Agra to Jaipur

Another early morning to amplify the impact of jet lag. The alarm was set for 5am alarm to give us time for our sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal. A 05:00 am wake-up is 11:30 pm at home, so our body clocks are between morning and evening. The Taj Mahal was built around 1631, but even though it is nearly 400 years old its marble still glistens in the light, so sunrise is a perfect time to visit. Only a short walk from the Home Stay we arrived before the 6am opening in time to join the already forming queue, which meant we were one of the first in the race to get photos without the crowds.  

As usual a local man started a conversation in an attempt to make our visit an even better experience. He was previously an “official photographer” so he knew all the right places for our photos. He clung to us like superglue, so he soon became our official photographer moving us quickly around the wonderful building taking photos on our iPhone. To be fair, he knew all the best photo points and could drive the camera on an iPhone much better than we could, so the result was some fantastic photos. We tipped him 600 rupees, which he quickly pocketed and then chased after another unsuspecting tourist who would benefit from his skills. Some of his photos below.

Our visit finished by 7:30, returning for breakfast at the Home Stay, which included Bananas, Yogurt Toast and Peanut Butter, a Curry Rice dish and Indian Bread.. It doesn’t sound like an obvious combination, but it was superb and set us up for an adventurous five hour drive to Jaipur. 

Our driver, Lallu, was our guide for the day. His task was to navigate the roads to various sites between Agra and Jaipur. Fortunately the road was a dual carriage way, unfortunately the highway code in India is very different to the UK. But Lallu was confident and passed on his tip for a safe journey:

• Good Horn
• Good Brakes
• Good Luck

Fortunately, he used all three throughout the day, hooting, weaving, breaking and riding his luck around lorries, cars (some oncoming cars ignoring the concept of a dual carriageway), water buffalo, motorbikes and the occasional person who strolled out into the oncoming traffic to cross the road.  Our first stop was the deserted Fatehpur Sikri deserted Mughal City which was abandoned due to lack of water after construction. Created in 1571 as the capital of their empire in India, it was abandoned after 12 years , but remains in incredible condition . 
Second stop was the Chand Baoli step well. Construction started around 800 and finished 900 BC, before the Moghals modified in the 18th century. Probably the most impressive historical site we have seen since arriving in India. Its a World Heritage site and has featured in the third Batman film and more impressively the Michael Portillo BBC Great Train Journeys..     

Our journey for the day ended in Jaipur, another busy city, with a population of 3 million. The Dara Rawatsar hotel. Vegetable curry on the menu… 

Dara Ravadsar’s finest Vegetable curry