June 23rd, 2022
Woke a bit earlier today to be ready for a day trip we booked the last day in Leh. I booked a tour for Andy and I to spend a good part of the day with.
We were picked up by a taxi driver at 7:00 a.m. at the hotel and driven over to the train station where he assisted us in finding the correct train, coach and seats. (He also provided the PDF tickets, which I was able to photograph with my own phone since I had no signal to do anything online).
Train left on time and took us on a roughly 2 hour ride without any stops to Agra. We were in a first class air conditioned coach and was served a simple breakfast onboard which was included with the ticket purchase.
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| On the train |
We were met on the Agra station platform by our tour guide who would take care of us the rest of the day.
He took us out of the station to a waiting car and we then drove off to our first stop for the day, the Taj Mahal!
We were dropped at the west gate entry and walked into the outer area of the complex.
The guide gave us a very detailed history of the place and the background and significant details of the various components of the compound and its buildings.
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| Forecourt and Main gate |
We visited several parts of the outer gardens and the various gates before moving into the main complex where the main tomb and its gardens are located.
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| Taj Mahal |
We were not allowed to video in the main complex, but photos were still allowed. We walked parts of the garden and around the central fountains and did a few photos from specific vantage points he recommended. We then reached the main platform where the Taj and the mosque and other buildings form the backside of the complex.
We entered the main entry for the Taj platform. We then had to put on covers for our shoes so as not to scuff the marble floors. We now ascended the 22 steps to the now fully marble construction. We moved around the front part of the building to examine several of the fine details and learn about the construction methods used to create them.
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| Detail work |
Next we entered the tomb itself (and now photography was also not allowed) to learn more of the history of how it was built, and the install of the tombs of Shah Jahan's wife Mumtaz Mahal and later his own tomb as well.
After exploring the various features of the interior, we exited out the back door and then learned about the never completed (and barely started) Black Taj which was to be built on the other bank of the river and connected via a bridge.
Due to political intrigue by his sons, the project was abandoned after only a small bit of wall and some small towers were built.
We made our way back up to the gate we came in from and exited. We then were able to grab a ride on a cart back to the main exit back to the city.
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| On our way back to front (Infra-red image) |
Back in the car we drove a short distance to the workshops of the 14th generation of craftsman whose ancestors worked on the original construction and have maintained the parts they did since then. This particular family worked with the fine detail artworks, carving the marble and embedding the semi-precious stones to create the decorative sections and the writing's on the walls.
The design, cutting, engraving of the cavity and then gluing the stones into the marble pieces was explained and shown to us by the owner of the shop and some of his workers. Today the family works on preservation of the Taj as well as other UNESCO sites in Europe that were built with similar methods, but the skills were lost in Europe over the centuries. So they have come to the Indian families who still practice and pass on these skills to assist with those sites now.
They of course also create modern pieces of artwork to sell that range from small objects to life size statues and full sized table tops.
I was not planning to buy anything, but then my eye caught a medium sized piece that was a table with a chess board integrated into it, all marble with amazing shell and stones inserted to create the design pattern around the board. The purchase included a custom built wooden stand for the marble top and marble cut chess pieces in a simple case.
It was not cheap, but was still a good price for what it is, and the shipping cost to send it back to the USA was covered by the Indian government due to some agreement they had. So I bought it, and arranged to have it shipped once the stand was built.
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| My new chess board. |
After this we went over to a local restaurant (Bon Sizzlers) for lunch (included in the tour price). The place was really nice and located in the basement level of the Hotel Parador. They started us with serving various appetizer plates until we told them to stop. (they would keep brining new ones out as we finished the previous). Once we stopped those, we then were able to visit the main buffet, which they took time to explain all the various items and also pointed out the desert bar for when we were done with the meal.
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| Entrance to lunch restaurant |
After lunch we next visited the Agra Fort which was built in the century before the Taj Mahal and started by Shah Jahan's grandfather and expanded as time went on, much of it done by Shah Jahan himself. There were later modifications by other rulers and also by the British during their time in the country. Today a good part of the fort is still used by the Indian military for various functions.
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| Entrance to Agra Fort |
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| View toward the Taj Mahal |
We explored the plazas, gardens, palaces and other components of the fort which included some amazing architecture and detail in design.
At this point the tour was basically done, but as Andy had been talking with the guide in detail about many of the British sites around Agra and the parts they played in the local history, the guide decided to stop at a site on the way back to the train station that had some history to it. It was a small section of a bungalow palace used by visiting monarchs and heads of state over the last 100 years of British rule, and even some after Indian independence.
Today part of the building is occupied by a bank, but the other part is occupied by a family that has been associated with it since the mid 1800's and are artisans of metal and stone to make jewelry and other art objects. They also work in the area of embroidery, and made much of the finery for the royals, and other persons of the state as well as for the animal transports (think Elephants) that were still used at that time.
We started by visiting the museum onsite that contains many old photographs and documents signed or belonging to various heads of state (including the Queen of England) and even several celebrities who have visited over the years that family has been there. Also many of the pieces of art they had done that were part of the families personal collection were on display, both metal and fabric pieces.
The artistry and skill in both of these pursuits was amazing. While I have no use for jewelry, I did admire many of the pieces on display in the shop for people to purchase. I did end up buying a few cut stones that were cool looking, though no clue what I will do with them and probably a dumb purchase, but did it anyway.
I then visited the embroidery store and much of that work was just amazing. Mostly wall tapestry or table covers and other similar things. The costs were a bit high, but still very reasonable for the level of skill, but I was already spending more on this trip than planned, so decided I did not need anything this trip, but maybe the next time I visit?
We left this place for the train station to catch our train back to Delhi. We made it just in time to board the train (guess I spent too much time looking at stuff) and had a relaxing ride on the way back. We were seated in front of two women who we had seen on the same train that morning on the way over, also taking a tour. We had actually exchanged a few words with them that morning as we both met our guides on the platform.
Both were from South Africa and were in Delhi for a business conference, but had a few days to spend on personal stuff as well. Andy and I spent most of the trip back talking with them about various topics.
Once back in Delhi we were met by the same driver who dropped us off that morning. He took us to the car and we (slowly due to much worse traffic now) drove back to the hotel.
After a quick stop in the room to refresh, sort and pack a few things we went down for dinner at the restaurant and then returned to the room after the meal.
Mark was now at the hotel as he had travelled back from Leh today, but he was not responding to our contact attempts, so we figured he must have fallen asleep.
I spent some time getting the days events in the journal and Andy fell asleep. Now I think I am ready for bed myself.
Good night!
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