We had an amazing weekend with the Rarings. Their driver Sunil drove us to Agra Saturday morning. We arrived late afternoon due to some traffic and one stop we made halfway. Sunil is an excellent driver and he is very knowledgable. He knew exactly where to take us and answered all our questions. He even hooked us up with a guide for the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. We rode on a camel with Sophia at the one stop. She loved it. We ate lunch at a place called Big Munch. It was actually really good.
We went to Akbar's Tomb when we arrived, it was super hot so the tour was short. We then headed to our awesome hotel. We stayed at the ITC Mughal in Agra. It was unbelievable. This was a five star hotel for standard rate back in the states. The service was great and the food was phenomenal. I have never had so many people give such excellent service. They all loved Sophia and remembered her by name. They could hear her coming and were already waiting to see her with smiles on their faces. She got a few presents. LOL At sunset we went to the viewing area to snap some photos of the Taj Mahal. It was an amazing view from the hotel.
We woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning to make our way to the Taj. We were told that first daylight was the best time to get there. They are strict about what you can take into the place. We had to go through security and they check your bags for unwanted items. You definitely are not allowed to have anything other than water to drink, and no food items of any kind. They were going to take Sophia's crayons and her play phone, but our tour guide was awesome and had his brother take them back to our driver to keep in the car. I cannot remember his name but our guide was really good. He was young and is a student at a college. He does the tour guide gig on the side. He would stop and explain all the important historical aspects of the Taj and also explained the architecture and meaning behind every detail. He did a lot of the photography of us. He knew all the right spots for memorable photos.
It is still surreal to me that we were at one of the seven wonders of the world. The Taj Mahal is unbelievable. The detail that went into each piece is incredible. The Taj itself is made from white marble. The designs that are in color are all inlaid pieces of semi-precious stones. The Arabic writing is inlaid onyx. There is no painting of any kind, it is all inlaid stones! It's hard to believe it was all done by hand, but then again it took 22 years to complete it. You really have to see it to understand it.
There were so many people staring at us and our friends. The Rarings are really tall and have lighter hair so they definitely got some stares. It's mostly curiousity and amazement because in reality most of these people have never seen foreigners. Of course, they could see Sophia right away and a lot of people were taking pictures of her. Most of them would ask first, some didn't. Some wanted to take pictures with her, it was pretty amusing.
In the end we were glad we got there when we did because when we left there were a ton of people showing up. It was also getting uncomfortable in the heat. We definitely want to go back when the weather is cooler. Anyone who decides to come visit, we will make a trip there. Agra Fort was just as amazing. It is massive and beautiful. Only a small area of the fort is open for viewing but it is still really impressive. There were some great views from the fort.
The drive in town was pretty interesting. There were a lot of people on the streets. People would come up to the car to try and get us to come to their store. A lot of the shops were gift shops with marble items, scarves, rugs, etc. Some of the people right outside the Taj were selling little souvenirs and were pretty aggressive, mostly the kids were aggressive.
On the way to Agra and back there were many things to see. We saw some farms, a lot of cows, pigs, a camel, some monkeys, and a lot of people. We also saw some interesting modes of transportation. One thing we were lucky to see were people traveling from villages to carry water to be blessed. They wear bright orange and carry offerings in the form of castles it looked like. They decorate them with gold and bright colors and carry these as offerings to certain religious areas to have their water blessed. It is a religious thing, I couldn't quite understand the exact reason for it but these men walk over 300 km to get to their destination, some barefoot and some in just flip flops. There are rest areas along the way that people set up for them. In some of the towns there are people who will walk with them through the town to protect them as they are passing through. Some of them carry bats in case someone gets aggressive. It only happens during this time of the year so we were glad we were able to see it.
There are still so many things to see in India. We have so little time to see all of them but we are going to try. I have attached some pics but Tyson will probably put most of them on facebook. Hope you enjoyed this blog. More to come!!!
We went to Akbar's Tomb when we arrived, it was super hot so the tour was short. We then headed to our awesome hotel. We stayed at the ITC Mughal in Agra. It was unbelievable. This was a five star hotel for standard rate back in the states. The service was great and the food was phenomenal. I have never had so many people give such excellent service. They all loved Sophia and remembered her by name. They could hear her coming and were already waiting to see her with smiles on their faces. She got a few presents. LOL At sunset we went to the viewing area to snap some photos of the Taj Mahal. It was an amazing view from the hotel.
We woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning to make our way to the Taj. We were told that first daylight was the best time to get there. They are strict about what you can take into the place. We had to go through security and they check your bags for unwanted items. You definitely are not allowed to have anything other than water to drink, and no food items of any kind. They were going to take Sophia's crayons and her play phone, but our tour guide was awesome and had his brother take them back to our driver to keep in the car. I cannot remember his name but our guide was really good. He was young and is a student at a college. He does the tour guide gig on the side. He would stop and explain all the important historical aspects of the Taj and also explained the architecture and meaning behind every detail. He did a lot of the photography of us. He knew all the right spots for memorable photos.
It is still surreal to me that we were at one of the seven wonders of the world. The Taj Mahal is unbelievable. The detail that went into each piece is incredible. The Taj itself is made from white marble. The designs that are in color are all inlaid pieces of semi-precious stones. The Arabic writing is inlaid onyx. There is no painting of any kind, it is all inlaid stones! It's hard to believe it was all done by hand, but then again it took 22 years to complete it. You really have to see it to understand it.
There were so many people staring at us and our friends. The Rarings are really tall and have lighter hair so they definitely got some stares. It's mostly curiousity and amazement because in reality most of these people have never seen foreigners. Of course, they could see Sophia right away and a lot of people were taking pictures of her. Most of them would ask first, some didn't. Some wanted to take pictures with her, it was pretty amusing.
In the end we were glad we got there when we did because when we left there were a ton of people showing up. It was also getting uncomfortable in the heat. We definitely want to go back when the weather is cooler. Anyone who decides to come visit, we will make a trip there. Agra Fort was just as amazing. It is massive and beautiful. Only a small area of the fort is open for viewing but it is still really impressive. There were some great views from the fort.
The drive in town was pretty interesting. There were a lot of people on the streets. People would come up to the car to try and get us to come to their store. A lot of the shops were gift shops with marble items, scarves, rugs, etc. Some of the people right outside the Taj were selling little souvenirs and were pretty aggressive, mostly the kids were aggressive.
On the way to Agra and back there were many things to see. We saw some farms, a lot of cows, pigs, a camel, some monkeys, and a lot of people. We also saw some interesting modes of transportation. One thing we were lucky to see were people traveling from villages to carry water to be blessed. They wear bright orange and carry offerings in the form of castles it looked like. They decorate them with gold and bright colors and carry these as offerings to certain religious areas to have their water blessed. It is a religious thing, I couldn't quite understand the exact reason for it but these men walk over 300 km to get to their destination, some barefoot and some in just flip flops. There are rest areas along the way that people set up for them. In some of the towns there are people who will walk with them through the town to protect them as they are passing through. Some of them carry bats in case someone gets aggressive. It only happens during this time of the year so we were glad we were able to see it.
There are still so many things to see in India. We have so little time to see all of them but we are going to try. I have attached some pics but Tyson will probably put most of them on facebook. Hope you enjoyed this blog. More to come!!!
