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Wah Taj! A guide to visit Agra and Taj Mahal

There is now other word no describe it. Taj Mahal is the number one wonder of the world. As promised in my last post I am bringing you the details of my visit to Taj Mahal in Agra.

That is me, Taj Mahal needs No introduction

On the morning of 23rd November 2009 we went to Agra. The distance of Agra from New Delhi is 260 KMs. Non A/C Taxi takes around Rs 3000-Rs3500 for to and fro charges from Agra. That means for a mere $80 one can visit Taj Mahal and comeback to New Delhi on the same day.

Taj Mahal remains closed on Fridays. On all other days it remains open from sun rise to sunset. So it is advisable to start early in the morning from New Delhi. It is a good practice to contact hotel authorities on the previous night. There is hardly any requirement to make a very early booking from your country etc. Just book it from your reputed hotel on the night before.

You should start early in the morning to get rid of the traffic. Once on the freeway/highway which starts after one crosses Faridabad road is more easy. But to cross Faridabad before the traffic starts in the city, one needs to start by 6 AM. We did the same thing. We took a guest house near the railway station the previous night. For all tourists it is advisable to remain in bigger and reputed hotels. That is the key to have a peaceful stay and visit in India. In our case we stayed at State Bank of India’s Guest House as my father is a State Bank of India Employee.
There are lodging and eating facilities for almost each state people in New Delhi. So people from Orissa can go to Orissa Bhawan, Andhra Bahwan for people of Andhra Pradesh etc. If you want to simply eat you are welcome at any of the state houses. But to have a room one has to come through some paper work that too prior to visit as spot booking is not available.

So at 6AM sharp our driver Mr. Vijay Pathak a brahmin originally from Ayodhya (Lord Ram’s Birth Place) in U.P. showed up in our guest house with his TATA Indica Taxi.  We started.

Near Mathura refiniery there is a McDonalds for people who started with empty stomachs. There are good Dhabas (Road side Restaurants for Truck drivers) which are OK, but are not full fledged Motels. Can get paranthas for Rs 25-30.  On or two maximum is required. So after we left outskirts Mathura taking some paranthas at around 10.30 AM we reached the congested and polluted city called Agra. The traffic system is horrible and you will be thanking God that someone else is driving. On entry to the city at Sikandra on left side you will find Akbar’s Tomb.

then we went on to see the Taj. Entry fee for Indians are foreigners are different. For any foreign tourist it is Rs 250. The cost of guide officially is Rs 750 but one can negotiate unofficially.

This post going very long.

Let me wind it up. Though it will take some time to see the Taj, but the memories will forever. SLR cameras are better to take the pictures. I knew it when I see my photos that were taken by my Canon 590IS. After some photoshopping that image came. So it is always a better idea to go with your SLR/DSLR cameras.

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