Sheraton Agra

... or was it smog. And the large fruit bats flying over head added to the atmosphere. That night we splashed out and ate the up market Sheraton hotel and it was a cracking Indian meal, one of the best I've ever had, due to the few beers I'd also downed, I ...

Fatehpur Sikri, Mughal Sheraton ...

... lost or looted, one is stuck by the complexity and intricate nature of it all. We stop at the ITC Mughal hotel for lunch, a Sheraton/Starwood property. It is already 1:00pm. Time flies. After the standard buffet lunch, I inquire if I may, here as I have ...

We celebrated Lucys 30th a day late yesterday by going to the Taj Mahal in the morning then staying at a 5 star hotel. We were still very ill though but didn't let it spoil the day. The Taj was amazing, better than we could ever imagined it to be. ...

... we finally reached Agra at 9AM, disembarked the train, located the taxi stand and booked a taxi to our hotel...the ITC Mughal Sheraton (gotta love Starwood points...free place to stay...woo hoo!).  Our taxi driver gave us some prices if we wanted to ...

... and had a dirt track to race around.  Needless to say I partook in the fun and it was certainly the most unique Sheraton experience I've ever had!  No waivers or anything to sign...nice and easy! My train the next day didn't leave until the ...

... the way from Varanasi to Jodhpur. We took an overnight train to Agra and then used points to stay in the plush Mughal Sheraton a second time. From the time we arrived yesterday morning until departing this afternoon, we didn't leave the room. Yup...pretty ...

... Agra. Most folks do the Taj visit as a day trip from Delhi, but we chose to stay a night there, at the Mughal Sheraton in Agra. This afforded us an opportunity to see the Taj in the sunrise hours, which was nice because the throngs of tourists coming in ...

... - unsuprisingly very similar to the red fort in Delhi... Our final stop of the day was to Sikandra, a few kms out of Agra to visit Akbars tomb.  Those Mughals sure liked their decorative gates!  - this was an enormous structure resplendant in ...

So after a 10-hour flight to London, an 8-hour flight to New Delhi, and a 7-hour car ride from New Delhi to Agra, Neetu and I were battling through not jet lag, but a bad case of cankles.  Or at least I was.  Evidently, if you sit down for such ...

... the city was.  From what I had heard and from what Todd had experienced, I was expecting a lot worse.  Our stay at the Sheraton (SUCH a nice little luxury!) was great - KT and I "treated" (since the total cost was under $100 for the both of us) ...

... , goats, dogs, a few monkees, and even one elephant.   And so we are here in Agra.  In a hotel.  Had a nice buffet at the sheraton but are staying in another hotel. Tomorrow,  weather permitting we will spend valentine's day at the ...

... a unique situation. Yet we had electric windows. Nice touch! We returned to America in the sudden awakening of the Island of Sheraton. Yes, it was much needed following the car trek. Unbeknownst to the driver he will be fired and we will take the ...

... great though and we all relax before heading out for our poshest and probably best tasting meal of the trip - supper at the Mogul Sheraton!  The next day we decide against a sun rise viewing of the Taj, because the whole town had been shrouded in ...

... were doing their laundry.  The stark difference provided some perspective. After the Taj, we went to lunch at the Mughal Sheraton hotel, as that was what was included in our tour.  The food was ok, although definitely toned down for tourists' ...

... , honestly Sikhs in India are so helpful -- and we really appreciated having our Sikh driver, so courteous and dignified. We hadn't booked a hotel and there was a conference at the Sheraton in Jaipur so for one night we stayed at the Radisson.  ...