We woke up early that day and headed to the New Delhi train station to take the earliest express to Agra. Finally!! I was so excited because Agra meant seeing Taj Mahal. Weeee.
I was really dreading going the train ride to Agra. I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised that my first india train experience was far from what I was expecting. We arrived in Agra on time. At the train station, some local was forcing us to take his car. Our driver was kind of meek so a person from the driver’s association (I think) had to intervene and then there was riot. We got scared so we urged our driver to take us away immediately.
Our hotel in Agra, thank god, looked like a hotel. We got complimentary drinks when we arrived and the staff were just friendly. They even volunteered to buy our Taj tickets for the next day so we didn’t have to fall in line in the morning. We arranged our car hire with the hotel concierge too.
We were lucky because our hotel rooms were vacated early that day so we didn’t have to wait for the check in time. We rested a bit and then headed out for some Agra sightseeing.
Our first stop was Sikandra. It was a little bit far from central Agra so it took us quite a while to get there. Sikandra is so beautiful.
the gate and the tomb
It houses the tomb of Akbar the Great. He actually constructed the mausoleum for himself but he died before it was finished and his son had to do the job for him.
panoramic shots
Our second stop was Fatehpur Sikri. It is on the other side of Agra so it was a bit of a ride again. Anyway, Fatehpur Sikr is actually composed of 2 areas, the city palace complex and the temple complex. It was built by Akbar the Great (yes the same Akbar of Sikandra).
From top (clockwise): Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Panch Mahal, Queen’s Palace
The actual Fatehpur sikri complex was huge and it used to be the capital of the kingdom of Akbar the Great. It was abandoned though because of drought.
the patterns are actually wood carvings found at the 1st wife’s palace. though the smallest house among the 3 wives, it took the longest to complete because of these detailed carvings.
Anyway, in Fatehpur, visitors are required to hire a tour guide and Tuktuk to go around the complex. Our guide told us the story of Akbar and his wives, how the third was his favorite because she gave him an heir and how the entire complex was dedicated to her and the priest who was able to foretell that a Hindu woman would give Akbar a son. It was so hot but the sunlight made beautiful photos 🙂
from top left side (clockwise): tomb of salim chishti, the central pillar of the hall of private audience, floor pattern, some random tombs and the king’s gate
Woke up very early the next day and was very excited for the day ahead of us. Not only was it my birthday, it was also the day we visited the primary reason for our India trip. The beautiful Taj Mahal. Though it was walking distance from our hotel, we decided to take the shuttle to conserve our energy. The line was not that long and we were very happy.
the impressive entrance to the Taj
Our first agenda was to look for the spot where Princess Diana had her photo taken. Since we were early, there was not much line to the coveted bench. After a few minutes, it was immediately our turn. I planned to copy the Diana pose, down to the pensive look she had. But I was just too happy. The smile was just plastered on my face.
posing by the “Diana bench”
beyondthesefourwalls 