Day 7: Delhi to Agra - Taj Mahal

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We left for Agra around 8:35 Am. Thirty minutes of driving closer to outskirts, it started drizzling. Driver "Thakurji' had to stop and cover the luggage with tarp. it is called highway with tolls. But there are small cities/villages that completely slow down your progress. Since we had a great breakfast, we decided not to stop for lunch. That put our arrival time at 1:30 PM. But the rain slowed us down and we were able to reach radisson Blu only by 2 PM. This is a fabulous hotel. We were delayed a bit at the front desk because of the crowd. In each of the hotels we stayed there is quite a bit of security check of your bags, you and the vehicle. They do it very politely. Our clothes had gotten wet because of the luggage on the rooftop of the vehicle. So we spent sometime drying them in the hotel room. We freshened up in the room and were ready by 3:15 PM. Guide Nadeem was waiting in the lobby. He spoke perfect English and was very legible and clear. Since there was a threat of rain, he siggested that we finish Taj Mahal first and sightsee the Agra fort next morning. If we finish Taj Mahal before 5:30 PM we could go to fort as well on the same evening. We were only 1.2 km from TM. They do not allow any motorized vehicle near other than electric cars operated by Govt and private vendors. After security check rct, Nadeem requested us to look at our feet while crossing a threshold from where one could view TM. As soon as we crossed, he requested us to look up This is one of the spectacular sight you will see in your life! Even though it was cloudy, the imposing building looked so majestic! We took multiple pictures from various angles. Since our guide has been working in this business for 9 years, he knew where to get prime shots. He seemed to be well versed with Mughal history and all of us were asking multiple about that period. He was able to respond to all us with excellent stories attached. There was long line to see their tomb ans we were not that keen since the inside is not as impressive! He took us around and explained every little detail about the building, construction etc. It was close to 5 PM and it started pouring again. We were able to stay in a covered area opposite to TM. He was able to keep us engaged with stories of Akbar, Birbal, shah Jahan etc.By the time the rain ended it was 6 PM. We decided to go to the fort the next day. Nadeem took us to two other places Marble cutting and art work store and the precious stone store. Very good demonstration of how inlays of semi-precious stones are embedded in the There are families that continue to live and work in the business as descendants of original artists of 1700 AD. By the time we finished the tour it was 8 PM. We were tired and wanted to head back to the hotel. We decided to have our dinner in the hotel itself. Kids had seen Pizza in the menu. There were 3 types of dinner service there. One is general buffet, the other is Indian restaurant and the third is a-la-carte menu. We decided to go for individually ordered items. Kids had pasta and Pizza, while we had hakka noodles and Dum biriyani. It was very good. The waiter surprised us by providing Pethas (very popular sweet item made of pumpkin) for free! We came back to our rooms and repacked since we were leaving agra to Jaipur the next day. Our plan next morning was to complete the fort early before 11 am and head to Jaipur. On the way we have to see "Fatehpur Sikri" as well.

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nice post BhoomiBazaar