Posted by Catherine & Wally. See if you can guess which parts we each wrote 🙂

The original plan was to be at the Taj Mahal for sunrise but Manu found out that it was going to be foggy at that time in the morning. Between that and our hotel mix up, he decided that we would plan to arrive at the Taj Mahal around 9:00 am.

We checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus for the 20 minute ride to the Taj complex. We transferred to a smaller electric bus to take us to the entrance gates. In an effort to keep the white marble monument clean, no diesel vehicles are permitted beyond a certain point. We had been warned ahead of time to not bring anything with us except sunglasses and money belts. There are large signs telling people what not to bring – no food, drinks, hand sanitizer, lotions, lipstick, sharp objects, markers of any kind, books, flashlights, weapons, camera tripods, drones and megaphones. The security system is similar to an airport!

There were huge crowds of people but it was very efficient and orderly. The area is so massive that the crowds dissipated quickly and it was surprisingly quiet given the thousands of people who were there. The Taj Mahal gets 7 – 8 million visitors a year!

We entered via the east gate which is magnificent and the Taj Mahal lay ahead of us.

Photo below: the entrance gates to the Taj Mahal gardens & grounds

A thin mist hung in the air which didn’t diminish how impressive it was. Our tour guide told us where to stand to get the best pictures and then gave us a brief story about how it came to be built. It is basically a mausoleum built by the king for his wife Mumtaz who died giving birth to their 14th child. On her death bed she requested three things of her beloved husband – to look after the children, to not remarry and to build a monument to their enduring love for each other.

There was a competition to select a design for the tomb and an architect from Persia was chosen. More than 20,000 men laboured non-stop for 22 years to complete the building, which was finished in 1652. It took two months to transport each piece of rough cut marble from Lahore in present day Pakistan to the building site where it was cut to size and polished. Precious and semi precious stones were ground up and placed in the mosaic designs. No paint was used anywhere.

The building is perfectly symmetrical. The four minarets on each corner are deliberately built with 3 degree tilt outwards so that in case of an earthquake they would fall away from the main building.

The king had a massive mosque built on the north side of the Taj Mahal and to maintain the symmetrical balance, an identical building constructed on the south side that once served as a guest house.

Four waterways meet in the middle of the front courtyard, representing the water, milk, honey and wine of heaven.

The king’s plan was to build a black marble mausoleum for himself but one of his sons didn’t want the king spending his inheritance so he had him locked up for the last 8 years of his life. The king was buried alongside his wife in the Taj Mahal. The area where the tombs are located is surprisingly small but the lines flowed smoothly and respectfully. No photos are permitted inside. We had the VIP ticket which included booties for our shoes but barefoot is also an option.

Royalty would enter through the east gate while regular folks came through a separate entrance to marvel at this architectural masterpiece. The complex is closed on Fridays except for people who wish to attend the mosque, which is how it’s been for the last four centuries.

Back on the bus, we headed out of town for Jaipur, about 6 hours away. Shortly after we left the Taj Mahal, we stopped at a Costa Coffee shop, which is an Indian version of Starbucks where Wally discovered a charming new friend!

We stopped for lunch at a beautiful restaurant in the middle of nowhere with tents set up and a very good buffet! Certainly the best road side restaurant we’ve been to! The local fly-ins also enjoyed the shade under the dining tents.

The entire road from Agra to Jaipur was in excellent shape with many portions of it four lanes divided by a median overflowing with red bougainvillea.

The highway often had older modes of transport.

Some of the trucks were very festive!

The birds liked the fact that the cargo compartment was leaking a bit at the toll booths. As the trucks moved slowly forward the birds simply walked on top of the wheel – not wanting to miss an easy, free lunch!

And some trucks were “body optional”!

It’s mind boggling that they are even allowed on the highway 🙀

They must be en route to a body-fabricating shop. Even the old timer trucks are repurposed!

Nothing goes to waste around here! No need to lift the hood to check the engine oil on this one!

As we got closer to Jaipur, dozens of stone cutting and carving businesses lined the highway.

These places lined both sides of the highway for several kilometers!

Another enterprise was the drying of cow patties which would be used as fuel – the original fuel cell that has stood the test of time!

We pulled into Jaipur at dusk, around 5:30 pm. We could still see some of the city walls which were painted pink in the late 1800’s to welcome the Prince of Wales on his visit to the Amber Fort.

Photo below- Shiva temple on the outskirts or Jaipur

Manu informed us that to make amends for the hotel mix up in Agra, G Adventures was going to treat us to a special dinner and cultural show that featured Rajasthani folk dancing. It was a lovely evening set in a former grand home which is now a hotel with a beautiful outdoor buffet in the garden. We weren’t expecting any compensation for the slight inconvenience of having a “sub-par” hotel as Manu called it but again he managed to pull numerous strings for us!

The cultural show featured a small group of singers and dancers in colourful folk costumes. In earlier times, small troops of gypsy people like these would make their living by traveling around the various kingdoms entertaining people. Now it’s mostly for tourists. They performed several dances including one with large brass pots and candles on their heads.

Another young woman kept adding pots on top of her head until she was balancing 6 of them! These large brass pots would have originally been used to carry water.

Everyone really enjoyed the evening. Cath was especially delighted to see some dancing and was happy that the styles she studied did not involve any brass pots on her head.

Back “home” to our really nice, very well maintained boutique hotel with copious amounts of hot water!