We were up and on our way to the Taj Mahal by 5:45am in order to enter at sunrise. Like everywhere security is tight. We're getting very accustomed to being patted down and having the car scanned by sensors everywhere.
At the Taj, we had to park a long distance away and take a small tram to the site, where we had another walk to the Taj itself. It really is as astonishing as we had heard -- more beautiful than any building we've ever seen. We chose not to have our photo taken on "Diana's bench" but our guide kindly shot pictures of us several other places. He said some people want to sit where she was photographed, but most people prefer not too because she was an unhappy unlucky lady.
The Taj Mahal has been photographed and described very well so many times, I won't even try, but it is indeed breath-taking.
Back at the hotel at 7:30 we had an excellent breakfast, then packed up and met Guru and Sukhdev for the trip to Fatehpur Sikri. This is another Mughal fort, an hour or so from Agra. Along the way we saw busy markets, more crazy traffic, sometimes tuk-tuks carrying 8 people; we found it crowded with 2 in Delhi. The fort is a vast red sandstone structure with beautiful carvings. The king had 3 wives: Muslim, Hindu and Christian. Each wife had her own residence in the fort.
Attached to the fort is a lovely mosque which we saw from a distance but did not visit.
Leaving the fort, we dropped Guru (guide) off to catch local transportation back to Agra, and proceeded on our way to Jaipur on a very good highway though similar agricultural country side with occasional villages and markets.
Coming into Jaipur was once again to be plunged into chaos, but Sukhdev is familiar with the city and navigated to the hotel easily. Security is not so tight here, with a check of the car at the gate, a detector and scanner at the door, but no pat-down. [of course just down the hall from our room 2 soldiers with rifles sit opposite each other. I waved last night and they jumped to their feet and saluted]
As usual, we were greeted by a very pleasant local rep who outlined our stay and saw us through the check-in.
The room here is far nicer than the one in Agra, with a desk for the computer, chairs and a nice view of the pool area. Sukhdev picked us up at 7 to drive us to the very grand hotel for dinner. It was a very very nice dining experience with attentive staff and a conversation with the charming chef. There were dancers performing outside in the garden and we had a good view from our table. Unfortunately, by the time we got back to our own hotel Janice was hit with the dread traveller's illness. We hope that, like Larry, she recovers quickly. At least the timing was good.
All Photos of the Day
At the Taj, we had to park a long distance away and take a small tram to the site, where we had another walk to the Taj itself. It really is as astonishing as we had heard -- more beautiful than any building we've ever seen. We chose not to have our photo taken on "Diana's bench" but our guide kindly shot pictures of us several other places. He said some people want to sit where she was photographed, but most people prefer not too because she was an unhappy unlucky lady.
The Taj Mahal has been photographed and described very well so many times, I won't even try, but it is indeed breath-taking.
Attached to the fort is a lovely mosque which we saw from a distance but did not visit.
Leaving the fort, we dropped Guru (guide) off to catch local transportation back to Agra, and proceeded on our way to Jaipur on a very good highway though similar agricultural country side with occasional villages and markets.
Coming into Jaipur was once again to be plunged into chaos, but Sukhdev is familiar with the city and navigated to the hotel easily. Security is not so tight here, with a check of the car at the gate, a detector and scanner at the door, but no pat-down. [of course just down the hall from our room 2 soldiers with rifles sit opposite each other. I waved last night and they jumped to their feet and saluted]
As usual, we were greeted by a very pleasant local rep who outlined our stay and saw us through the check-in.
The room here is far nicer than the one in Agra, with a desk for the computer, chairs and a nice view of the pool area. Sukhdev picked us up at 7 to drive us to the very grand hotel for dinner. It was a very very nice dining experience with attentive staff and a conversation with the charming chef. There were dancers performing outside in the garden and we had a good view from our table. Unfortunately, by the time we got back to our own hotel Janice was hit with the dread traveller's illness. We hope that, like Larry, she recovers quickly. At least the timing was good.
All Photos of the Day
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