My Tryst with Historical Heritage and Royalty in North India

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I have been holidaying in India for over a week now and after exploring North India I am now in Mumbai for last couple of days. I have, so far, explored a staggering assortment of superb crowd pullers in North Indian cities of Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur. Here is a brief outline of few of my experiences in the first week of my holiday.



I started my holiday with India’s capital, Delhi, where I arrived on flights last Saturday and was joined by my friend who was already in the city. The first thing that caught my attention as soon as I disembarked my flights was the IGI airport. Many taking flights to the capital city’s avant-garde airport will agree that the sprawling terminal 3 is an attraction in its own right.



Delhi

Like most visitors, who take flights to the city during November, we found Delhi immersed in the festive aura in the run up to the country’s most popular festival ‘Diwali’. Our sightseeing of the Old and the New Delhi included the 17th-century majestic Red Fort, Jama Masjid, a tour of the Chandni Chowk area, Humayun's Tomb and Qutab Minar to name just a few of the dazzling staples of the Mughal era; as well as the India Gate and the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President’s House) which are redolent of the times of the Raj. All other attractions were equally captivating and appealing. There is no dearth of free attractions here and the ones that are paid have reasonably priced entry tickets. Opting for a home stay in Delhi instead of a hotel proved to be a brilliant choice; while it saved me enough for the rest of the holiday, I also gained wonderful insight into the typical Indian family lifestyle and culture for an interesting blog on the subject later!



Agra

Just a three hours drive from Delhi on the newly built expressway, Agra was undoubtedly our next stop. Keeping it short, the only attraction on our travel agenda here was the fabled Taj Mahal. Walking on the pure white marble flooring of this Mughal mausoleum is certainly an experience beyond the ken of words and truly worth every penny spent on my flights’ tickets. Like most visitors, we spent a few hours at the Taj and drove off to India’s Pink City, Jaipur. However, Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned capital of Mughals, became an interesting add-on to our itinerary. En route to Jaipur, this brilliant UNESCO World Heritage Site can be conveniently visited without taking a detour. While there is a vast difference in the price of entrance tickets for foreigners vis-a-vis the locals, I found the tickets at all the places of interest quite reasonably priced.



Jaipur

We reached our hotel, ibis Jaipur, in the evening. Jaipur, the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan, is famed for its countless forts and palaces with the City Palace, Amber Fort and Hawa Mahal clearly stealing the show. For us, two days spent in Jaipur were filled with thrill and excitement drawn from such extraordinary activities as the elephant ride, hot air balloon tour and ritzy shopping as well as savouring the lip smacking local cuisines of Rajasthan; it is no wonder why Jaipur is a hot favourite of foreign tourists and is seen on the itineraries of hordes of Britons booking flight tickets and holidays in the desert state of India.



Udaipur

I chose Udaipur over Jodhpur for my keen desire to see its lakes. Although there are flights and taxis from Jaipur to Udaipur, we opted for travel by train. Train travel is far cheaper than flights tickets and taxi fares; it not only caused considerable savings, but also has been an experience of the lifetime for me which I intend to do an exclusive blog on. Mewar Haveli, a hotel overlooking the lake Pichola, simply added to my excitement as soon as I checked in. City Palace, Bagore Ki Haveli, Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake, Jagdish Temple, Monsoon Palace and Shilpgram are just some attractions worth visiting at the destination. Entry tickets are needed at some of the popular attractions such as City Palace.



All in all, the experience of navigating through the royal heart of the country has been great. My flight from Udaipur to Mumbai marked the beginning of the second phase of my holiday which also includes Goa.

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