The Taj Mahal and the ‘pink city’ of Jaipur (well some parts are pink’ish)

So we have now spent more than 4 weeks in India and we left Rishishek on train #22458 from Hariwar, which was a modern and clean train – with breakfast provided!!!  The 3.5 hour journey (covering 230 kms) took us to 2.5 hours where we met our driver DK, who would stay with us for the next 24 days.  This wasn’t an expense that we had planned for, but it also opened up opportunities to see other sights/attractions on the way.

We jumped in our car and headed off to Agra, but we decided to stop off at Mathura to view Shri Krishna – this temple was amazing, but no cameras or phones were allowed in (so no photos). We arrived late afternoon in Agra and decided to drop our bags off and head out.  We were in two minds as to whether we should pay the 1,100 Rupees (NZ$22.50) each (Indians are charged 50 Rupees OR NZ$1 !!) to go into the Taj Mahal.  In the end we ‘bit the bullet’ and went online, ordered our e-tickets for the next day.  At 5.00am we woke up, and headed out for the 1.5 km walk down to the eastern entrance, and following the obligatory security check we were in.Fortunately the weather was amazing with not a cloud in the sky, and yes it truly is a sight to behold.  The Taj Mahal itself was build between 1631 annd 1648 and the grounds are immaculately kept (unlike the rest of Agra). After seeing this we jumped into the car and headed for Tomb of Ltimad-ud-Daulah (the Mini Taj), also headed to Mehataba Baga to reach a view point from the other side of the Yamuna River and finally visited the Red Fort.

After 2 days in Agra we drove to Jaipur, but stopped off at Fatehpur Sikhri Fort (and the mosque next door) and Chand Bahri Step Well.  The Fort cost us 600 Rupees (NZ$12) each and the Mosque, 25 Rupees (NZ$0.50) each – plus 20 Rupees (NZ$0.40) to look after our removed shoes.  We did have to seek shelter for 30 minutes due to rain, but both of these attractions were amazing to see from a historical perspective and seeing inside an active Mosque.  The final stop at the Chand Bahri Step Well was 300 Rupees (NZ$6) each, but it was great to see the 3,500 steps alll leading down to the bright green algae at the bottom.

In Jaipur we visited the Amber Fort, Royal Tombs (Gator Ki Chhatriyan), Akshardham Mandir Temple and Hawa Mahal.  On our last day we had some excitement when DK (our driver) drove us out to Nahargah Fort (costing 302 Rupees each (NZ$6) which sits on a promontory overlooking the city.  Part way through our visit we received a text from him to say he was unwell. After checking on him we continued looking around, only to subsequently receive a WhatsApp message to say he was going to hospital (we later found out he had a heart-attack).  So there we were 14 km out side the city, so we ended up in the back (literally with our feet dangling off) of a TukTuk with 5 Indians.  This ride took us closer to the city, but we then then jumped into another TukTuk to complete the 8 km journey (for 50 rupees) back to the city centre – before the final 2.5 km walk.  So with one driver down, we have a new driver (Babu) and our next stop will be Bikaner which is 332 kms away.