At around 6.30am, we arrive at Jaipur Train Station with a second class ticket in our hands, ready to catch our early morning train (7.05am) that will bring us to Agra. With the heat still far behind us, exploring this early really gives you a bonus sprint ! To be honest, the journey itself is quite averagely enjoyable; you get to see some nice panoramas, some local lifestyles (if like us you happen to sit in a 2nd and half class) and at the end of the day, in just under 4 hours you’re already in Agra.
The first impression of Agra were definitely not the best; unlike Jaipur, people here seem less friendly and its difficult to really find a “center” where things happen in the city. Well, i guess we’ll see how it goes and in the meanwhile take a ride to our hotel. Before getting to Agra (back home) we decided to book a hotel which had a good view but also not too expensive and in the end we decided to opt for the Atulyaa Taj (1500INR pn). Clean rooms, excellent service, amazing view on the Taj Mahal and even swimming pool on top… maybe a bit too fancy but its nice to have some relaxing moments sometimes.
Today our aim is to visit everything that Agra has to offer but the Taj Mahal; since the ticket is quite expensive we want to visit it at its best: sunrise ! We decide to pay the usual 500INR to rent a tuk-tuk for the whole day so that we can be super flexible with timings and such. The first thing we decide to visit is the huge complex of the Agra “Red” Fort; the fort itself is spread out on a very wide area hence remember to give it at least 2-3 hours in order to enjoy it fully ! The price of the ticket was 550 INR (of which 50 of taxes), a pretty fair fee considering what you get to see.
Later, the next stop is the Baby Taj (a.k.a. Itmad-ud-Daula Tomb), which although being the smaller cousin of the actual Taj you get to see similar architecture and amazing carved stones set in a unique ambient.
After a stroll around the tourist-free Baby Taj, its nearly sunset and so we start heading toward the gardens Mehtab Bag; everyone we’ve met so far has told us that from there you get to see a different perspective of the Taj instead of the usual one. Well, what a view ! From these gardens you literally see the Taj reflecting on the river and sun setting in the background, definitely the postcard photo you’d like to show home ! Unfortunately you’re not allowed to bring tripods in but we still managed to get a decent time lapse of the place. Since the few restaurants we see are very touristy, we finish the day by going to eat to the very local restaurant just in front of our hotel where food is cheap and quality is great.
On the next day our alarm wake us up at 5.30am ! The Taj Mahal opens at sunrise but the ticket office, located just 500m away, opens around 15-30min before. From what we read in the web and what people told us, we understood that being in the first lot of people entering the Taj is a lifetime experience with no equals. Experiencing the quiet and peaceful atmosphere (together with a perfect shot, photographers this is the time!) is something that can be achieved only when the mass of tourists have yet to “invade” the place. At 5.45am we’re in the front of the ticket office together with some other 20-30 people queuing to get the “charlie’s-golden-ticket” worth 1000INR (Yes, super expensive…). As soon as we get the ticket, we ride at the speed of tuk-tuk to the main entrance (south gate) and start queuing there (be aware that there are different queues for females and males) waiting for the sun. Finally, at 6.15am doors open and the sprint for the best photography-spot starts; in a British fashion of “no mercy” the ones of us into photography approach the spot and in turns get to make the famous picture of the Taj Mahal: complete satisfaction !
After having taken enough photographs, we move forward to explore the inside of the Taj and the breath-taking gardens surrounding it; the only words to describe this beauty can be “Incredibly Stunning!”, nothing less than expected ! Our relaxed stroll lasts (around 1-2 hours) up until we start to feel the warmth of the day starting to rise, only then we start walking back to the hotel and enjoy a well-deserved sleep until early afternoon ! Since our bus to Varanasi leaves tonight at midnight, we opt for going to visit the Fatehpur Sikri, a huge complex that we are told is around 2 hours by tuk-tuk from Agra; well, the journey is probably one of the most horrible we’ve done so far… bumpy roads, bad driver and incredibly long LONG trip.
It must be said that the complex itself it is well worth a visit but maybe both the tuk-tuk and the fact that it was out from our route-plans made the whole thing not very enjoyable. The Fatehpur is divided into different parts which are connected together by a very cheap shuttle bus arriving/leaving every 10 minutes or so. We were told that the visit for the complex could have taken us a great amount of time (4-5hours) but at the end of the day in just 3 hours we manage to see it all, even including the beautiful Mosque (definitely worth a visit).
Putting all on a balance, we’d recommend to go there with a taxi and possibly don’t stress too much about it; it is true that Agra has beautiful sights to visit but a full day (from early morning) is more than enough. After the visit, due to our overnight bus being our only option (trains were full), we didn’t have a choice but to spend several hours around the city with nothing to see/do; if we were to do it again we would definitely give the Fatehpur a miss and probably leave earlier for a more welcoming city.
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