From Delhi to Agra & Sunrise Over The Taj Mahal

OK so I know I said in my last blog that I'd not be blogging for about 15 days, Well the plan was to write one blog about our 12 day trip through India but we are seeing so much more than I thought we would so I am going to blog about every city we visit and what we did there.

So after spending just 24 hours in Delhi we set off for Agra, But lets start with Delhi the place is pure madness let me say I LOVE India I knew I would but nothing can prepare you for your first 24 hours. It literally feels like you can't trust anyone, now I am a trusting person so to instantly start thinking people who possibly are genuinely helping and giving good advise are lying or trying to con you is pretty difficult.

We stayed at a great place called Kuldeep Friends Hostel, It's tucked away off a busy mind blowing market street in Delhi and for £1.79 per person per night I was not expecting much, but surprisingly it was pretty decent it was clean had decent WiFi and had everything you'd expect from a Travelodge or Premier Inn. I would advise if you are wanting to meet other travellers though not to get a private room, there is no common room so in a private room you are pretty isolated.

On day two we decided to go to the local travel information centre and decided the best way to see India was to go on a tour, We decided on our destinations and were introduced to our driver Palle!! He is awesome and showing us much more of India than we expected. On our first day completely free of charge he took us to some beautiful gardens in Delhi, a great restaurant and to the India Gate & the Presidents House not only was he taking us places but he was giving us a history lesson at each place. He was only meant to drive us back to the hostel, which he did later that evening on the promise that the next morning he would pick us up at 9am and drive us the 212 kilometre 3 hour journey to Agra. Now the night was spent stressing that we had been lied to and he would not turn up and just the take the money we had already given him but at 9am Palle was there waiting to take our bags to the car. We set off on the journey stopping for some street food breakfast along the way and having a chat about where we were from and what we did for a living, Oh he also brought his brother along for the ride as he is trying to learn English so he can be a driver too. (Our planned driving route is below)

Upon arriving into Agra we were drove straight to the Agra Fort which is pretty amazing and only £2 for entry into one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in. We walked round the gardens and the entire fort, where you can see the Taj Mahal across the river, Lauren even managed to feed a squirrel which she loved remember me saying anything thats fury and has legs she loves. Its pretty hard stopping her from taking all the stray puppies we keep seeing. We were then taken for the nicest food I have ever eaten I am not joking when I say this it was immense food, We had buffalo Biriyani, Spicy Chicken curry, breads and salad from a street vendor in Agra and for just £5.50 the food fed all 4 of us with plenty left over. We headed back to the hotel as we were up at 5am to go and see the sunrise over the Taj Mahal.

5am came and 6am looked a whole lot more promising so decided 6a would be a better get up time. We headed down to the car to be greeted by Palle our driver and Dave who would be our complimentary guide for the tour of the Taj Mahal. I am going to blog about the Taj Mahal separately simply because its one place ticked off the bucket list and 1 of 7 wonders of the world I have finally seen.

After a couple of hours at the Taj we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and to check out so we could start the 240 kilometre 6 hour drive from Agra to Jaipur.

We arrived in Jaipur yesterday evening and were taken straight for a full body massage, Indian head massage and a facial. It was pretty special and took around 1.5 hours for the full works, we were so relaxed afterwards and decided a beer was needed in the hotel bar before bed as we had been awake since 6am. Drinks in the bar turned into ordering another curry because they had some dancers entertaining the guests. We then hit the sack ready for a big day in Jaipur but sadly Lauren has been poorly all night so we have spent the day in the hotel room, She has been asleep for most of the day but thankfully is now feeling better. So tomorrow we will explore Jaipur then head off to Pushkar at some point in the afternoon.

To sum up India is amazing I love it, but also don't feel like a backpacker yet although I am sure the bus to Mumbai will soon change that. I also can't get my head around how in 2016 there can be so much poverty in the world its complete madness.

I will blog a little later about the Taj Mahal as we are going out for some food now.

Take care Richard