DESTINATION: AGRA

A New Day, A New Beginning 

Just after 2 days we got our swift home, we planned to drive it to Agra (actually the plan was only Taj Mahal ended up in lot more :)....

 After lot of discussions & discussions, we (Sakshi, Maddy & Shyam) planned to leave early in the morning.

At 6:30 in the morning, roads in Gurgaon were bustling with people & cars. Struggling with morning rush of traffic, losing our way a couple of times we managed to find the straight way to Agra......

I think the best part of travelling is the journey between places, from one point to another, you get to see the glimpse of the untouched side... vibrant colored sarees, aged buildings but the colors still shine out and vary one to another, bright coloured rickshaws & cars fills the streets. The stretch from New Delhi to Agra is very dry & dusty with villages that are filled with people, cows, & trash.

Turn & Twist : Before we could actually touch Agra, there comes a turn “Take left for Fatehpur Sikri” & then comes the twist.....with plans for only Taj Mahal, almost 2/3rd to our planned destination.....

Plan change... we took that turn J!:)!

Relying on my Phone GPS, we again lost our way...finally after losing ways, fighting through the bad traffic in UP (for all those people who say Gurgaon people are bad drivers, should try UP) & not to forget the truck drivers (one of them almost killed us, thanks Shyam for saving our life)

From enter to the exit, i think the entire Agra is commercialized...from shayari to instant pictures to Government Guides everything is available from Rs 10 to 100... little kids will recite shayari comparing the group to film stars to oldies trying to enlighten you about your future for a cheap price !!!

Between all this, we enjoyed a couple of nice moments hearing the shayari (the person has to be blind  ...he compared me to Katrina kaif), visiting the dargah and yes constantly Saying “ Nahi bhaiya nahi chahiye”..
& while clicking all these moments, we made a new friend Shahrukh.. a small boy between those bustling kids who helped us not for money but because we got his picture clicked.

So we move on..
Next stop Taj Mahal..oh no stop what about lunch!!! By mistake, we asked a rickshaw puller for a “GOOD” restaurant to eat and then he took us to a place around 7-8 kms away from start, leaving behind a couple of good places to a shady dhaba which only delivers fresh food (thank god, there are still restaurants which doesn’t make this kind of FRESH FOOD)

Lunch, Rickshaw ride, running behind a horse, fighting through the long que outside the taj gate (there were 3 lines outside the gate – Male, Female & the line that moving the fastest.. take a guide pay him 500 and you are in without any hustle bustle )

We finally managed to have "The Taj" in front of us. The white marble of the structure was in stark contrast to the bright blue sky that served as a backdrop. The structure was built on a platform so that the sky would be the only thing behind it, adding to the spectacular image by not allowing anything behind it to detract from it.

Now, finally it’s the when i was supposed to be behind the wheel driving us all back to home.. a couple to sad faces & tired looks and Shyam ready to take the responsibility :):)

Back home with

Moments, Pictures 
&

A hunger for more such trips !!!