27 Jun. Jaipur to Agra and the Taj.
Having left Jaipur early our first stop was at the Mughal City of Fatehpur Sikri which is UNESCO protected it has been partially restored and it is never-ending. The city was founded in 1569 by the Emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. The planned, walled city took fifteen years to plan and construct a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. The Imperial complex was abandoned in 1585, shortly after its completion, due to the exhaustion of the small, spring-fed lake that supplied the city with water, and its proximity with the Rajputana areas in the North-West, which were increasingly in turmoil. Quite impressive but today’s heat & humidity was a shocker. At one point Shane and young Ben decided to rest in the shade while we went on.
We had a quick stop for lunch but Shane & I dipped out. Our tour was running late and we were told there was no time to order food so we would have the pre-prepared buffet only. But it was only Indian food (contrary to advice) so we had a beer and went hungry. Not happy. After 25 days of Indian food including one dose of food poisoning we’d had enough spicy food for now. Luckily our next stop wasn’t long and it was the main event.
We hit Agra and there before us was the magnificent Taj Mahal. You can read all you like about it but unless you actually visit it you cannot fully appreciate its majesty. The absolute beauty of the white marble is awe inspiring. Nothing I can say can do this palace justice. Rather than me waffle on do yourself a favour and read a quick article about the Taj Mahal here; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal. Again in a spot of good fortune being the ‘off’ season the crowds were not too big. We even managed a few “Lady Diana” shots on that seat!
After an hour or two of wandering around and absorbing the aura of the Taj we were dragged off to yet another ‘factory’ to see how marble goods are made and of course if we wanted to buy anything this could be arranged.
Absolutely knackered we retired to our hotel (Clarkes Shiraz Hotel) where Shane & I had room service for tea. Shane devoured her Chicken Burger & I couldn’t get enough of a great sirlion steak with chips & mushroom gravy. A decent hotel (just), pity about the poor shower.
Bed was the next stop as we had a 0430 start to see Sunrise at the Taj.
Cheers
Garry