Taj Mahal - Agra Day Trip

What would a trip to India be without seeing the beautiful Taj Mahal in Agra!

We were recommended to go on the Shatabdi Express to Agra from Delhi, but when the hotel tried booking the seats it was all sold out, this was a blessing in disguise because what seemed quite cheap actually wasnt, after adding the 2 return tickets, taxi to and from the train station in Delhi, and to and from the train station in Agra, not to mention the taxi getting around in Agra it was half full vs half empty. The other inconvenience is the trains timings, because the train departs at 6am you will need to be up at 4am missing the hotel breakfast and return was about 10pm in Delhi, once in Agra theres not much to sit and do till nightfall.

The drive was 2hours per 60kilometers and the trip took just under 4 hours each way, tiring but I think it would be more strenuous taking the train. At a toll booth where the taxi stopped there were touts selling some books and trinkets, there were also monkeys on leashes like pets, doing backflips, I wished I had taken a picture but while disregarding the vendors he also made his way elsewhere.

The other advantage was, included in the package the hotel arranged a tour guide who waited for us at a sister property in Agra, we were also able to use their much needed clean facilities. Our guide who knowing had a rather long name to catch said “...but you can call me PC” I usually dont like guides but PC was great, he spoke in hindi to everyone and stood in queues getting our tickets. The ticketing was not included in the package(about 1000rs for Taj and Red Fort). The Taj Mahal is quite strict with respect to what you bring in, I suggest you check before you go. Having the hotel car we left most of our stuff in there anyway. There was a couple from America, who were so sad because they had to walk to and from the Taj Mahal to the ticket each time they were sent back for carrying things not allowed they were doing this for about 3 hours....there are lockers for personal belongings at the ticket office.

PC took our photos of us together and told us exactly where to get the best shots from and where to use flash and not, I enjoyed the light snoozing during his history spurts. Speaking of photos, Taj Mahal is the most photographed tourist destination in the world. A tip when taking photos at the entrance, you may find that you need to use a flash at certain spots and with that only your faces are visible with a complete white background, what good is that when bragging? Erm this is a pic of us at the Taj with a white wall? You could either tell them that the Taj is magical and you need a special camera to snap it up! Anyways dont be frustrated and upset about this(maybe check the correct settings on google?) you could take your photo and even with the simple iphoto on a mac you could adjust the lighting and shadows and voila appears the Taj...so dont delete your memories!

Depending on the time of day and sunlight, past midday the Taj will reflect in the waterfeature in front of it, this makes for a wonderful shot. To the left by the garden walkway another unusual shot is one that encompasses some green infront of the white.

Having a foreign access pass will allow you to cut queues there is no signs stating this, but PC knew all the shortcuts that kept us away from the herds. Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays for prayer.

Apparently PC said that the white souvenirs of the Taj were made of sandstone and could break easily, we wanted to buy one so he took us to a Government approved factory, which displayed the carving of marble and precious stone inlays, as usual we were greeted by a smooth talking salesman, who offers us non obligation beverages, which we declined – maybe they put some drug in their to make you want to buy all their produce. The lights were out and when smoothtalker ordered the generator be switched on appeared in the dark were 2 localmen working with their ancient tools, he asked us if we had any questions, I did want to know when we could leave but I didnt say. His stuff was well priced maybe because we only purchased the smallest items. He then took us upstairs and it was as though his building just kept getting bigger and bigger, behind each curtain appeared a mini warehouse with workers also in the dark just working away with their night vision eyes. He had everything carpets and clothes jewellery and wooden crafts, marble and ruby collectables.

The red fort is about 15 minutes from Taj Mahal and is relatively picturesque which overlooks the white marbled masterpiece. There wasnt much more to see in Agra, and before we headed back we stopped for a late lunch of Paneer Wraps at McDonalds. We were back in Delhi tired at 8pm.