Skip to main content

Taj Mahal - the one and only



The next weekend Suzie and I visited the Agra, the city where the Taj Mahal is located. It was really enchanting. We took the train there, which was great! Faster than driving and so easy.

We treated ourselves to massages, this time not so invasive, and a nice hotel, never been so extravagant. It rained like crazy on Saturday and Suzie was sick, so we stayed in the hotel, which was great. Otherwise, I would have felt compelled to go out and wander around. I was so nice to relax. We watched 2 Bollywood films too! Dewall and Brick. Both films with Mr. Big B, a famous Indian actor whose real name is Amitabh Bachchan.

Dewall was one of his early films in which he looses his father and ends up making money with good intentions, but through bad means. Black is more recent and his acting has matured significantly. The first bit felt like I was rewatching the story of Helen Keller, but eventually it changed and a new story was developed.

On Sunday, we went out and saw the Taj Mahal. It was really amazing. Not sure how to describe it as it is something that I've seen pictures of since I was little and now all of a sudden I have pics of myself in front of it. Almost seems like I'm photoshopped in- can't believe I've really seen it in person.



From there we walked to the Agra Fort, which was begun in 1565. Interestingly, in 1658 Aurangzeb seized power from his father, Shah Jahan, and locked him up for eight years in the fort. There were great views back to the Taj from the fort.


On the way out a guy selling a marble elepant followed us to an auto rickshaw and we had 2 people to barter with. The elephant dropped from Rs. 900 to 100 in about 5 mins, while the auto driver rambled on about petrol and the government and wanting to take us to a few places, despite us explaining that all we wanted to do was go to the Itimad-ud-Daulah and then back to the hotel. The Itimad-ud-Daulah has many similarities to the Taj and it predates the Taj. There I nearly got attacked by a monkey, which was a bit scary.



Comments

Unknown said…
Hi,

Good to know, just wanted to know how u guys travled from Delhi/Gurgaon to Agra. Kindly get me your views but witch mode do we need to travel BUS/CAR/Train..
July 30, 2009 at 12:06 AM
sachin chaudhary said…
The grand park hotel gurgaon offer Hotels in Gurgaon Delhi, Serviced Appartments in gurgaon, guest house in gurgaon, Accommodation in Gurgaon and provide Cheap Hotels hospitality in Gurgaon guest house.
April 2, 2010 at 4:16 AM
Mimmis said…
Great photos! I am going to India in a couple of weeks for work in Gurgaon outside Delhi, so really hope I get time to visit Taj Mahal one of the days.

It was nice to read your comments about how you experienced this famous landmark.

I used to write a lot of blogs about my travels but the past couple of years have been a bit hectic with many job trips so I've gotten hopelessly behind... Maybe my next trip to India will inspire me to get started again.
April 12, 2010 at 11:38 AM
Anonymous said…
The Grand Park Hotels in Gurgaon offers cheap hotels in Gurgaon with all facilities like AC, TV, Wi-Fi, and Luxury and slandered Rooms, situated in best location of Gurgaon.
November 19, 2010 at 10:37 PM
Unknown said…
Our motto to give the good production and solid things that are like to everyone.
for more details visit
here..Guest house in gurgaon
October 12, 2013 at 12:33 AM
Unknown said…
My hotel is providing the service for better satisfaction and mental peace to every one.
For more details..
1. Guest house in gurgaon
2.
guest house in dlf phase 2
October 12, 2013 at 12:40 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mumbai: Sasson docks and colonial architecture

One of my favorite parts of Mumbai are the Gothic Victorian style buildings that abound the southern part. The Lonely Planet has a walking tour, which we followed part of and it can be combined with a trip to Sasson docks, a bustling fishing port, and Marine drive. To finish off, climb up the intercontinental hotel for a view of Marine drive at night when the Queen's necklace is all lit up. Southern part of Marine drive  There was so much happening at the Sassoon docks: boats being loaded with ice or unloaded of fish, fish being sorted, haircuts, games, children coming from school, and ice being crushed. It was cool to be in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Ice being crushed Loading ice onto the fishing boats Taking a pause from loading ice onto the boat Getting a haircut on the docks Fixing the fishing nets Squid being tossed off the boat Lady strikes a pose Lunch time on the fishing boat Love the brightly colored trucks ...
6 comments
Read more

Vizag: clean city by the sea

Visakhapatnam (or Vizag) wasn't on the radar. It is one of the cleanest places we'd been India. I had no idea it was a city in South East India or how to pronounce it. Only learned it existed because when we tried to get our boarding passes in the airport in Sri Lanka to come to India we needed to show an outbound flight. Walking across the boarder to Myanmar wasn't accepted. Next time will remember to book on a site that allows cancellation after 24 hours, but in the early morning panic that didn't happen. Then it turned out to be overly complicated and expensive to cross overland from India to Myanmar, so we decided to use the flights to Kuala Lumpur and come in from the South. Vizag was now in the itinerary. Get there We took a train from Puri to Khurda junction. And then transfered to a sleeper to Vizag. There is a waiting room in Khurda upstairs to charge phones and sit. Eat, drink, sleep - Sree residency was a great spot to sleep. It was cheaper online. G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Khajuraho: titilating tantric temples

While the Khajuraho temples are known for erotic sculpture, the sculptures depicting sexual positions represent only about 10% of all sculpture. Also, from what I can tell they aren't tantric in the pure sense of ancient tantrik scripture, but I didn't want to give up of the title. At the end of the day, the erotic sculptures to be the main draw as it's not something you find everyday and it's fascinating to see what was being produced over 1000 years ago in India as compared to many other parts of the world. T here were giggles erupting from the Korean women and I was wondering what their guide was telling them. A security guard was prompting a guy to stand brazenly in front of the upside-down pose. A dashing group in bright saris and white pajama floating through the temples. These were the sights in a day spent visiting the temples in Khajuraho. Get there There is a night train from Delhi leaving at 20.20 and arriving at 6.30 that runs 3 times per week. We w...
Post a Comment
Read more