One of the things I had planned to do during my India placement was to take a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. When I realised I needed to fly to Delhi in order to get to Agra, I thought I may as well see Delhi too! After some of the other grad's had visited Agra, a lot of them said that it could be done in a day, so I decided to do one day in Agra and another in Delhi.
I booked a Friday evening flight to Delhi, stayed overnight in a hotel in Delhi and booked 1st Class train tickets to Agra. The train left Delhi at 6am and arrived in Agra at just after 8am. The train was really nice with lots of space for each seat and we were served breakfast by waiter dressed up in the style of the Raj. It was an amazing journey and the ticket cost about £10.
When I arrived in Agra, I had decided to hire a car (with driver) for the day to see all the sights I wanted to see. I managed to get a car, driver and a guide for about 1900 rupees (just under £25). I had studied a few places and made a route for what I wanted to see that day, so I told them to take me to Fatehpur Sikri first (even though the guide wanted to take me to the Taj Mahal first). It took about an hour to get there and it was quite amazing! It was an entire city built to be the capital of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century by Emperor Akbar- it was turned to ruin because there was no water available and was only the capital for 10 years. The city is sacred as it holds one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid, so cars are (usually) not permitted within a certain distance. Instead it is tuks, horse carts and camel carts. Needless to say, I opted for the camel cart!
After about 15 minutes on the cart, we got to the entrance. There are two main parts to it, one where you pay and another which is free for all. I wanted to see all of it, so we went into the paying section. My guide was registered, so he didnt need to pay to get in to anything for hte entire day, but because I am not Indian, I had to pay approximately 10 times more than the fees an Indian national would pay.
When we got inside, my guide (Ali), took me to one of the squares which was deserted. Ali said he had never seen it deserted before and I was really lucky. I took advantage of Ali being there and asked if he could take pictures of me for the day, he said photography was his hobby and would be happy to (in expectation of a big tip, no doubt). This archway led to the courtyard.
After coming out of the courtyard, Ali took me over the main part of the 'city' which was where the King would live - the photo below is his royal bedchamber and people would come and ask the King for help etc. It is quite an amazing structure.
This is the section where the common people would come and have an audience with the King. The gardens were a really nice touch and were obviously well maintained to this day.
Some of the architecture was incredible.
This pillar was created to cover 4 religions and signified a tolerance of other religions.
Ali then tok me over to the 'free' part of Fatehpur Sikri (Jama Masjid), where I had to take my shoes off in order to enter. There were a lot more people here. Incidentally, some of the people I shared a camel cart with had travelled over 200km just to visit here - apparently this is quite common because it is considered a very sacred place.
Before we went into this Mosque, Ali said that it is considered good custom to purchase a shawl/blanket/scarf and leave it inside where it will be given to the poor. I bought a green scarf/blanket for about 500 rupees (I was blatantly overcharged) and Ali managed to get me at the front of the queue so I could leave my offering. I was beginning to see the merits of having a guide already - Ali seemed to know a LOT of people almost everywhere he went.
To get back to the car, I decided to get a horse cart this time.
The next place to visit was Agra Fort, which looked very impressive from the outside.
The entrance to the fort was this high narrow passage, meaning it was easily defended. Apparently, they used to roll boulders down the slope against attackers.
The fort had many buildings inside it.
This was my first view of the Taj Mahal.
A lot of the architecture inside was still intact and certain area were blocked off from the public to keep it preserved.
This section was blocked off from the public and it was where Shah Jahan (the ruler who built the Taj Mahal for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during a miscarraige of their 14th child) was imprisoned because he wanted to build another Taj Mahal across the river, but this one was going to be in black marble and for himself. However, his son imprisoned him because it would have bankrupted them. From here, he could see the Taj Mahal for the rest of his days. There is no real grounding to this story, but it is a nice tale! Ben Kinglsey is soon to star as Shah Jahan in a movie about the story behind the building of the Taj Mahal - that should be quite interesting!!
This is the courtyard where the king's and prince's would have all the girls displayed and they would select their favourites to join their Harem. It must have been great to be a ruler in those days...
These are a few more shots of the inside of the fort.
This is the Chini-Ka-Rauza, which is a mausoleum for one of the famous poets/writers of the time. Unfortunately, it is in poor repair and no charge was made to enter, although I did have to tip the caretakers a little bit (about 20 rupees) for letting me enter it.
After that, we went over to the Itimad-Ud-Daulah, also known as the Baby Taj. This was built for the parents of the wife of one of the rulers (I cant remember the whole story), but it was really pretty and made of marble.
We were permitted to take photographs of the inside - apprently you are not permitted to do this at the Taj Mahal, so I took advantage of the opportunity whilst it was there. The inside was amazing.
In typical Islamic architecture, the Baby Taj was symmetrical, with each of the entrances looking out towards a gate, such as the ones below (the Taj Mahal also followed this style - incidentally, the Baby Taj was built before the Taj Mahal).
After visitng the monuments, the driver wanted to take me to some of the 'Arts and Crafts' of Agra. Basically, Ali told me later, the taxi company had deals with all these shops and they were getting commissions. Having lived in Bangalore for nearly 6 months, I wsa well aware of what was happening, but I wanted to pick up a few gifts anyway, so I was happy to go along with it. The first few places were completely overpriced and had nothing worthwhile, but one place we went to was a marble place and they gave me a demonstration of how marble inlay is done. The guys below use traditional methods the grind down precious and semi-precious gems and inlay them in marble they have have carefully chiselled down.
The demonstration was really interesting, but the shop owner wanted me to spend a fortune in his shop and when I made it clear I had to leave because I needed to see the Taj Mahal before it shut, he then took me into a back room with lots of cheaper items I would have been happy to buy, but because he took so long trying to (unsuccesfully) get me to part with hundreds of pounds, I had no time let to browse and haggle (it usually takes a minimum of 30 minutes) because I wanted to get to the Taj Mahal and the queues mean it can take up to 2 hours to get in.
I booked a Friday evening flight to Delhi, stayed overnight in a hotel in Delhi and booked 1st Class train tickets to Agra. The train left Delhi at 6am and arrived in Agra at just after 8am. The train was really nice with lots of space for each seat and we were served breakfast by waiter dressed up in the style of the Raj. It was an amazing journey and the ticket cost about £10.
When I arrived in Agra, I had decided to hire a car (with driver) for the day to see all the sights I wanted to see. I managed to get a car, driver and a guide for about 1900 rupees (just under £25). I had studied a few places and made a route for what I wanted to see that day, so I told them to take me to Fatehpur Sikri first (even though the guide wanted to take me to the Taj Mahal first). It took about an hour to get there and it was quite amazing! It was an entire city built to be the capital of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century by Emperor Akbar- it was turned to ruin because there was no water available and was only the capital for 10 years. The city is sacred as it holds one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid, so cars are (usually) not permitted within a certain distance. Instead it is tuks, horse carts and camel carts. Needless to say, I opted for the camel cart!
After about 15 minutes on the cart, we got to the entrance. There are two main parts to it, one where you pay and another which is free for all. I wanted to see all of it, so we went into the paying section. My guide was registered, so he didnt need to pay to get in to anything for hte entire day, but because I am not Indian, I had to pay approximately 10 times more than the fees an Indian national would pay.
When we got inside, my guide (Ali), took me to one of the squares which was deserted. Ali said he had never seen it deserted before and I was really lucky. I took advantage of Ali being there and asked if he could take pictures of me for the day, he said photography was his hobby and would be happy to (in expectation of a big tip, no doubt). This archway led to the courtyard.
After coming out of the courtyard, Ali took me over the main part of the 'city' which was where the King would live - the photo below is his royal bedchamber and people would come and ask the King for help etc. It is quite an amazing structure.
This is the section where the common people would come and have an audience with the King. The gardens were a really nice touch and were obviously well maintained to this day.
Some of the architecture was incredible.
This pillar was created to cover 4 religions and signified a tolerance of other religions.
Ali then tok me over to the 'free' part of Fatehpur Sikri (Jama Masjid), where I had to take my shoes off in order to enter. There were a lot more people here. Incidentally, some of the people I shared a camel cart with had travelled over 200km just to visit here - apparently this is quite common because it is considered a very sacred place.
Before we went into this Mosque, Ali said that it is considered good custom to purchase a shawl/blanket/scarf and leave it inside where it will be given to the poor. I bought a green scarf/blanket for about 500 rupees (I was blatantly overcharged) and Ali managed to get me at the front of the queue so I could leave my offering. I was beginning to see the merits of having a guide already - Ali seemed to know a LOT of people almost everywhere he went.
To get back to the car, I decided to get a horse cart this time.
The next place to visit was Agra Fort, which looked very impressive from the outside.
The entrance to the fort was this high narrow passage, meaning it was easily defended. Apparently, they used to roll boulders down the slope against attackers.The fort had many buildings inside it.
This was my first view of the Taj Mahal.
A lot of the architecture inside was still intact and certain area were blocked off from the public to keep it preserved.
This section was blocked off from the public and it was where Shah Jahan (the ruler who built the Taj Mahal for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during a miscarraige of their 14th child) was imprisoned because he wanted to build another Taj Mahal across the river, but this one was going to be in black marble and for himself. However, his son imprisoned him because it would have bankrupted them. From here, he could see the Taj Mahal for the rest of his days. There is no real grounding to this story, but it is a nice tale! Ben Kinglsey is soon to star as Shah Jahan in a movie about the story behind the building of the Taj Mahal - that should be quite interesting!!
This is the courtyard where the king's and prince's would have all the girls displayed and they would select their favourites to join their Harem. It must have been great to be a ruler in those days...
These are a few more shots of the inside of the fort.
This is the Chini-Ka-Rauza, which is a mausoleum for one of the famous poets/writers of the time. Unfortunately, it is in poor repair and no charge was made to enter, although I did have to tip the caretakers a little bit (about 20 rupees) for letting me enter it.
After that, we went over to the Itimad-Ud-Daulah, also known as the Baby Taj. This was built for the parents of the wife of one of the rulers (I cant remember the whole story), but it was really pretty and made of marble.
We were permitted to take photographs of the inside - apprently you are not permitted to do this at the Taj Mahal, so I took advantage of the opportunity whilst it was there. The inside was amazing.
In typical Islamic architecture, the Baby Taj was symmetrical, with each of the entrances looking out towards a gate, such as the ones below (the Taj Mahal also followed this style - incidentally, the Baby Taj was built before the Taj Mahal).
After visitng the monuments, the driver wanted to take me to some of the 'Arts and Crafts' of Agra. Basically, Ali told me later, the taxi company had deals with all these shops and they were getting commissions. Having lived in Bangalore for nearly 6 months, I wsa well aware of what was happening, but I wanted to pick up a few gifts anyway, so I was happy to go along with it. The first few places were completely overpriced and had nothing worthwhile, but one place we went to was a marble place and they gave me a demonstration of how marble inlay is done. The guys below use traditional methods the grind down precious and semi-precious gems and inlay them in marble they have have carefully chiselled down.
The demonstration was really interesting, but the shop owner wanted me to spend a fortune in his shop and when I made it clear I had to leave because I needed to see the Taj Mahal before it shut, he then took me into a back room with lots of cheaper items I would have been happy to buy, but because he took so long trying to (unsuccesfully) get me to part with hundreds of pounds, I had no time let to browse and haggle (it usually takes a minimum of 30 minutes) because I wanted to get to the Taj Mahal and the queues mean it can take up to 2 hours to get in. When we got to the Taj Mahal entrance, it cost an Indian 20 rupees to get in and it cost me 750! I also had to pay an extra 200 to get to the front of the queue and have someone look after my iPod whilst I was inside (the benefits of a guide were really becoming obvious now). You cannot take iPods, mobile phones, calculators etc inside. Not too sure why, but I was really anxious about leaving my iPod with a complete stranger, but Ali assured me it would be fine and it happens all the time. After seeing the gates of the Baby Taj, I didnt realise just how big the Taj Mahal was! The gates were huge!
Again, I didnt realise just how big it would be, or how busy! Every day about 500,000 people visit the Taj Mahal. It was very beautiful though and certainly worth the trip. A lot of people have said it is overrated, but I thought it was wonderful and I really liked the story behind it, Ali launched into his 'guide mode' and told me all about the Taj Mahal and the history behind it. It was really interesting and enjoyable. I think the people who call it overrated must not have got themself a guide because Ali continued to point out tiny little details, such as how the marble reacts to different light (and got a guards torch to demonsrate the luminescence of the marble and some of the precious and semi-precious stone inlays, particularly the firestone), Ali also showed the perfect symmetry, including the carved inlay inside the mausoleum which was directly in the centre of everything you could see. The writing on the wall was also larger at the top, so it looked as though everything was the same size. It was pretty amazing and well worth the visit. I'm really happy that I decided to go and see it. The only pity is that I would have liked to see it at different times of the day, so I could see effect the light would have on the marble, but due to the weather, it would not have made any difference (it was raining and quite cloudy, so even a sunset would not have made much difference).
The minarets of the Taj are angled, allegedly to fall outwards in the event of an earthquake to prevent damage to the Taj itself. One other point of interest is that the dome is covered in small black loops (probably not visible in my photos) but these were put there by the british during the war and they camoflagued the Taj Mahal to prevent it being bombed.
This site across the river is where the Black Taj was going to be built, apparently work was started on it, but never finished or changed in any way.
Finally, after a hard days sightseeing, I found a nice hotel and relaxed with room service and TV for an hour or two before going to sleep, ready to catch another 6am train back to Delhi for more sightseeing.
My train to Delhi was again 1st class, but this time it was a sleep train and took 4 hours to get to Delhi! I had an entire 4 sleeper cabin to myself (I locked the door after entering, so even if someone did try to get in, they probably couldnt have). The train was massive though, and only 3 cabins were 1st class, so I dont think there could be many people travelling 1st class. After about 2 hours sleep, I went to the door of the carriage and sat on the edge of the carriage with the door open and watched the world go by - try doing that in the UK!!! 
In order to get into the fort, we had to pass through all the people selling stuff - I've seen the same thing in quite a few places, so it must be quite common.
After the Red Fort, my driver told me I should also visit Rajghat, which is Gandhi's Samadhi (where people come to pay respect to Gandhi), so I thought that would be quite intersting.
It was very pretty and inside a huge park with Samadhi's for lots of other important people, including a few Indian Prime Ministers.
Gandhi's Samadhi was very peaceful and I could have spent all day there, but I had a lot to do that day, so I had a quick look round and left.
It is possible to walk around the top, but I just had a quick look before heading to my next thing to see.
My next attraction was Jantar Mantar (Temple of Instruments), which is an early astronomical observatory, one of 5 built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in approx 1730. It was really cool and had lots of strange shaped monuments that you were premitted to climb on.
The next stop was Humuyan's Tomb which seemed quite interesting and had a few other buildings inside the grounds. I'm not too sure what the other buildings were, but they were very interesting. The photo belows shows another gatehouse leading to the tomb.
Again, I didnt realise just how big it would be, or how busy! Every day about 500,000 people visit the Taj Mahal. It was very beautiful though and certainly worth the trip. A lot of people have said it is overrated, but I thought it was wonderful and I really liked the story behind it, Ali launched into his 'guide mode' and told me all about the Taj Mahal and the history behind it. It was really interesting and enjoyable. I think the people who call it overrated must not have got themself a guide because Ali continued to point out tiny little details, such as how the marble reacts to different light (and got a guards torch to demonsrate the luminescence of the marble and some of the precious and semi-precious stone inlays, particularly the firestone), Ali also showed the perfect symmetry, including the carved inlay inside the mausoleum which was directly in the centre of everything you could see. The writing on the wall was also larger at the top, so it looked as though everything was the same size. It was pretty amazing and well worth the visit. I'm really happy that I decided to go and see it. The only pity is that I would have liked to see it at different times of the day, so I could see effect the light would have on the marble, but due to the weather, it would not have made any difference (it was raining and quite cloudy, so even a sunset would not have made much difference).
The minarets of the Taj are angled, allegedly to fall outwards in the event of an earthquake to prevent damage to the Taj itself. One other point of interest is that the dome is covered in small black loops (probably not visible in my photos) but these were put there by the british during the war and they camoflagued the Taj Mahal to prevent it being bombed.
This site across the river is where the Black Taj was going to be built, apparently work was started on it, but never finished or changed in any way.
Finally, after a hard days sightseeing, I found a nice hotel and relaxed with room service and TV for an hour or two before going to sleep, ready to catch another 6am train back to Delhi for more sightseeing.
My train to Delhi was again 1st class, but this time it was a sleep train and took 4 hours to get to Delhi! I had an entire 4 sleeper cabin to myself (I locked the door after entering, so even if someone did try to get in, they probably couldnt have). The train was massive though, and only 3 cabins were 1st class, so I dont think there could be many people travelling 1st class. After about 2 hours sleep, I went to the door of the carriage and sat on the edge of the carriage with the door open and watched the world go by - try doing that in the UK!!! When I arrived in Delhi, I had already arranged (through the hotel I stayed at on Friday night) for a car and driver to be available. Even though I paid 1000 rupees in advance, they still told me I had to go back to the hotel and get picked up from there - I think they were hoping I would pay and never return! Anyway, I got to the hotel and after 15 minutes, my car and English speaking driver was there. I showed the driver my list of things I wanted to do and asked if there was anything else I should see, he said he would take a look and let me know when I was inside the Red Fort (my first port of call).
The Red Fort was really nice. Although after seeing Agra Fort, I though I knew what to expect, but the Red Fort was huge. I didnt have the luxury of a guide this time, so I just followed the crowd to see where everyone was going.
In order to get into the fort, we had to pass through all the people selling stuff - I've seen the same thing in quite a few places, so it must be quite common.
After the Red Fort, my driver told me I should also visit Rajghat, which is Gandhi's Samadhi (where people come to pay respect to Gandhi), so I thought that would be quite intersting.
It was very pretty and inside a huge park with Samadhi's for lots of other important people, including a few Indian Prime Ministers.
Gandhi's Samadhi was very peaceful and I could have spent all day there, but I had a lot to do that day, so I had a quick look round and left.
It is possible to walk around the top, but I just had a quick look before heading to my next thing to see.
My next attraction was Jantar Mantar (Temple of Instruments), which is an early astronomical observatory, one of 5 built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in approx 1730. It was really cool and had lots of strange shaped monuments that you were premitted to climb on.
The next stop was Humuyan's Tomb which seemed quite interesting and had a few other buildings inside the grounds. I'm not too sure what the other buildings were, but they were very interesting. The photo belows shows another gatehouse leading to the tomb. The tomb was quite impressive, with a large dome on the top.
We were able to take photo's inside, so this is the Tomb.
This was a large archway near the tomb, not too sure what it though. It didnt really lead anywhere either but it was big though.
This is another tomb, but I don't know who this was for, but it was a lot different to the architecture of the other tomb's I'd seen so far. I quite liked this one.
After the tombs, I wanted to see India Gate, which was errected as a war memorial for Indians who fell in battle. It was very impressive.
We then headed over to the Lotus Temple, because it was a building I really wanted to see, especially since it was so modern. It looked amazing!
I did want to go inside, but the queue was MASSIVE! Unfortunately, without a guide I didnt stand a chance of getting to the front of the queue.
My final stop in Delhi was Qutub Minar, which is some ruins with a huge minaret tower - the largest brick minaret in the world. It is 72 meters high and the first 3 levels were built in approx 1200 with the upper 2 built around the 1360's
The architecture around the tower was extensive and really pretty.
This area here was apparently a university!
After leaving Qutub Minar, I just had enough time to get over to the airport and catch my flight back to Bangalore.
We were able to take photo's inside, so this is the Tomb.This was a large archway near the tomb, not too sure what it though. It didnt really lead anywhere either but it was big though.
This is another tomb, but I don't know who this was for, but it was a lot different to the architecture of the other tomb's I'd seen so far. I quite liked this one.
After the tombs, I wanted to see India Gate, which was errected as a war memorial for Indians who fell in battle. It was very impressive.We then headed over to the Lotus Temple, because it was a building I really wanted to see, especially since it was so modern. It looked amazing!
I did want to go inside, but the queue was MASSIVE! Unfortunately, without a guide I didnt stand a chance of getting to the front of the queue.
My final stop in Delhi was Qutub Minar, which is some ruins with a huge minaret tower - the largest brick minaret in the world. It is 72 meters high and the first 3 levels were built in approx 1200 with the upper 2 built around the 1360's
The architecture around the tower was extensive and really pretty.
This area here was apparently a university!
After leaving Qutub Minar, I just had enough time to get over to the airport and catch my flight back to Bangalore.The trip was outstanding and I'm glad I planned everything out before getting there because there is so much to do that I missed out a massive amount of stuff, but still managed to see a lot. Delhi and Agra can definitely be done over a weekend, but I was knackered afterwards. I highly recommend visiting Agra and Delhi, or at least the Taj Mahal if nothing else.
