The plot thickens

The bus from Agra was to leave Delhi at 7.00am.
I woke up at 6am got my stuff together and left Nic's place feeling ready for new experiences. I managed to find an auto rickshaw after about 10 minutes of standing in the freezing cold. It was pitch black still so I decided I would have to go with the guy...even though he couldn't speak a word of English.

When I gave him the scrawled address of the bus stop he didn't have a clue. To be honest, I didn't have a clue either.

It took a while to find the corner of "bla bla bla and Sweets and la la la and Sons in South Extension 1", but we eventually made it after asking numerous people.

Standing at the bus stop at 6.45 and freezing was an experience I would not like to re-live. Of course I was the only single, white female with a backpack waiting which made me nervous for the bus that was to take me to Agra. It was interesting though to observe just how this bus system seems to work. It's something like this:

Bus screams up to the curb with a man hanging out the window.
He yells something in Hindi whilst the driver does some mean clutch control - back, forward, back forward - the bus never stops.
People standing at the stop recognise their call and start running - mothers dragging kids along, people hauling big bags - and just as they get to the bus door, the driver begins to release the tired clutch and pulls off.
The people start jumping on, pushing eachother and pulling eachother to make sure no one misses the bus

And the driver takes off into the chaotic traffic again, swerving into the "go-lane" without any notice of a cow, camel, bike, rickshaw, person that might be in the way. They scramble too.

I also observed some unusual bus etiquette. It's acceptable to brush your teeth on the bus - I am not sure where one spits out the toothpaste, but I saw a couple of men doing so. Also when the bus is in clutch control mode people use this as an opportunity to spit, throw up blow their nore (sans tissue) out of the bus.

Of course this makes me feel a little uneasy. I was execting a simillar situation with my bus.

After waiting for and HOUR in the cold- my hands were blue and I was shaking - a car pulls up and says, "hey sofi, we will take you to the bus." I was a little nervous until I saw the other passenger inthe car. He looked pretty normal, and it all seemed kosher so I got in.

Turns out the other passenger, Rob, was from Leeds! It was GREAT to have some company and such a relief to know someone else had been fooled into this trap! He is Indian, although this is his first time to India. He was told, as I was, that the this would be a day trip visiting the main sites in Agra. He was getting the bus back to Delhi at "10pm"

The car takes both of us to the bus. It was actually fine (thank god!)

After a 4 hour bumpy ride passing fields and villages we arrived in Agra. The bus suddenly stops and the conductor picks a few white tourists and makes them go outside. They leave. Then he comes back and tells the rest that they must make their own way around Agra because the bus is going to a temple for the Indian passengers where they will bath and pray until about midnight. "THe bus will only arrive in Delhi at 3am."

Of course everyone was furious about this and started complaining. There were two Mauritians sitting next to Rob and I - they had paid double what we had paid! The only solution the conductor could offer up was for them to buy another ticket to get back to Delhi on time for their flight out!

I was relieved to be getting off but of course, you can't escape scottfree. I was furious at all this and demanded a free trip to my hotel. The bus conductor obliged and managed to get an auto for me. I grabbed my stuff, said bye to Rob and off we went. Half way to the hotel the rickshaw driver starts telling me he will drive me all over Agra for free. I have been scammed enough to know that nothing here comes for free (and I don't expect it either). I politely told him I would make my own arrangements. Upon hearing this he wanted to charge me for my hotel.

It was a small feat, but I managed to stand my ground and explain that on principle I was not giving him a paise (cent). He told me "Medem, you are very bad. Very bad".