Day 25 – Golf and Agra Fort
Day 25 – Wednesday, 20th Nov 2013
Flashback – It is March of 2006 – Spring Break at USC and I flew to Boston to see my cousin – Ashish. Ashish had planned some sight seeing for the few days I was there and then he asked – what else would I like to do? I didn’t have a definite answer. He enthusiastically suggested that we play Golf. I had never ever been to a golf course before, leave playing. I shrugged the idea but Ashish insisted. That day, I played Golf for the first time and though I was horrible in my shots, I said to myself – it’s a new sport I learned and will continue playing in the future when I have a chance.
It’s Wednesday morning 6 am in Agra. It’s still dark outside as I look out the window but I am in no mood to go back to sleep. I am looking forward to playing Golf today at the Agra Golf Course. We see few people on the road – milk man, newspaper vendors and some snacks and sweet stores open as we make our way into the golf club. The walk is a nice km in the morning hours. As we venture into the park, we see a few elders chugging their Golf kit and making their way onto the course.
The reception area is manned by staff from Indian Army and they remember me from last night – “Bambai wale sahab aa gaye”… I fill out the registration form and some other paper work and am assigned a caddy. Per Wikipedia – a caddy is the person who carries a player’s bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support.
We weren’t expecting this royal treatment meted out to us, but hey, who were we to say no?
Akhil – my caddy is a pro golfer and he gives me tips as we start along the course. The course is a bit watery as I can tell from the fresh sprinklers that were working in the morning. It’s 7 am, I am at Hole 1, at the tee spot, taken my position and ready to play out Tiger Woods. Who was I kidding? My first shot was a mere drag flick along the grass. Akhil was patient enough with me and taught me the basics again and we played a few practice shots.
It took us almost 2 hours to complete 9 holes and I improved as we moved along the course. Khyati played a few practice shots and hopes she can develop this game in the future.
Golf Course
How far did it go? The ball is nowhere to be seen
It’s 9 am and we are sipping some hot chai served there. The staff there was really nice and invited us to become members. One day! was our apt reply.
The main officer then requested one of his staff to drop us to the hotel. What a nice gesture by them. We will always remember this experience and the excellent service.
It’s 11 am, Khyati and I check out of our room and store our luggage in the cloak room. We walk towards Agra Fort – a 2 km walk from our hotel. Agra Fort used to be the capital of Mughals until Shah Jahan decided that he wanted to make Delhi his capital and built Red Fort – Lal Quila there.
Agra Fort outside view
It’s still World Heritage week but no free entry at the fort today. Free entry was only for yesterday – 19th Nov. We purchase entry and audio tickets at the counter. The audio guide was really useful and we take our time observing some of the ruins. I say ruins because Agra Fort seems strong and well guarded from outside but inside, most of the rooms and building built are in poor condition. We can observe Taj Mahal from the top balconies of Agra Fort. It is said that Shah Jahan when in captivity in Agra Fort had a window and could only see Taj Mahal from there. He spent his last years there. We overhear some tourist guide saying that the Indian film – Jodhaa Akbar was shot here.
Ruins
Jahangir palace
the beautiful
It’s 4 pm and our next stop is Rambagh. During Mughal times, it used to be called Aaram Bagh (Rest gardens) but over time, the name has changed to Ram bagh (Ram Gardens). heh! These are the oldest Mughal Gardens and the kings used to spend their leisure time here. Today, it is flanked by vendors and is loitered to some extent.
We have an evening train to catch for New Delhi and we munch on some quick snacks and fruits as we make our way to the hotel by 6 pm.
Our train is the Bhopal – New Delhi Shatabdi and we have an hour to pass before we make our way to Agra Cantonment Station. Khyati grabs some guide book from the hotel library while I catch up on my writing.
It’s 7:30 pm and the hotel staff calls for a Rickshaw and we make our way to the station. This train is the fastest way to reach Delhi. It takes only 2h 10m. It runs like a bullet.
The train ride was smooth and we arrive at New Delhi platform by 10:45 pm. Our hosts in New Delhi were our London friend – Rahul Gala’s parents. We take an auto rickshaw to their place and reach home by midnight.
In our next post, we explore New Delhi as a local. Stay tuned.
Khyati and I love reading all your comments. Keep it coming!
Best wishes,
Paras