Agra and the Taj Mahal

We woke up ridiculously early at 4:45, feeling quite sleepy, in order to catch our 6am train from Delhi to Agra. We took two cars to the train station and arrived to a chaotic railway station at 5:30am. People were sleeping all out front of the station, and there was a huge line up trying to get through security. Some poor guy was trying to find the platform to Jaipur and asked us in the hopes that we were heading there and knew. At that point we were pretty happy to be following Shakti, our guide; someone who knew where to go! 

 

Shakti said something to the security guy and he waved us all through without having to get our bags through the X-ray machine. Luckily, our platform happened to be the one right in front of the entrance and our carriage was too. We hopped on and grabbed our seats and waited for the train to start rolling. An English newspaper awaited us, and once the train started rolling they handed out bottles of water and a small cup of hot water for tea or coffee. Then came breakfast - bread, some sort of breaded deep fried veggie/potato thing, 3 French fries and a few frozen peas. 

Overtired from lack of sleep I tried to sleep most of the time, so missed most of the scenery (but not sure there was really much!)

We arrived in Agra at 8:15 and got off the train to meet a small bus to bring us around. Our first stop was Agra Fort, a walled city that took its current form during the reign of Akbar and then his grandson, Shah Jahan. 

 

 

An Aussie in awe of squirrels

We had a local guide to show us around the fort, which was quite impressive! At one point we entered an area and immediately we had a group of Indian boys crowded around us taking photos of us and then asking if they can take a photo with us. The guide explained that they are from local villages where they never see white people except on TV, so they get very excited when they see us foreigners.

 

After the fort, we were able to check into our hotel, the very nice Taj Resorts. Our room was in the basement which was a bit strange as the window was high up and just frosted glass, but the room itself was very nice, and the fact it was under ground meant NO SMOKE in the room! The plan was to have lunch at noon and then go to a carpet making place. My stomach had been feeling a bit sick all day so I decided to stay back at the hotel until later when we were going to go to the Taj Mahal. Dave went along with the group and they got to see how local carpets were made, and of course had the option to buy!

 

I met up with the group and off to see the Taj Mahal we went! Security is tight, so we were instructed not to bring much in. As per usual in this part of the world, there were two separate lines for men and women and the men's line was longer. (A nice change from bathroom lines....). The Indian woman in front of me had her hand bag searched and had a knife confiscated...

The Taj Mahal was built by the grandson of the great Moghul Akbar, Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. At the end of Shah Jahan's life, his son kept him deposed in the Agra Fort with a balcony and view of the Taj Mahal.

We all walked in and through the gate and there it was!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are separate lines (and ticket prices) for Foreigners and Indians - this was the Indian line to get inside the tomb. It wrapped all the way around the back.