Travel Book 2019

Yesterday, I had a chat with a guy stayed in the same hostel, and I brayed about entrance fee to monuments in India for foreigners: it's ridiculous to charge 12-15 times higher than locals - "I won't go to Taj Mahal if price is higher than 1000 INR"

Today, once I reached Taj Mahal I saw price tag of 1100. No way I'm gonna pay that and I walked around neighborhood, then headed to another side of Yamuna to see Taj free of charge from a park. When I saw a fee 300 INR for foreigners vs. 30 for locals, I laughed and turned my back. Having found small sand track I proudly walked towards the river via bushes lavishly strewn by human dang and foul smelling tickling my nostrils, for what? Right - to bump into guards shouting it's not allowed to galabant here. Alas, no Taj Mahal, I told myself and went to have lunch before taking train to Delhi

Lunch over, I headed to ticket office to not say that I been to Agra and didn't enter Taj. Saying Bye to crispy notes I entered and started walking around. In one mosque on the side of the main mausoleum I entered minbar (pulpit) to take this picture, out of sudden I heard the voice of a man sitting on the floor:
- It's not allowed to stay there
- Why so? I paid for that
- It's a mosque
- If that's the mosque then why do I pay for it? (and sat next to imam, what I learnt later)
- (he closed Qoran)
- Tell me, doesn't Qoran teaches that we all are the same?
- It does...
- If this is the mosque, why do foreigners pay 10-fold price?
- (silence)
- Doesn't Islam considers haram getting profit from place of worship?
- It does...
- Then why do I pay to enter the mosque?
- (silence)
- (silence)
- (he extended his arms and cupped my head with his old hands looking with sad yet clear eyes into mine) It's not us, it's government
- (And Here Me Cried)Baca selengkapnya