Enjoying the beautiful view over the river from Agra Fort with the Taj Mahal in the background
Jaipur (The Pink City)
After accidentally overextending our stay in Udaipur, we found ourselves with only one day & night to explore Jaipur. Jaipur is the biggest city in Rajasthan, so I was fine to not spend too much time there, but there were quite a few "must-dos".
After yet another overnight train we arrived into Jaipur, dropped our stuff off at our guest house and headed out to explore the town. We had a little trouble navigating the streets around the guest house and managed to forget to pick up a business card (with a detailed map on it) which came back to bite us later on.
One of the gates to the Old City.
Incidentally, this gate was also where a snake charmer scared the shite out of me! He was sitting in the very narrow pedestrian walkway and, when we were about to walk by, he whipped the top off his basket and a cobra peeked its head out! Honestly, I nearly had a heart attack. I ran back so fast that everyone around us was staring at me. Freaking snake charmers. Kyle had to make him promise not to open it again so that I could get by. Sneaking through the car passage would have been more life-threatening than the cobra incident, but much more do-able for me!
We weaved our way through the very crowded sidewalks. Bazaars everywhere. Our favorite was the 5 or 6 stalls in a row that just sold chillies, of varying hot ratings. Indians love their chillies!
A very handy gentleman fixing Kyle's Havaianas for only 5 rupees (12 cents US) each. Huge bargain!! (They're still going strong 5 countries later.)
Not nearly as blue as the "Blue City", the "Pink City" got its name as all the buildings facing onto the main streets and avenues were painted pink in preparation for a visit by a British monarch.
A very handy gentleman fixing Kyle's Havaianas for only 5 rupees (12 cents US) each. Huge bargain!! (They're still going strong 5 countries later.)
Not nearly as blue as the "Blue City", the "Pink City" got its name as all the buildings facing onto the main streets and avenues were painted pink in preparation for a visit by a British monarch.
Every form of transportation is allowed on the road here.
A couple locals at the temple that had to have a picture. It looked like we'd coordinated our outfits that morning.
Walking through the flower market - Most of the flowers here were used to make wreaths used for offerings at the temples.
View of the roundabout from above - chaos. Not the easiest thing to walk across as there appeared to be no rules...
One of the many bangle shops in the "Bangle Bazaar". We had no intention of going here, but we got sucked in and had a look. Good for the girls for dress up!
Our first stop was at the Hawa Mahal, the most distinctive landmark in Jaipur. In classic Rajput style, it was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawaj Pratap Singh for the ladies of the royal harem to watch life taking place on the streets below without being seen. Constructed from pink sandstone, it glows in pinks & yellows in the sun. Stunning.
After entering from the other side, it became obvious how literal the term screen was. Most of the building wasn't much wider than a hallway.
Exploring the old haunt of the harem.
Winding our way through the maze of courtyards
Indians really like their betel nut. Unfortunately, it leaves really hideous spit stains everywhere!! (The fresh ones look like blood. Yuck.)
Still in awe of Indian scaffolding (at least this looks more sturdy than the stuff in Jodhpur!)
Watching a few local "construction workers"
(There may be a faster way to move dirt than in bowls on your head, but you've gotta use what you've got. There aren't many wheelbarrows in India, but there are lots of heads!)
Knowing that we had limited time in Jaipur, we took advantage of our high vantage point to scope a couple of the other sights.
Probably the pinkest street in the "Pink City"
Catching a glimpse of the 27 m high gnomon (sundial) at the nearby observatory, Jantar Mantar
City Palace
It was hard work dodging the never ending stream of tour guides and rickshaw drivers, but we managed to skirt them all and finally get to the City Palace. With many different courtyards and buildings, it was a lovely example of Rajput and Mughal design combined.
Mubarak Mahal (The Welcome Palace) was used for visiting dignitaries & is now part of the Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II Museum (the highlight of which was the Maharajas clothing - extra large to fit his 300 kg bod! And they wondered how he could've had 108 wives but no children...)
Poking around in the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) which is basically an open-air art gallery
Rumored to have been used by the Maharaja to carry holy water from the Ganges back to England, these urns are thought to be the largest solid silver objects in the world.
There is no shortage of weaponry here.
Our favorite spot was the Pitam Niwas Chowk, a fantastic courtyard that has been used for lots of Bollywood movies. With its gateways depicting the 4 different seasons, they were the highlight of the palace.
Looking up from the Pitam Niwas Chowk to the Chandra Mahal, the private palace still used by the Royal family
Wanting to hit a couple sights quickly, we negotiated a rickshaw to a couple of the recommended sights, the Royal Gaitor & the Nahagarh Fort.
Like many of the most amazing structures in India, these are also monuments dedicated to the dead. All the cenotaphs were in amazing condition and, since we were there at the end of the day, the sight was completely empty except for us (A true rarity in India!).
Getting closer and closer to sunset, we hightailed it over the Fort. As negotiated, the rickshaw driver was to drop us off just outside the gate, wait and then take us back to town after. When he decided to change the plan by dropping us off at the bottom of the mountain, just a short 2km walk straight up to the fort, and with no ride back into town, he was outraged that we were not going to pay him the full agreed upon amount. You do the agreed upon job, you will receive the agreed upon price. 1/2 the job gets 1/2 the pay. I really don't like drivers for hire. I know that the odds say that there must be a good share of honest drivers around the world, but we haven't met many yet.
A common sight in the small villages... India's answer to trash (and human waste) disposal - Pigs! Hmm, never really considered becoming a vegetarian before, but it's something to think about...
With the light already waning, we started our climb up. Not far in, we asked a couple of fellow travelers coming down if it was worth the late walk up, and we ended up chatting with them past sunset. Hmm, well that takes care of that! Adam (British) & Corinne (French) were a fun couple to chat with and, as we really hadn't met many other travelers in India, we were keen for some company.
Our only view of the Tiger Fort
Watching one of the local boys flying his kite. He kept trying to pass it over to me at which point it would start a quick plummet. Not my bag, I guess. (Another boy was telling me about their annual kite flying contests complete with kite cutting with glass-coated string & "running"... Very Kite Runner!)
An amazing Masala dosa that we had out with Adam & Corinne!
After a nice evening out, we ran out in the pouring rain to grab a rickshaw back to our hotel. After dropping off Adam & Corinne near their hotel, we continued on to ours. Unfortunately, our driver didn't know where our hotel was...and neither did we. That was the start of more than an hour of wandering around, getting completely soaked, trying to find the stupid hotel. I can't believe that we didn't pick up a card before leaving!! A guy at another hotel took pity on us and walked us all the way to our hotel. So nice of him.
After nearly 1 1/2 hours of wandering the streets, we got back to the hotel at around 12:30 am with not much sleep time before we had to be up for our train to Agra at 5:15am...
After nearly 1 1/2 hours of wandering the streets, we got back to the hotel at around 12:30 am with not much sleep time before we had to be up for our train to Agra at 5:15am...
Agra
The next morning, we got the early train to Agra. It was only 4 hours there so we wanted to get there early as there was plenty to see in only 2 days. Also, we had heard that the town itself wasn't very nice, so we didn't want to stay more than was necessary.
Upon arrival, we hopped out and headed right to our hotel. By the time we had arrived, it had started to pour. Hmm, what are our options now? We wanted to see the Taj Mahal & Agra Fort the same day, so maybe a little sidetrip to Fatehpur Sikri.
Looking over to all the travelers sitting around in the cafes. No one wanted to head out in the pouring rain.
Fatehpur Sikri
After reading a book called The Twentieth Wife while I was laid-up in Jordan, we felt inspired to get out to Fatehpur Sikri. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan is a fictionalized historical novel about the Mughal empire, specifically Akbar, his son Salim and grandson Khurram (who went on to build the Taj Mahal for his beloved 2nd wife). The book got us very interested in Mughal history and exploring the historical places of the Mughal empire a bit more. The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri were all key monuments built during the time of the Mughals.
Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal Empire for just 14 years during the 16th century. It was built by Emperor Akbar as a tribute to the Shaikh that predicted the birth of a male heir to the throne. Unfortunately, the town planners forgot to check out the water supply first, and it was quickly abandoned because of it. The ghost city built from red sandstone is now a World Heritage site.
We made our way to Agra bus station and got ourselves onto a local bus to Fatehpur Sikri. It was grimy, one of the grimiest we've seen, and leaking rain in through most of the windows, but it was only for an hour. Or so we thought....
Nearly 3 hours later, after a forced detour off the main road onto little roads in a big bus, with our completely lost bus driver asking every third person for directions, we finally arrived to Fatehpur Sikri. It was already starting to get dark so we didn't have much time to spare. In addition, we had been told that the last public bus back to town was in exactly 1 hour. Fabulous. Guess this will be a quick visit!
In our walk through town, we inadvertently picked up a local guy who insisted on showing us to the palace, which has since been converted into a mosque. We were running far too late to argue so we just went with it. He was an 18 year old guy that said that he wanted to work on his English and wasn't charging anything. Hmm, we'll see. I'm sure that he was working for commission or something, but we'll sort that out when we get to it.
The 54 m high Victory Gate (aka Buland Darwaza) is thought to be the largest "gate" in Asia
Looking back at the gate from within the expansive courtyard inside, overlooking the many stone slabs marking the graves of Royal family members
The tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti, the great Sufi saint that the city was dedicated to
Us absolutely drenched in sweat in front of the tomb with plastic baskets on our heads... (Everyone must cover their heads in respect, but this was a creative way to do it!)
The famous jalis in the tomb that, for 4 centuries, childless women have tied red string onto it hopes of a child
The lovely mother of pearl mosaic of the inner tomb
Despite not wanting a guide, after it got dark and being stuck on top of a hill in an unfamiliar town, we were pretty thankful for our young guide. After our unexpectedly long bus ride out, and missing the last bus back for the night, we decided to take the train back. We had heard that it only ran a couple times per day, so it wasn't the most convenient, but based on the roads on the way out, there was no way we would make it back to Agra at all if we went by bus.
The guide got us to the bus station and said that it would only be about 30 minutes more for the train to Agra. On the Indian time table, we already knew that it really meant more like 1 1/2 hours. He said that it would only be about 1 hour back to Agra so we were thankful (and hungry).
Sitting on the train platform, we were quickly surrounded by local men who wanted to have a chat. And I mean surrounded!! It was only a couple at first, but it quickly became 30. All very interested in knowing if we liked India and the people. It was all good until one said that we was trying to plan a trip to Australia and wanted our address & phone number so that he could stay with us. Yeah, he may have taken the "friends" thing a bit too far. Maybe next time.
A couple of our new "friends" escorted us onto the train, right onto the sleeper car and sat us next to a young woman. Something about it didn't seem quite right, but we thought maybe we were wrong. No, we were right. As we had bought last minute tickets, our tickets were only good for the "General 2nd class" car - the one that had what seemed like thousands of Indians hanging out the doors and windows of one car. And here we were, sitting next to this poor woman, on her bed for the night, as she tried to come up with the proper English to tell us to get off her bed!
When we finally figured out what we'd done, we started making our way through the cars on the way to the 2nd class car. After quite a long walk and realizing that we would be the only foreigners in there (and feeling done with being stared at for the day), we decided to just stand up in the little space in between cars. Not glamorous or comfortable, but we probably had a bit more space than in the 2nd class car.
As per usual, our stated 1 hour journey turned into 2 1/2 hours. We still don't know how it happened, but it took ages! By the time we hopped into a rickshaw back to our hotel, it was 10:45pm and we were just able to convince the guy working at the closing restaurant for 2 plates of noodles. Phew. We were absolutely starving and would've likely killed someone if we didn't get something to eat!
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal...enough said. The Taj Mahal is the reason why many people come to India. For us, it wasn't the only reason, but it most definitely was not to be missed.
The Taj was sometimes referred to by "the bible" (Lonely Planet) as "the most extravagant monument built for love." It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan (aka Khurram, Akbar's grandson) for his favorite wife, his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. He started building this tribute to her in the same year, taking 22 years to complete. Not long after it was completed, Emperor Shah Jahan's son overthrew him, keeping him prisoner in a room in Agra Fort where he spent his last days gazing out at his greatest work. After he finally died more than 8 years later, his remains were placed in the Taj Mahal next to Mumtaz.
Anxious to visit during the best time of day (with the least crowds and best opportunity for good pictures), we decided to get there for sunrise.
For 5:45am, the town of Agra was surprisingly alive and bustling, with lots of tourists walking over to the South gate of the Taj. We queued up, bought our $20 tickets (pretty much the most expensive thing we've paid for in all of India, except for airfares!) and went through the pat down.
They had pretty strict entry regulations including no food, no drinks (except water), and no miscellaneous electronics. It always has to be something. I guess we understood the food & drink limitations as they didn't want anyone setting up a nice little picnic on the lawn or anything. We only brought our cameras and the necessities, but we still managed to get pulled up on something - a camera cord. I guess the worry was that if we were crafty enough to want to build a big bomb or something with 50 other people that had smuggled in other random items, it could be done. Oh well, to the check in counter and back into the "pat-down" queue.
South gate
Finally inside, we headed toward the south gate and quickly walked through to catch our first look at the spectacular monument in the early morning light. Stunning.
A group of tourists, and me, all trying to get the perfect picture before the crowds got too thick
But what is the perfect shot of this magnificent building?
An artsy black & white...
...or a close up of the main structure...
...or a vertical orientation with a nice reflection in the pool!
Putting on our little plastic booties in order to have a closer look
While we really thought that the most stunning views are from afar, there were really beautiful details to be had from close up.
The entrance to the main hall. No photos were allowed, not that it mattered though as it was barely bright enough to see anything in side. We overheard a guide talking about the intricate mosaics of lotus flowers that contained over 60 individual pieces per flower. Wow, intensive labor!
Some Indian tourists taking it in from all angles
Caught in a "Forrest Gump moment"!
A Japanese tourist who obviously has had to much excitement for one morning. Hmm, we felt like a nap as well!
Upon arrival, we hopped out and headed right to our hotel. By the time we had arrived, it had started to pour. Hmm, what are our options now? We wanted to see the Taj Mahal & Agra Fort the same day, so maybe a little sidetrip to Fatehpur Sikri.
Looking over to all the travelers sitting around in the cafes. No one wanted to head out in the pouring rain.
Fatehpur Sikri
After reading a book called The Twentieth Wife while I was laid-up in Jordan, we felt inspired to get out to Fatehpur Sikri. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan is a fictionalized historical novel about the Mughal empire, specifically Akbar, his son Salim and grandson Khurram (who went on to build the Taj Mahal for his beloved 2nd wife). The book got us very interested in Mughal history and exploring the historical places of the Mughal empire a bit more. The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri were all key monuments built during the time of the Mughals.
Fatehpur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal Empire for just 14 years during the 16th century. It was built by Emperor Akbar as a tribute to the Shaikh that predicted the birth of a male heir to the throne. Unfortunately, the town planners forgot to check out the water supply first, and it was quickly abandoned because of it. The ghost city built from red sandstone is now a World Heritage site.
We made our way to Agra bus station and got ourselves onto a local bus to Fatehpur Sikri. It was grimy, one of the grimiest we've seen, and leaking rain in through most of the windows, but it was only for an hour. Or so we thought....
Nearly 3 hours later, after a forced detour off the main road onto little roads in a big bus, with our completely lost bus driver asking every third person for directions, we finally arrived to Fatehpur Sikri. It was already starting to get dark so we didn't have much time to spare. In addition, we had been told that the last public bus back to town was in exactly 1 hour. Fabulous. Guess this will be a quick visit!
In our walk through town, we inadvertently picked up a local guy who insisted on showing us to the palace, which has since been converted into a mosque. We were running far too late to argue so we just went with it. He was an 18 year old guy that said that he wanted to work on his English and wasn't charging anything. Hmm, we'll see. I'm sure that he was working for commission or something, but we'll sort that out when we get to it.
Looking up at the Palace walls and the Victory Gate
The murky green moat
The 54 m high Victory Gate (aka Buland Darwaza) is thought to be the largest "gate" in Asia
Looking back at the gate from within the expansive courtyard inside, overlooking the many stone slabs marking the graves of Royal family members
The tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti, the great Sufi saint that the city was dedicated to
One of the jalis, intricate marble latticework screens, in the tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti
Us absolutely drenched in sweat in front of the tomb with plastic baskets on our heads... (Everyone must cover their heads in respect, but this was a creative way to do it!)
The famous jalis in the tomb that, for 4 centuries, childless women have tied red string onto it hopes of a child
The lovely mother of pearl mosaic of the inner tomb
The entrance to the underground tunnel that is rumored to have led all the way back to Agra (over 40km)!
Despite not wanting a guide, after it got dark and being stuck on top of a hill in an unfamiliar town, we were pretty thankful for our young guide. After our unexpectedly long bus ride out, and missing the last bus back for the night, we decided to take the train back. We had heard that it only ran a couple times per day, so it wasn't the most convenient, but based on the roads on the way out, there was no way we would make it back to Agra at all if we went by bus.
The guide got us to the bus station and said that it would only be about 30 minutes more for the train to Agra. On the Indian time table, we already knew that it really meant more like 1 1/2 hours. He said that it would only be about 1 hour back to Agra so we were thankful (and hungry).
Sitting on the train platform, we were quickly surrounded by local men who wanted to have a chat. And I mean surrounded!! It was only a couple at first, but it quickly became 30. All very interested in knowing if we liked India and the people. It was all good until one said that we was trying to plan a trip to Australia and wanted our address & phone number so that he could stay with us. Yeah, he may have taken the "friends" thing a bit too far. Maybe next time.
Kyle posing with a few of our new friends from the train station
A couple of our new "friends" escorted us onto the train, right onto the sleeper car and sat us next to a young woman. Something about it didn't seem quite right, but we thought maybe we were wrong. No, we were right. As we had bought last minute tickets, our tickets were only good for the "General 2nd class" car - the one that had what seemed like thousands of Indians hanging out the doors and windows of one car. And here we were, sitting next to this poor woman, on her bed for the night, as she tried to come up with the proper English to tell us to get off her bed!
When we finally figured out what we'd done, we started making our way through the cars on the way to the 2nd class car. After quite a long walk and realizing that we would be the only foreigners in there (and feeling done with being stared at for the day), we decided to just stand up in the little space in between cars. Not glamorous or comfortable, but we probably had a bit more space than in the 2nd class car.
As per usual, our stated 1 hour journey turned into 2 1/2 hours. We still don't know how it happened, but it took ages! By the time we hopped into a rickshaw back to our hotel, it was 10:45pm and we were just able to convince the guy working at the closing restaurant for 2 plates of noodles. Phew. We were absolutely starving and would've likely killed someone if we didn't get something to eat!
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal...enough said. The Taj Mahal is the reason why many people come to India. For us, it wasn't the only reason, but it most definitely was not to be missed.
The Taj was sometimes referred to by "the bible" (Lonely Planet) as "the most extravagant monument built for love." It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan (aka Khurram, Akbar's grandson) for his favorite wife, his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. He started building this tribute to her in the same year, taking 22 years to complete. Not long after it was completed, Emperor Shah Jahan's son overthrew him, keeping him prisoner in a room in Agra Fort where he spent his last days gazing out at his greatest work. After he finally died more than 8 years later, his remains were placed in the Taj Mahal next to Mumtaz.
Anxious to visit during the best time of day (with the least crowds and best opportunity for good pictures), we decided to get there for sunrise.
From the roof our hotel, we caught our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal just before sunrise.
For 5:45am, the town of Agra was surprisingly alive and bustling, with lots of tourists walking over to the South gate of the Taj. We queued up, bought our $20 tickets (pretty much the most expensive thing we've paid for in all of India, except for airfares!) and went through the pat down.
They had pretty strict entry regulations including no food, no drinks (except water), and no miscellaneous electronics. It always has to be something. I guess we understood the food & drink limitations as they didn't want anyone setting up a nice little picnic on the lawn or anything. We only brought our cameras and the necessities, but we still managed to get pulled up on something - a camera cord. I guess the worry was that if we were crafty enough to want to build a big bomb or something with 50 other people that had smuggled in other random items, it could be done. Oh well, to the check in counter and back into the "pat-down" queue.
South gate
Finally inside, we headed toward the south gate and quickly walked through to catch our first look at the spectacular monument in the early morning light. Stunning.
Not the best sunrise, but great lighting for a few shots.
A group of tourists, and me, all trying to get the perfect picture before the crowds got too thick
But what is the perfect shot of this magnificent building?
An artsy black & white...
...or a close up of the main structure...
...or a vertical orientation with a nice reflection in the pool!
A nicely aligned shot with a view of the 4 towers....
Or one that has a bit of everything
I couldn't decide which is best, probably why we have about 200 pictures of it (no exaggeration). This place is so photogenic that it was really difficult to stop taking photos!
Putting on our little plastic booties in order to have a closer look
While we really thought that the most stunning views are from afar, there were really beautiful details to be had from close up.
The entrance to the main hall. No photos were allowed, not that it mattered though as it was barely bright enough to see anything in side. We overheard a guide talking about the intricate mosaics of lotus flowers that contained over 60 individual pieces per flower. Wow, intensive labor!
Some Indian tourists taking it in from all angles
Caught in a "Forrest Gump moment"!
Even the gates are very lovely
Feeling pretty lucky that the place wasn't completely overrun with tourists yet
A Japanese tourist who obviously has had to much excitement for one morning. Hmm, we felt like a nap as well!
While, yes, it is just a building in the end, we were completely breathless in awe of it. Now we've been to India.
A view back at the Taj from Agra Fort
Feeling more awake than we'd expected, we headed out for some chai and brekkie at Joney's Place, by far the best food we had in all of Agra.
Kyle was practicing his chai-wallah skills
Agra Fort
While the Taj Mahal is the reason most tourists visit Agra, Agra Fort is one of the best Mughal forts in all of India and was well worth a visit. Plus, if you could take a massive hit of history and monuments in one day, you got a discount.
Building on Agra Fort was started by Emperor Akbar in 1565, however acquired many additions over the next few emperors' rule. Originally it was built for the military, but it later became a palace under Shah Jahan (builder of the Taj Mahal), then his prison after his son took over power.
A little glimpse of the massive double walls, 20m high and 2.5 m thick, that surround the entire fort
Entering over the moat and through the main gate, Amar Singh gate
The moat that used to be filled with crocodiles
School children on a field trip to the fort
Jehangir's palace, built by Akbar for his son
Inside the inner courtyard
A few examples of the amazingly detailed stonework
Inside another one of the lovely courtyards
A look down at the wall from one of the palaces
Inside the suite where Shah Jahan was imprisoned. It's no Alcatraz, but it'll do.
The view of the Taj Mahal from the Khas Mahal, where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son for eight years
Inscription on Takhti-i-Jehangir, a big black rock (used as a throne) from which the Taj Mahal actually looks closer than it is.
Looking over at Shah Jahan's personal bedroom suite, which is just next to the grounds where they held the Ladies' Bazaar
The doorways to the royal suite
Looking out from my royal vantage point
Inlaid gold decor everywhere!
The lovely balconies for the zenana (harem)
The doorways to the royal suite
Looking out from my royal vantage point
Inlaid gold decor everywhere!
The lovely balconies for the zenana (harem)
Inside the mosque built for the ladies of the zenana
All of these designs are inlaid into the marble - the workmanship is amazingly intricate and beautiful.
Indian children and women taking their photo in front of the throne alcove.
After a pretty lackluster lunch at Zorba the Buddha (possibly the worst value and worst curry in all of India...harsh, but true), we haggled down one of the waiting auto-rickshaw drivers to drive to a few of the remaining sites around town, including Itimad-Ud-Daulah & Akbar's Mausoleum.
Akbar's Mausoleum
The massive entrance at the gateway
Is it weird that the gateway is actually more impressive than the mausoleum itself?
The huge courtyard and sprawling greens inside were loaded with roaming gazelles.
Although only 10km, it took forever to get out there, making us feel a little bad about bargaining the driver so hard on the fare. Thinking we should tip him fairly well, we then moved on to the next stop on our whistle-stop tour.
Although only 10km, it took forever to get out there, making us feel a little bad about bargaining the driver so hard on the fare. Thinking we should tip him fairly well, we then moved on to the next stop on our whistle-stop tour.
One of my favorite scenes around town... cycle rickshaws or just cyclists that carry amazing amounts of things on their seats!!
Colourful construction worker
The central marble structure contained the tombs
Tombs of Ghiyas Beg & his wife
Tombs of Ghiyas Beg & his wife
Beautiful marble latticework, inlaid marble & precious stone mosaics throughout...
Local craftsman cutting out individual tiles for restoration works
Well-dressed kids begging for money along the riverfront
After seeing this last monument, we were exhausted and were keen to get back for a sunset view of the Taj Mahal. Somehow though, our driver got some other driver to talk us into going to a marble shop. Ugh. (Most drivers get commissions for bringing tourists to shops whether or not they buy anything.) We agreed to go, but he was missing out on his tip. I did a 5 minute countdown on my watch and then we were outta there.
We found one of the many rooftop restaurants for the view of the Taj however, as many are owned by muslims, very few serve alcohol. Luckily we were able to bring our own, although we had to conceal it by drinking it out of coffee mugs. Oh well. It was all very enjoyable until we had to wait for nearly 2 hours for our dinner, nearly had a tantrum and walked out. That, of course, got us immediate service, not 5 minutes after I was hearing a waiter tell a couple girls in a hurry that they would definitely have their food in 20 minutes from the time they ordered. Yeah, sure you will...
Overall impression?? Agra was a must do because of the Taj and the Fort, but otherwise, it got my vote as my least favorite place in India (this is not an uncommon view). Lots & lots of touts, crappy food & less than friendly people - sort of glad that we only stayed for 2 days. Onwards to Varanasi...
We found one of the many rooftop restaurants for the view of the Taj however, as many are owned by muslims, very few serve alcohol. Luckily we were able to bring our own, although we had to conceal it by drinking it out of coffee mugs. Oh well. It was all very enjoyable until we had to wait for nearly 2 hours for our dinner, nearly had a tantrum and walked out. That, of course, got us immediate service, not 5 minutes after I was hearing a waiter tell a couple girls in a hurry that they would definitely have their food in 20 minutes from the time they ordered. Yeah, sure you will...
Overall impression?? Agra was a must do because of the Taj and the Fort, but otherwise, it got my vote as my least favorite place in India (this is not an uncommon view). Lots & lots of touts, crappy food & less than friendly people - sort of glad that we only stayed for 2 days. Onwards to Varanasi...
