Agra

We left Delhi at 6 am as we drove South to Agra to view the Taj Mahal. 'Three times a charm' for Paul and I as we finally got to see the Taj on a sunny day with blue skies.


Me, Paul, Matt and Alina . . .

Paul and Matt . . .

Peanut and me at 23 weeks . . .

A woman feeding her baby as she waits in line to see the Taj . . .
The fog started to roll in as we ended our afternoon . . .

Paul and I . . .

We left the Taj and went to the Red Fort of Agra to see this magnificent structure. A sea of people greeted us as we walked through the gate . . .

Spectacular detail . . .

A baby monkey contemplates how to get a banana for lunch . . .
The audience hall . . .

We finished at the Red Fort and decided it was time to head back to the airport. Luckily, we left Agra when we did as there was an accident on the highway and we nearly missed our plane back to Pune. Fortunately, our driver took the back roads and we somehow made it in one piece back to the domestic airport.

Fatehpur Sikri and the Taj Mahal

We left Jaipur this morning and travelled east to Fatehpur Sikri. Fatehpur Sikri was the political capital of India's Mughal Empire under Akbar's reign, from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned, due to lack of water. By far, this was Paul and my favorite stop on the trip.

Here we are outside the gates . . .

Inside the walls, the same red sandstone is used to build the structures. A garden remains inside the courtyard.

Paul and I sit on the "royal seat" in the courtyard that was once used to entertain the Akbar and his queens where ladies from the harem played as live pieces on Parcheesi boards drawn on the actual courtyard floor. . .

A photo from inside Jama Masjid, or Friday Mosque, looking out to the walls of the Palace of the Hindu Wife.


Outside the complex, we see the tallest arch that exists in Asia.

We leave Fatehpur Sikri, and drive to Agra. We stay the night at the Trident hotel. We get up for breakfast at 6 am, and go to the Taj Mahal at 6:30 am.

In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child. From this grief, he constructed this massive mausoleum, which incorporates Persian and Mughal architectural styles, out of love for his wife, Mumtaz.

It is a foggy morning, so the Taj Mahal appears covered in the mist this morning. It is very mystical to see.

After seeing the Taj Mahal, we hop back in the car and drive to the Delhi Domestic Airport. Now, back to Pune!

The Magnificent Taj

Today, we awoke early to a power breakfast of croissant and mosambi (sweet lime) juice. We then climbed into our rented Toyota Innova and drove to Agra, home to the Taj Mahal.

The ride was about 3 hours long, but it went by fairly quickly as we saw rice paddy fields and "toy" monkeys along the way.

As we got close to the Taj, our driver asked if we would want a tour guide for the Taj. Naturally, we are all pretty skeptical when it comes to tour guides. Paul and I had an awful tour guide at Mayan ruins once, so we like to fly solo. However, it was "free" (of course, the tip was not included), so we caved and thought we would try a guide, and "Raj at the Taj" showed us around the Taj. He actually was able to point out a lot of architectural details on the building that we would have taken for granted, so it was ok that he was there. He was also our appointed photographer for the day.

Here is the Taj . . .

Now here are some silly photos, that Raj insisted on taking . . .

Molly and I are trying to stay dry as it begins to gently rain . . .

This photo gives you a true sense of the size of the building . . .

Another lovely perspective of the Taj . . .

We then went to grab lunch at Indiana. We all decided to try thali style food. Basically, our food arrived on a metal tray. The food included dal (lentils), naan (unleavened white bread), rice, cucumber and tomato salad, raita (yogurt), and some curries. It was surprisingly quite good. I also discovered this is the same exact lunch Paul eats at the plant every day.

Here you will see the pickle and mint chutney commonly served with Indian meals. The pickle adds heat and can be made from mango, lime, or carrot--to name a few. The mint chutney cools the meal and is a nice side with spicy food.

After lunch, we head over to the Red Fort of Agra. Also, built by Shah Jahan, this building is a smaller version of the Red Fort of Delhi. Once inside the Fort you can see the Taj from a distance.

As we learned amongst our travels in India, we are quite the attraction. We cannot even begin to count the number of photos that we were asked to pose in with random families, small children, women and men. Here are some funny photos of me below. . .

Note, the posture--it was suggested by the young man that I shake his hand and then look into the camera as we were two presidential candidates meeting in front of constituents.

And, yes, in this photo two men asked me and a random fellow Westerner to pose with them. Of course, Paul felt a little left out.

Next on our list was Akbar's Tomb. This was one of our favorite monuments during our trip. It was the sheer simplicity of the monument that made it very moving.

This photo was taken inside the tomb. The room was completely dark except for this light that hung above him, and the light streaming in from a tiny window 20 feet above the ground level.

We left Akbar's tomb to drive back to Delhi. On our drive we passed by a statue of Lord Shiva.

Of course, Paul was able to catch a few zzz's on the trip home . . .

We arrived home late and got ready for our trip to Amritsar the next day.