Auranga....bad
How ghetto is Aurangabad?
Marlboro hasn't quite gotten here yet. I had a rough time finding a full pack of cigarettes at the local paan stand. Lots of looseys. And wierd brands, these tiny little things callrd '4-square' and 'navy cut'.
How ghetto is Aurangabad?
Arrived at the Maharastra State Tourism Beurau ( http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/)Being a tourism center
You'd think someone here might:
- Speak english well enough to understand tourists.
- Have information on the local forts in English.
- Try to get that urine smell out of the lobby.
Aparently the target is toursits from within India. They have cheap hotel rooms...like $15 a night. It's exactly what you'd expect for that much.
How ghetto is Aurangabad?
The main attraction in Auragabad is the Bibika-Maqbara or "ghetto-Taj". This was at night and my flash was dying.
Actually the tour books call it the mini-Taj. Years after Shah Jahn built the real Taj Mahal out of the finest marble, his grandson Azam Shah (son of Aurangazeb, for whom the city is named...more on him later he's downright evil) .....But he didn't want to spend so much.
This was for his mother. There are tour guides who will show you all the wonderous, clever corner-cutting of the mini-Taj.
"See....only looks like marble....just wood and plaster"
Truly a monument to one man's cheapness.
