After 3 weeks in India, I thought it was high time I made the trip to Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal. I was fully expecting it to be a total anti-climax but I have to say, for me at least, it wasn't. Yes it was crowded, yes it was hot, but come on it's the Taj Mahal! While it didn't take my breath away, it is I believe the most impressive building I've ever seen. The Taj was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of and as a tomb for his wife. Legend has it that he had all the best craftsmen build it and he was so insistent that it was never replicated that he had all their thumbs cut off so they couldn't work again. The things we do for love eh?!
4 of us made the trek from Gurgaon - me, Austin (from the apartment) and Mrinalini and Heena from the office. En route, we stopped in a very nice little restaurant (Sagar Ratna) renowned for it's South Indian delicacies. Masala Dosas rock! When we finally got to the Taj car park, we were instantly surrounded by people trying to sell us postcards, Taj Mahal keyrings, and leather whips...why they thought we would be interested in buying leather whips I have no idea!! We decided to do the most touristy of all touristy things and get ourselves a camel ride up to the Taj. Cheesy, but funny! Admittedly, my first view of the Taj involved jumping up and down with my elbows out to try see over and battle the crowds (slight exaggeration perhaps!) but still, you can't help but be amazed that you're standing in front of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal!! We instantly found a quiet spot where we could take the 'humorous photos' - so we spent about an hour jumping up and down like lunatics trying to capture ourselves in the air with the Taj in the background. Got us quite a few stares I can tell you! We finally tore ourselves away from the tomfoolery long enough to get a bit closer and actually go into the Taj. It's as nice up close as it is from afar and I can't help but think it's an insanely elaborate building to house a tomb! But hey, who am I to complain.
After that, we took our driver and went to Fetehpur Sikri, which we had been warned was pretty bad for touts. Had NO idea just how bad it would be. People were literally jumping in front of the car to stop us and tell us that it was closed but that they knew people and could get us in for a good price, including guide and tickets. We lost them somewhere along the way and discovered not only that it wasn't closed but you don't even need a ticket! We were harassed from the second we got there to the second we left, so needless to say we left pretty sharpish!
All is all, a great day away from Delhi and a New Wonder of the World ticked off the list!
4 of us made the trek from Gurgaon - me, Austin (from the apartment) and Mrinalini and Heena from the office. En route, we stopped in a very nice little restaurant (Sagar Ratna) renowned for it's South Indian delicacies. Masala Dosas rock! When we finally got to the Taj car park, we were instantly surrounded by people trying to sell us postcards, Taj Mahal keyrings, and leather whips...why they thought we would be interested in buying leather whips I have no idea!! We decided to do the most touristy of all touristy things and get ourselves a camel ride up to the Taj. Cheesy, but funny! Admittedly, my first view of the Taj involved jumping up and down with my elbows out to try see over and battle the crowds (slight exaggeration perhaps!) but still, you can't help but be amazed that you're standing in front of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal!! We instantly found a quiet spot where we could take the 'humorous photos' - so we spent about an hour jumping up and down like lunatics trying to capture ourselves in the air with the Taj in the background. Got us quite a few stares I can tell you! We finally tore ourselves away from the tomfoolery long enough to get a bit closer and actually go into the Taj. It's as nice up close as it is from afar and I can't help but think it's an insanely elaborate building to house a tomb! But hey, who am I to complain.
After that, we took our driver and went to Fetehpur Sikri, which we had been warned was pretty bad for touts. Had NO idea just how bad it would be. People were literally jumping in front of the car to stop us and tell us that it was closed but that they knew people and could get us in for a good price, including guide and tickets. We lost them somewhere along the way and discovered not only that it wasn't closed but you don't even need a ticket! We were harassed from the second we got there to the second we left, so needless to say we left pretty sharpish!
All is all, a great day away from Delhi and a New Wonder of the World ticked off the list!
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