Agra, the City of Love!

We started off the day very early, at 5:30 am. Got up and were out in our cab by 6:10am heading off to Agra. Now the reason we went by a car and not by the train ( like everyone else does) was because of two main reasons.

Remember the long 4 hours business meeting we had two days ago. Well one thing that could be said from that meeting was that the people we met with were very generous and kind that they insisted we go to Agra by a car that they provided and have a tour guide waiting for us in Agra to explain the Taj Mahal for us in detail. Initially, we hesitated, since we had planned to go by train, but the second reason convinced us to go. It was because the train tickets were sold out. We actually called the train company to ask and confirm. With these two reasons, we were forced to take the offer.

Our journey to Agra took around 5 hours. We only stopped once on the way to have breakfast at a very expensive and touristy restaurant. Nothing interesting happened on the way as I slept through most of it.

We reached Agra at 11 and were greeted by our Indian Tour guide. We picked him up from the side of the road. It was pretty random. I think he had already contacted our driver, but still , it was random!

As soon as the guide gets into the car, he says, " Gentlemen, welcome to the city of love, Agra".

Agra is a small city if you compare it Delhi but still noisy, dirty, and of course, filled with people. It took as another 5 to 10 minutes to reach the gates of the Taj Mahal. After those gates, cars are not allowed and we had to take electric cars. The government is doing this to preserve the walls of the Taj from the pollution. Good move Indian government!.

Now came the time to buy our tickets. They cost 750 Rs for tourist and 10 Rs for Indians. I really wanted to do the same " act like an Indian " and get the cheap tickets but this time, we had the tour guide with us so we couldn't do it. We paid the amount, got our tickets, and headed towards the Taj.

Whenever I saw the Taj Mahal in pictures or on the television, I always thought it was just that white building with the huge garden around it. Apparently, there are three gates surrounding it from the South, East, and West. The North side has a river. We walked in through the East gate and on the way, our guide explained to us all about the building of the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is actually a mausoleum built by the Mughul Emperor Shah Jahan, for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It took 22 years to build and the whole white structure is made of white marble. I was thinking, would a husband do something like this for his wife in today's world. I doubt it! I wont go into more details since you all can google it. I would prefer giving you my own perspective of the Taj.

After walking around for a few minutes, we entered through The Great Gate which is the main gateway to the Taj Mahal. It was really a breathtaking view as I had always seen this building in pictures, but trust me, its way more beautiful in real life. The size and beauty of this building cannot be described in words. All I can say is that I took out my camera and went crazy taking pictures.

As we were walking towards the main building across the gardens, a local photographer approached us offering his service. I was not convinced since he wanted to take a lot of money but dad said, " how many times will you come to the Taj Mahal in your life? ". Wise man my dad!

The Photographer took our pictures from every angle possible and he really did a great job. I promise to upload all the pictures once I am back to Doha,but as for now, here is one.

After another 20 to 30 minutes of walking around the place and inside the building, which was not very fascinating, we took our printed pictures from the photographer and headed out. As we were going to drop our guide, he said he wanted to show us a small shop. I knew here is where he wanted to rip us off!

He took us to a small shop that makes marble pieces. He said that the workers working in this shop are the great grand children of the Persians who worked on the Taj Mahal! ( yea right! ).

A little (not so persian looking) man greeted us and showed us around. The place was actually very beautiful and you could see that the marble pieces they made were really hand made and not from China. However, the prices he told us were ridiculous. My dad, being a businessman, told him that he will come latter to buy a lot of his marble pieces. He even took his business card!

After giving the shop owner so much hope, we left and said good bye to our tour guide. With my dad having a little cold from the AC in our hotel, we couldn't see anything else in Agra so we started driving back to Delhi.

The drive was actually longer, 6 and half hours. On the way, I got really bored so I started taking pictures of things I would see only in India. I will upload them all back in Doha, but enjoy this one for the time being. Only in India!

We got back to Delhi almost by sunset. I was extremely tired after this long drive and crashed on my bed. I didn't wake up except now , 3:30 am.

Tomorrow, or actually today, we are going to Chandi Chowk, Jama Masjid, and the Red Fort. After that, we are each heading back home. Me, back to Doha, and dad, back to Muscat. Our flights actually leave at the exact same time from Delhi!