Hotel Kamal Agra

At 6 am on March 12th we took the second class (2A/C) train from Jaipur to Agra. This was like heaven compared to 3rd class. We were the only ones in our berth area. By noon we were ready to eat lunch and then go to the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was everything it is said to be. It was beautiful. There were hardly any foreigners (maybe because the foreigners pay 750 rupees each [$15 USD] while the Indians pay like 20 rupees for entry). Brad and I felt like rock stars. There were many people (me...

As we exited the plane yesterday at Delhi airport, we both breathed a sigh of relief - as it was cool. No more humid, damp, sticky heat. Finally, a temperature where after dark, a jumper is required instead of needing to wring out your shirt. Bliss. Our stopover in Delhi was brief, and Ted's friend Samit kindly put us up. His family fed us to within an inch of our lives, and then we both agree we had probably the best nights sleep either of us have had since we arrived, just because it was co...

The alarm was set for 6.20 and it was the speediest we'd ever got up and out of the room. 7am found us in the line up at the East Gate, and a short 10 mins later, we were there. Ahead of us was the Taj Mahal. It truly is spectacular. Nothing, no photo, no image, no description can ever quite prepare you for it. We were there for sunrise, but there was too much haze for it to be visible. But it didn't matter, because the building itself was enough. And at 7.15 in the morning, there was barely ...

Waow...what more can I say. We visited the beautiful Taj Mahal at sunrise and it was well worth the early morning! The monument was lovely and quiet when we first arrived and with the sun rising and lighting it up, it felt like we had stepped into a fairytale. What a dedication of love...however to be skeptical about it all, the man had a palace full of harems, I suppose you can only have one true love though?! There might be quite a few photos for this one because I was definitely snap happy...

Well, I did it. I saw the Taj Mahal. The building that India is known for throughout the world. It most photographed building in the world and what most people think of when you saw "India". It was truly a magnificent building and was well worth seeing but there is far more impressive architecture elswhere in India. Not to mention the town of Agra is one of the most boring cities in India. We saw the Taj from 6 to 8 in the morning and our train wasn't until 4 meaning that we sat around for a ...

31st January Agra / Taj Mahal Left Delhi mid-morning for the 4 hour trip to Agra which is south east of the metropolis. We'd booked onto the sleeper trains again, and had to shift a bunch of dozing Indians who were kipping in our bunks. 5 of us (Kate x 3 and dredded Dutch girl Fleure) sat in our wee berth bit and watched the monkeys running along the railway lines, picking up bits of discarded footstuff. Strange being in the middle of such a big city with lots of wild animals roaming around. ...

7-12: I went back to Jama Masjid and it was well worth the double effort. I wouldn't consider it to be the most beautiful mosque I've seen but it certainly is the largest. Apparently it can hold 25,000 people. It has a huge courtyard with a "pool" in the middle where people can wash up. I then went to Connaught Place which has a round park in the middle surrounded by a roundabout (one can definitely see the British influence with the roundabouts, driving on the opposite side of the street, an...

Agra has been a pleasant surprise in that we expected to get a lot hassle from rickshaw drivers and touts but it's actually been a lot easier than some of the other cities we've been to. Our first view of the Taj Mahal was from the rooftop restaurant at our hotel and it was only a faint silhouette but an impreesive and familiar site. But before the real Taj we went to see the 'Baby Taj' which is another tomb. Nice to see but not a patch on the real thing! To get some good snaps with a reflect...

james and i are in agra waiting for our driver to take us back to delhi. woke up around 5 am today. had breakfast at the hotel and hit taj mahal around 7 am. unexpectedly, rain poured down on us during our visit. i was wearing my poncho and the locals and giving me the thumbs up for wearing one. i thought that was odd in a funny way. so we entered thru the east gate. at first you see red temples and as you go through the main one...you then enter the famous garden and view of the taj. it look...

Now then now then, ive had a few rather busy days in Agra, shouting matches at the post office, holding court with 3 lovely american girls on a rooftop bar overlooking one of the wonders of the world, falling on my **** at the baby taj and getting soaked to the bone and having a bit of a dance with the locals and tourists at the taj mahal. So il start with the post office, ive sent off a package containing a few bits and bobs for the family back home, but as it turns out the agra central post...