In and Around Agra

Today was a very auspicious day. It was Deb’s first visit to the Taj Mahal. Due to our scheduling, we needed to complete this early and that turned out to be a wise decision, because the sky is relatively clear in the mornings and the sun is not so strong at that time of day. Only electric vehicles are allowed within 500 metres of the Taj and most local industry has been moved away from Agra. In saying that, Kanpur and New Delhi are only 200 kms away, but at least there is some acknowledgment of the impact from pollution. As a result some of the Taj has scaffolding around it as the ongoing task of cleaning is undertaken.

It wasn’t all that crowded in the morning, so it was easy to get around, as well as not being too hot. Our guide was a very good english speaker and knew his material well, so was quite informative. The Taj itself is stunningly beautiful and is something that I can’t recommend highly enough. As one of the world great wonders it is a special experience to see it first hand. I feel lucky to have done it twice.

Just to prove we were both there here’s another photo… this time with us in it!

 So after getting the tick on the Taj Mahal from Deb, it was off to Agra Fort, which was built about 100 years earlier. It has many different sections and themes, so it was difficult to pick a couple of photos out. Interestingly, tourists only get to see about 30% of the fort, as the rest is still used by the Indian Army. I do find the multitude of styles really interesting and highly recommend it as well. It is not the Taj, but its construction should be admired as well.

And look another photo of us!

By then it was time to head back to the hotel to have some lunch and check out. We had some Club Sandwiches, Pepperoni Pizza and beer (Kingfisher … of course) for lunch over looking the pool. After our navigational challenges with the driver, Deb wisely decided to download the google map for our journey to Jaipur, so she could direct him as needed. As it turned out, it was needed to get out of Agra. This road eventually improves, but the first 20 or so kilometres are mainly unsealed as the road has deteriorated over time.

Then we visited Fatephur Sikri which is about 40 kms west of Agra on the Jaipur Road. This was the Mughal capital for a short time, until they ran out of water and moved back to Agra. There is a tunnel from Fatephur Sikri to the Agra Fort (40kms) The site itself is quite stunning, but by the time we were there taking good photos was difficult due to the light and the distractions (more below)

My advice is to organise this as part of an organised tour itinerary, as there are many traps to fall into with ‘unofficial’ guides. When we arrived we were identified by one such guide who then handed us off to various others that could sell things like the education of the poor children and other trinkets. Added to this, are all the other sellers who hound you endlessly through the whole place. I felt I then rushed my photos, so didn’t really have any good ones. It is worth seeing, but all of the hawking really detracted from the experience for me and coming off about $50 lighter didn’t necessarily leave me with the nicest feeling, but on the other hand, the organised tour would probably cost the same anyway. I’ll satisfy myself that the money might feed a few families!

Having burnt the best part of an hour and half, we got back to the car and continued on to Jaipur. This took another 3 and a half hours and although the road was quite good, the driver rarely topped 80 km/hour, I think so he would have reaction time to the cows and the random acts of other drivers. Anyway here we are in Jaipur, ready for some sightseeing.

Until tomorrow!