Mathura and Vrindavan was a local recommendation from Ktan telling the story of Lord Krishna, one of the three key deity of the Hindu mythology. Daytrip was an adventure in india, espescially when one has to travel roughly 150km to visit the place.
It all started out well waking up late and getting ready to hit the road by 1030 am. First obstacle was to get an autorickshaw to the train station …. 150 rupee … no 100 rupee … no …. zzz … it boiled down to 120 rupee and I was on the road again to the train station
Train station and my second time with unreserved ticket. Ticket to Mathura and I got the same treatment of chuck your ticket at your face treatment. I guess it’s a thing on the unreserved ticket counter but was happy to pay dirt cheap price for it … 50 rupee … Enquiry counter time and the next train to Mathura leaves at 150pm … check the board and it says late … fuck … that would mean waiting nearly 4 hours at the train station ….
Back up plan …. Take a bus … so I walked out the train station and naturally got surrounded by touts .,… could have walk to the bus station but I succumbed to taking a manual rickshaw for 20 rupee to the bus station ….
Mathura ???? there bus … jump on immediately and it departed just as I boarded …. Perfect. It cost me 70 rupee on the bus … not to bad I guess and a slow journey getting out of Agra till we hit the main highway and it was cruise sailing.
Mathura … and I got dropped off way way far away from the centre …. The outer ring, but it didn’t matter I guess since I decided to pay for a tuk tuk anyway to Vrindavan first. 150 rupee and I was too lazy to bargain … on the road again.
Vrindavan an hour later since the tuk tuk was a crappy one with no power. Finally the land of Hare Krishna. Got a super heavy lunch thaili which was awesome only to suffer with a painful belly for the next 6 hours since I was too full. A walk around Vrindavan and it was nice and windy roads rural and surprisingly no foreign tourist. With the amount of western Hare Krishna fans I thought it would be crazier than this … still I was enjoying the local atmosphere.
Someone bump me from the back …. My hands went straight for the pockets and in a split second determined that I had everything intact …. But wait why is everything blury now … My glasses was gone …. Bah I spat thinking it must have dropped off from the bump. Spinning around looking for it I saw a monkey perching on a ledge of a building 1st floor with my glasses.
Fuck ….
A cheeky kid came to me and says “50 rupee I get it back”
The Indian in me said NO …. 10 rupee …. All the while squinting at the monkey willing it to drop my specs. I could see him chewing on the side frame of my Oakley Glasses which had a yellow rubber grip. He took off the grip … great, … chance that he might think it’s a banana and drop the glasses instead.
50 rupee I get it back ….. like a chant in the background of my ear ….
To my horror I see the monkey licking the whole glasses, bite and trying to tear its way through the nose piece. He has finally figure out that the yellow rubber grip is not a banana … and is now furious gnawing away at my frame.
In my mind …. Even if I get it back it’s going to be useless to me …. and do I really want to wear that after being infested by monkey germs ???
50 rupee I get it back …..
No … 10 rupee …. ( the auto indian in me bargaining )
A guy pass by and saw me watching the monkey ….. 10 rupee for the boy and 10 rupee for him to buy some juice to give the monkey ….. you get back your glasses ….
Looking at the Monkey it was too late … he went ballistic and bend the whole frame trying to rip it apart ….. Oh well …. It’s definitely useless to me now …. I laugh and chuckle and turn around to enjoy what I could of Vrindavan with my blurry vision …
50 rupee I get it back ….. the cheeky kid was still cheerful trying to sell his trade
....
Continue on, I see what I could with my blurry eyes of Vrindavan …. There was a garden with 5 temples in it …. I think it was the Seva Kunj but I could not be sure …. It is stated in wikitravel … planted with countless tulsi (holy basil) trees, this is the garden where gopis dance for Krishna at night, and where Krishna and his lover Radha spend the night locked in the Moti Mahal.
There were hoards of monkeys here thou ….. harassing everyone that could find … trying to take anything that is not well guarded ….
The monkeys of Hare Krishna were a protected being in this holy land as the story has a monkey god Hanuman in it ....
Walking around, I sneak out my phone from time to time trying to get a better view through the lenses of phone camera … I was near-sighted after all … can see near can’t see far but Monkeys were watching … must be weary of monkey jumping me now ...
I pass by the Yamuna river where a holy men tending a tree said to be a thousand year old. Many pilgrims come here to make offering he said …. Do you want to make a donation? I have donated a pair of glasses today to the monkeys … I think it’s enough …. He laughed at my answer but left me alone without any more gimmick’s.
I decided I was not getting much from this daytrip with my vision stolen so early in the trip. Time to head back but there was only one way which was to get to Mathura to get a bus to Agra …. Might as well see the most famous Radha Krishna Temple in Mathura before I go back ….
My hopes of using camera to take pictures for later viewing was dashed when the front gates says No Camera No Phones …. Even from outside the temple looked fabulous …. Left my phone at the locker and went in anyway enjoying the crowd and the feel of people all in happy mode singing Hare Krishna and going round in circles.
What I could not see I could only feel …..
End of Daytrip and I head back to Agra to get my spare glasses out.
Travelled on : Aug 2015
It all started out well waking up late and getting ready to hit the road by 1030 am. First obstacle was to get an autorickshaw to the train station …. 150 rupee … no 100 rupee … no …. zzz … it boiled down to 120 rupee and I was on the road again to the train station
Train station and my second time with unreserved ticket. Ticket to Mathura and I got the same treatment of chuck your ticket at your face treatment. I guess it’s a thing on the unreserved ticket counter but was happy to pay dirt cheap price for it … 50 rupee … Enquiry counter time and the next train to Mathura leaves at 150pm … check the board and it says late … fuck … that would mean waiting nearly 4 hours at the train station ….
Back up plan …. Take a bus … so I walked out the train station and naturally got surrounded by touts .,… could have walk to the bus station but I succumbed to taking a manual rickshaw for 20 rupee to the bus station ….
Mathura ???? there bus … jump on immediately and it departed just as I boarded …. Perfect. It cost me 70 rupee on the bus … not to bad I guess and a slow journey getting out of Agra till we hit the main highway and it was cruise sailing.
Mathura … and I got dropped off way way far away from the centre …. The outer ring, but it didn’t matter I guess since I decided to pay for a tuk tuk anyway to Vrindavan first. 150 rupee and I was too lazy to bargain … on the road again.
Vrindavan an hour later since the tuk tuk was a crappy one with no power. Finally the land of Hare Krishna. Got a super heavy lunch thaili which was awesome only to suffer with a painful belly for the next 6 hours since I was too full. A walk around Vrindavan and it was nice and windy roads rural and surprisingly no foreign tourist. With the amount of western Hare Krishna fans I thought it would be crazier than this … still I was enjoying the local atmosphere.
 |
| Walking around the narrow streets of Vrindravan |
Fuck ….
A cheeky kid came to me and says “50 rupee I get it back”
The Indian in me said NO …. 10 rupee …. All the while squinting at the monkey willing it to drop my specs. I could see him chewing on the side frame of my Oakley Glasses which had a yellow rubber grip. He took off the grip … great, … chance that he might think it’s a banana and drop the glasses instead.
50 rupee I get it back ….. like a chant in the background of my ear ….
To my horror I see the monkey licking the whole glasses, bite and trying to tear its way through the nose piece. He has finally figure out that the yellow rubber grip is not a banana … and is now furious gnawing away at my frame.
 |
| Thieving Monkey in Vrindravan Chewing my Classes |
50 rupee I get it back …..
No … 10 rupee …. ( the auto indian in me bargaining )
A guy pass by and saw me watching the monkey ….. 10 rupee for the boy and 10 rupee for him to buy some juice to give the monkey ….. you get back your glasses ….
Looking at the Monkey it was too late … he went ballistic and bend the whole frame trying to rip it apart ….. Oh well …. It’s definitely useless to me now …. I laugh and chuckle and turn around to enjoy what I could of Vrindavan with my blurry vision …
50 rupee I get it back ….. the cheeky kid was still cheerful trying to sell his trade
....
Continue on, I see what I could with my blurry eyes of Vrindavan …. There was a garden with 5 temples in it …. I think it was the Seva Kunj but I could not be sure …. It is stated in wikitravel … planted with countless tulsi (holy basil) trees, this is the garden where gopis dance for Krishna at night, and where Krishna and his lover Radha spend the night locked in the Moti Mahal.
 |
| Vrindravan |
 |
| Vrindravan |
The monkeys of Hare Krishna were a protected being in this holy land as the story has a monkey god Hanuman in it ....
Walking around, I sneak out my phone from time to time trying to get a better view through the lenses of phone camera … I was near-sighted after all … can see near can’t see far but Monkeys were watching … must be weary of monkey jumping me now ...
I pass by the Yamuna river where a holy men tending a tree said to be a thousand year old. Many pilgrims come here to make offering he said …. Do you want to make a donation? I have donated a pair of glasses today to the monkeys … I think it’s enough …. He laughed at my answer but left me alone without any more gimmick’s.
 |
| Yamuna River in Vrindravan |
My hopes of using camera to take pictures for later viewing was dashed when the front gates says No Camera No Phones …. Even from outside the temple looked fabulous …. Left my phone at the locker and went in anyway enjoying the crowd and the feel of people all in happy mode singing Hare Krishna and going round in circles.
 |
| Entrance to Radha Krishna Temple in Mathura - India |
End of Daytrip and I head back to Agra to get my spare glasses out.
Travelled on : Aug 2015
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