to redeem and devour it, hot french fries with a faint aroma of curry became my snack menu before entering Mehtab Bagh.

I immediately headed to gate and buying a ticket for USD 3. Suddenly amazed by park condition. Neatly arranged pathway is embellished with an elongated flower column in the middle. Also facilitated by benches in several spots. All benches were almost all occupied by many Indian young couple who were infected by romance. I couldn’t dismiss it, because the park was very romantic, as its name mean. You know the meaning of “Mehtab Bagh”words?….Mehtab Bagh has same meaning as Moonlight Garden….Wouw..

When many young people looked at each other’s interests, I was more interested in going to right of park. Because from distance, appearance of Taj Mahal was so eye-catching. Now I just found out, why Shah Jahan often spends his afternoon to just look at his project here. He even intended to make a black twin Taj Mahal in Mehtab Bagh. But his intention was canceled because he was caught and be a house arrest at Agra Fort after coup by his own son. His son was worried about their kingdom finances which his father was prone to spend it for realizing his intention to build black Taj mahal.

Look at that foundation!….Forerunner of Black Taj Mahal which failed.

All visitors exactly feel safe when in park, because two young armed soldiers patrolled around park to secure its situation.

Soldier: “Where are you come from?”, asked with smile.

Me: “Indonesia, Sir”, answered with simle too.

Soldier: “How about Taj Mahal?. It’s good. Are you happy?”

Me: “Yes, Sir. It’s beautiful. I Love it”, answered.

Soldier: “Enjoy”

Me: “Thanks Sir”.

I couldn’t really head to Yamuna river bank because It was restricted with iron wires. I saw an european tourist look professional when taking out long binocular DSLR and capturing lots of Taj Mahal pictures from various sides which he liked, right in front of wire fence. I just imagined that one day I could have a camera like that and travel around the world then taking great pictures for you to see. By the way, finally 3 months later I had a Canon EOS M10 mirrorles camera. Not as good as his, but enough for me who have small salary to capture better pictures….Hahaha.

The wire fence and the European tourist….Hmmm.

It was enough to imitate Shah Jahan actions at Mehtab Bagh. Now I would see Agra Fort where Shah Jahan is imprisoned….Sad ending.

Itimad ud Daulah….Taj Mahal Blueprint

18 March 202012 March 2020travelingpersecond

Description: D:BLUE PRINTtravelingpersecondBaby Taj 01.JPG — Itimad ud Daulah

Taj Mahal is may be an famous heritage on earth. But actually behind its fame, there is an architectural creation which the world has agreed that It is a Taj Mahal’s blueprint. This prototype is in Itimad ud Daulah.

Very grateful, I had an opportunity to visit it on that afternoon. Like a surprise when reading a novel. This time, The Preliminary Chapter began with a suddenly appearing of donkey rows carrying red bricks which was accompanied by the owner’s song. Amazed to see donkeys which were saying “excuse me” in front of me. This is my first time in seeing this animal about a meter in front. The owner just smiled to me when he saw me gaping without blinking eyes while pressing record button of my mobile phone.

Spending USD 2.8, I entered into “Baby Taj” yard. (“Baby Taj” is a favorite call for Itimad ud Daulah).

If Taj Mahal belongs to Mumtaz Mahal, then Itimad ud Daulah belongs to Mirza Ghiyas Beg who is none other than Mumtaz Mahal’s grandfather . Taj Mahal was built by Mumtaz Mahal’s husband, then Itimad ud Daulah was built by Nur Jahan who was Ghiyas Beg’s son.

Here it is the grave of Mirza Ghiyas Beg and his wife.

Tracking it part by part, my mind confirmed that Itimad ud Daulah was a mini form of Taj Mahal. Not exactly same but its architecture, interior and exterior design are close to similar. Still the same, It is relying on white marble as main display.

The weather began to warm, making me comfortably sat while enjoying the beauty of this mausoleum. This time, my gaze was slightly interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful tourist with long blond hair. It wasn’t her face which teased me, but my admiration for her effort to came to Itimad ud Daulah in her condition with crutches and casts that indicated there was a severe injury in her right leg. She struggled to sit on the ground while directing her DSLR to and fro. Occasionally interspersed by reading Lonely Planet which was issued from her small backpack. Unfortunately, I didn’t dare to say hello. Her beauty makes me stunned….Damn, I was a coward backpacker.

Closing Chapter of Itimad ud Daulah’s exploration began with stepping to a gate on right side. I was really fascinated by the vast expanse of a river which began to dry up. I certainly knew that it is Yamuna river which is considered by Indian Hindus to be Goddess Yamuna, the Goddess who is believed to be able to free them from death torments when purifying themself with its water.

The gate is directly adjacent to Yamuna river.

So….Yamuna River was my exploration closing session in Itimad ud Daulah. Curious in waiting for various surprises for the beauty of Agra architecture in other locations which I will visit until late afternoon.

Stepping out, I began to open my map and stirred my intention to visit Mehtab Bagh, a charming park which was the best point to enjoy the beauty of Taj Mahal.

Let me show you where it is!

Total Failure when Visiting Taj Mahal

14 March 20208 March 2020travelingpersecond

My passionate spirit of visiting Taj Mahal which wasn’t higher than my trifling guts of conquering cold of every drop of water which coming out from GoStops Agra’ shower, had embarrassed myself on a saturday morning.

Needle is exactly on number 7, a taxi which we rented for full-day through sharing costs arrived and the driver was waiting in hostel’s lobby while tightly holding his hands as a sign that he had been hit by a stabbing cold weather in streets.

Do you want to know our white taxi rent fare?….Sure….USD 17.8 divided by four people. So, I had to give USD 4.4 as my transportation budget that day.

Brushing my teeth without bathing, I approached and talked while waiting for 3 other tourists to come down. “No need long time to reach Taj Mahal, brother“, he said first while shaking his head in Indian style to open a conversation that morning. “Nice“, I said while busy fixing my winter jacket and syall which coiled around my neck.

Ten minutes later, his exhaust fumes began to acquiring thick fog along Agra-Bah Road. Sure enough as he said, 15 minutes later he asked us to come down and point to a bajaj with fare about for USD 2.9 to continuing our journey to Taj Majal Eastern Gate. No problem with price because we finally rode that bajaj with all of us….Oh No, we were unpolite tourist….Hahaha.

At 7:30 a.m, tourists queued to hunt for tickets with fare for about USD 7.2.

What a fool!….Blindly curiosity had closed my logic that morning. Never clearly thought since leaving my hostel that thick fog storm in Agra would perfectly close Taj Mahal courtyard….Ah, I annoyance stood with a long sigh at Taj Mahal entrance. Not able to see anything 10 meters ahead. Only a thick fog which made me slowly freeze.

There was no choice, like it or not, I had to start exploring Taj Mahal with a definite guarantee that I would never fully enjoy its beauty.

I started slowly up the stairs and entering first gate of that famous site. The first gate is named Jilau Khana.

The area around Jilau Khana or often called Forecourt.

What happened was really out of reason. I haven’t finished yet in enjoying Jilau Khana’s red bricks, my automatic footsteps were unstoppable in approaching main building. Taj Mahal like a magnet for anyone who visits it.

Connecting road between Jilau Khana and main gate

Before arriving at main building….About 100 meters later, I reached the grand Main Gate.

Its name is Darwaza-i-rauza or often called Great Gate.

Tourists complaints began to hear while blaming the mist. “I can’t take a picture“, He complained to his fellow friends. Wry smile, I didn’t care about same disappointment.

Look at carvings inside the Darwaza-i-rauza!

Then, where is Taj Mahal main building which is always hunted by world travelers?

Yup….350 meters at north of Darwaza-i-rauza is Taj Mahal location, the tomb of two legendary “lovebirds“. Shah Jahan as the king and Mumtaz Mahal as the “Persian descent” empress who have a extraordinary beauty.

Not long, I immediately put a shoe cover then I got ready to entering Taj Mahal

Shoe cover will be given when buying a ticket.

Like the commonly mosque, Taj Mahal is equipped with four minarets on each side. The greatness of Mughal kingdom is reflected in every inch of Taj Mahal which composed from white marble which was specially imported from Rajashtan and sapphires which was sent from Sri Lanka.

Minaret as high as 40 meters with a cylindrical wall.

Another intriguing thing when visiting Taj Mahal was when each visitor regularly walked to follow a path which had been made by officers to enjoy each side of Taj Mahal main room where Mumtaz Mahal tomb is located. Three heavily armed police closely watched every visitor. Sometimes they gave order to some tourists to immediately move because taking photos for a long time could make a path to be stuck.

Beautiful art of calligraphy in Taj Mahal.

Such is the fact, the 372-year-old Taj Mahal is indeed charming. No wonder, 4 million tourists are interested in visiting it every year.

After enjoying Taj Mahal, then I immediately retreated and returned to eastern gate for approaching taxi which was waiting for me.

I went back east….Which way did you choose to go back?

Jhelum Express from New Delhi to Agra

10 March 20208 March 2020travelingpersecond

11078 which was my departure number only appeared once on display board. After a long time, it didn’t appear, I sat on platform and continued to observe that display board….It’s gone!

Me: “Sir, can you give me some information?. My train number 11078 is never appear again in that display board. Even though my train will depart on 10:15 am.”.

He: “If your train number disappears from the screen. That means your train is getting delay. “Haze storms” which routinely occur every year indeed often make many trains delay for hours.”

I went back to counter and asked about this problem. They only apologized and confirmed that train was delayed. He estimated that train will leave at 16:00….God.

To drove away endless boredom, I headed for Khan Market. Instead of being stunned, I’d better collected a tourist destination in New Delhi to share with you about it….Later, I will definitely write it.

—-****—-

On 14:00 hours…. Ensuring every bond and lock in backpack, I immediately headed to New Delhi Railway Station to ride Jhelum Express which would soon come to pick me up.

An extraordinary curiosity to immediately mingle with Indians in an economy class train, making me be the most impatient person in the world that afternoon.

Portrait of inequality in India’s Capital.

The dull red locomotive shrill screams when approaching me, grimacing and bite the rails to precisely stop on platform 4.

The locomotive hadn’t completely stopped each wagons yet, passengers were running….crowding in front of wagons. I just smiled and was stunned by uniqueness of Indian citizens. While they crammed, I was still busy understanding the wagon numbering because there were wagon numbered 10 and 10A. Very unique person who has the idea of numbering system like that. After back and forth, I finally found my wagon….Yups, Wagon S3 seat No. 41 Low Berth (lower seat).

It was true, the complexity which I imagined from the beginning when buying a ticket occurred. The train inside was very crowded and made it feel cramped.

The allocated seat of three passengers facing each other plus one long folding stool above my head which is used as a sleeper seat (Upper Berth)….Ah, I loved it. an amazing condition.

“Hello Sir, excuse me“, a young man passed in front of me holding his wife hand and sat facing me. A sinless smile makes my lips do the same thing. How not, now, in front of me has sat 4 passengers on seats which should for only three passengers….Haha.

While the train was running, I hear faint bluff which is either angry or just normally like that. A fat and whiskered conductor checked his guest tickets one by one. A passenger in opposite side of my seat was scolded, He was unable to showing his ticket, then he showed a laminated card from his wallet. And I didn’t know what was that, It was being able to effectively drove out that fat conductor….Damn.

A office worker in front left of me took out a something from his bag. Like Indian films, their culture is still upheld. He held up high a long stack of four stainless steel dinner box with curry scented. If he knew my heart’s face, he would have smiled when see it was roar laughing….Oh God, this was an original Indian. As if it was be a trigger, another passenger on my left and right was doing the same thing.

Their generosity emanated when they offered me to eat together as a family on train. Did I accept? Nup….I also brought out a local burger package with price about USD 0.75 which I purchased at station’s platform that afternoon. Let’s eat together….Ahhaaa.

A passenger at window seat became the busiest person on our journey because he had to keep closing a wooden window whose locking hooks were worn out. Every few minutes, that window would automatically open and put super cold air into wagon.

Maybe that condition was used by “chai” seller to focus on my wagon to sell his wares. “Chai“, another name for “pulled tea” which be legendary in Dhaka, be favorite in India and spreading to Malaysia. Excited, the stack of paper cups which he held was getting shorter. He would go home with a multiple profit this time.

Cuteness of a children’s toy seller made whole train passenger endlessly burst out laughing. He throwed a rubber spiderman every where as he pleased. Amazingly, the spiderman could perfectly stick….Haha. It was be an entertainment to forget many problems at that day which they have faced.

Guys….When did the last time our trains (Indonesia’s trains) still had sellers of all kinds inside it?….Hahaha….I forgot. It was long time a rule about seller restriction in our trains.

The train which stopped….brought down its passenger….took its passengers….Then drove back and kept repeating it at each station made me realize that there was never an announcement where did the train stopped?

Me: “How long will the train run to its last destination?”

He: “Jhelum Express will stop in Pune on 6 am tomorrow morning”

Me: “Thanks Sir”, I bitterly smiled with worry.

Now, my enemy was one….i.e Information….the absence of data packets in my gadget further strengthened my mortal enemy that night. I had to asking questions a lot to defeat it.

Me: “Where will you stop, Sir?”

He: “At Mathura Junction Station”

Me: “Do you know Agra Cantt Station?”

He: “Sure, 2 stops after my station”

Me: “Oh, nice”, I was relieved…. Once he got down, I just had to count 2x stops. That was Agra Cantt.

He: “Are you from China?”

Me: “No, I’m Indonesian”.

He: “What for do you go to Agra?”

Me: “Taj Mahal, Sir”

He: “Oh, very happy to hear Indonesian goes to Taj Mahal”

Me: “Taj Mahal….My dream to visiting it”

He: “Nice”. Shaking my hand with his happiness which can’t hidden.

That was 10 minutes conversation before he got off at Mathura Junction Station. After that I would get off at next two stops namely Agra Cantt Station.

I finally arrived in Agra on 20:30 hours.

It was time to go to hotel….Then slept.

SCAM….Something Real in India

28 February 202027 February 2020travelingpersecond

Hotel Staff: “Go to New Delhi Railway Station platform 1 floor 1!“, a short answer was spoken by beautiful staff who still looked busy in accepting traveler from various nations.

Me: “Thank you, ~~honey~~ Ms”.

Oh yes, looking for the nearest dormitory from MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station is a habit which has been in me.

I started to open GoStops Delhi Hostel’s door and passed a few disadvantaged citizens. It was touched when the sun’s rays were the only thing which could help warm them who were still asleep curled up on an old foam mattress which I couldn’t know how they got it.

300 meters later I arrived at Delhi Gate Metro Station. Passing a X-ray gate every time when I entered MRT station in New Delhi made me feel safe while using train on its track.

Let’s see inside of subway station in New Delhi….This is Indira Gandhi Airport Metro Station when I first time arrived in India.

Going through Delhi Metro Violet Line and then transferring to Yellow Line at Kashmere Gate Metro Station, so at third station I arrived at New Delhi Metro Station.

Arriving at final destination, I had to move between two modes of train which weren’t integrated. Leaving clean and well-maintained New Delhi Metro Station to New Delhi Railway Station which is more than just dirty. The distance between them is only around 450 meters.

Walking 6 minutes, I arrived in front of New Delhi Railway Station.

From a connecting bridge between platforms, I noticed that Indian Railways officer sprayed water on railroad track. I thought they were so disciplined to reduce dust rate in air, it turns out some time later I knew that they were cleaning railroad tracks from human waste …. # unique.

Upss….The incident arrived:

Scammer: “Where will you go, Sir?”

Me: “Agra.”

Scammer: “Let me help you to get the ticket.”

Me: “Oh thanks. Based information from my hotel that ticket counter is on platform 1 floor 1.”

Scammer: “Oh, yes. But It’s Friday. So, the counter is closed. You can get the ticket at left side of this station.”

Me: “Oh, OK.”

Either “Unknow” or “Stupid“, I followed all his instructions. A handsome young man didn’t accompany my steps, so there wasn’t slightest suspicion in my brain. Amazingly, there was a person at a station gate who seemed to directing me about where ticket sales counter was located. He was obviously directing me to an office at end of road on the left.

“Oh, this is a travel agent’s office, not an Indian Railways office“, I thought. I canceled to going up the next step and turned to leave their office. Even though one of them continued to chase me, I smoothly insisted by saying that I would postpone my departure to Agra until tomorrow, so that I could reduce his emotions that seemed to be rising.

Huftt….I was safe now. Second scam which happened to me after the first one which happened in Bangkok at end of 2013.

—-****—-

Relieving which felt doubled because in addition to being able to find International Tourist Bureau ticket sales office on platform 1 floor 1, I also got a bonus for protect mysely in this office from New Delhi’s cold weather that made me feel frozen.

The modest office is beautified with excellent ticket sales officer consulting services for every tourist. So you have to be patient for waiting for your queue number to be called by sales officer because one buyer could consult for about 10-15 minutes, some even more. Not a problem for me, a longer queue time would be better because I didn’t need to be cold in out of office.

Jhelum Express ticket for about USD 2.9 was already in my hand.

Let’s go to Agra….Visiting Taj Mahal….Yuhuuu.