Malik, our guide for today’s city tour of Agra, the ancient capital of the Mogul Empire, organised our activities in 2 parts; pre and post breakfast. So we had an early morning start to visit the Taj Mahal, a tad chilly, but still under the cover of a hazy sky. A 500m walk pursued from where the driver dropped us off with throngs of people and baboons making their way to the entry gate where hundreds more were waiting in an orderly male & female queues to get in. The British habit of queuing travels far and wide. What a mixture of people....of all races from all corners of the world respecting the queue etiquette. Like every day life in India, it went slowly but smoothly with the women queue taking longer due to bag searches taking a tad longer for the security folks. Once in the grounds of the Taj, it’s like coming into an oasis, far from the madding crowd of every day life in Agra. I am not smart enough to have the words to describe it (Wikipedia can do a better job) but I can share how I felt: awe struck at the splendid beauty of the Taj and a sense of pride in the power of love that still unites people of all races today. It was very special to experience the visit to the Taj with Ursula; having just celebrated 33 years of marriage last week.
A couple of hours later, making our way back to the hotel for breakfast and a short rest, Agra life was coming alive on the streets. In the arvo, went to the Red Fort where the Mogul rulers resided; an imposing and stunning construction made from local materials (look up Wikipedia for more info on it). Would have loved to have seen it in its full glory before the precious stones and gold was stolen. This was followed by a visit to the baby Taj Mahal, another celebrated historical and imposing monument (refer to Wikipedia for further info).
What was very pleasing is that the vast number of tourists visiting these monuments were primarily from India with the women dressed beautifully in rich colours. There was also a sprinkling of people from other parts of the world. On our way back to the hotel, the streets were alive with the usual noises, colours and chaos, c’est la vie. Even took photos of cyclists and bike repair shops which are basically canvas huts. A beautiful day was topped by taking in a cultural show of drama, song and dance in the evening, based on the love story of Taj (Mohabbat the Taj) a splendid production full of rich coloured costumes and fantastic Bollywood style dancing. Followed by the best dinner to date at a restaurant called, Pinch of Spice.
A couple of hours later, making our way back to the hotel for breakfast and a short rest, Agra life was coming alive on the streets. In the arvo, went to the Red Fort where the Mogul rulers resided; an imposing and stunning construction made from local materials (look up Wikipedia for more info on it). Would have loved to have seen it in its full glory before the precious stones and gold was stolen. This was followed by a visit to the baby Taj Mahal, another celebrated historical and imposing monument (refer to Wikipedia for further info).
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