We realized some years ago that we were well on our way to seeing the New 7 Wonders of the World. So we formed our 25th anniversary trip, in 2018, around seeing Machu Picchu and Christ the Redeemer. Later that same year, we planned a trip with our friends, using our time share in Mexico, to see Chichen Itza. Then in 2019, we saw the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. They’re the honorary 8th wonder of the world because it’s the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World. This brings me to 2020, where the only remaining Wonder of the World on our list is the Taj Mahal. India isn’t exactly on the way for us, but we tacked it onto a trip to Israel with the church. We were torn between another 24 hours in India or another 24 hours on our own in Israel. This would be our 6th trip to Israel, with our church. You see we’d always done the Israel trip with our church, helping out with the worship and enjoying someone else doing the planning and guiding. But this time, after some friends from Bulgaria had done it on their own, we wanted to give it a try. It’s the only place in the world we’ve been so many times, and never on our own.
We spent one night in NYC, then caught a direct flight to Delhi. We flew Air India which was just fine. We landed about noon and wasted no time, we immediately met our driver, Devender, with V Care Tours. We’d arranged ahead of time to have him drive by some of the sites in Delhi before he drove us to Agra.
There are few places John hasn’t driven us, and India is one of them. Traffic is insane there. With no apparent traffic rules, we were glad to have someone driving us. Honestly, the only bummer was that the rental car was governed. So while everyone else was flying by on the 3.5 hour drive to Agra, we were stuck at 80km.
Devender first drove us through town, we saw the parliament buildings and India Gate. Next, we stopped at the Red Fort. We felt a little unsure leaving our driver behind as we walked in, but it ended up just fine. We had our tickets printed out already so we didn’t need to wait in line. Walking in, one of the first things we noticed was, due to the hazardous air quality, we were both losing our voices.
From the Red Fort we went over to the Lotus Temple, it was nearing sunset and just as it did in Beijing, the haze in the air made for a beautiful sunset.
The traffic was crazy as we left town for Agra. We tried to make small talk but the jet lag made it difficult. Despite our best efforts, we kept nodding off. As I mentioned before, we were unsure if we wanted to add a day to India, losing a day in Israel. There was only one direct flight to Tel Aviv each day, at 3:30pm. Having mapped out all that was on our list for Delhi and Agra, we decided to spend the extra day in Israel. Among the deciding factors were not knowing how well my asthmatic lungs would handle the air quality in India.
We initially wanted to take the train down to Agra, but the train systems are not very accommodating online, and we weren’t sure where to buy the tickets or how much in advance we’d need to get to the station, cutting into our time in the city. So for a little less than a train ticket, our driver took us to Agra, and then picked us up the next morning and drove us back to the airport.
Devender pulled in at a little gas station about halfway to Agra. There was a restaurant called Highway Masala where we grabbed some delicious food to go, and an energy drink . We barely kept our eyes open the rest of the drive. Arriving at our hotel in Agra, Hotel Daawat Palace, we were ready to collapse into bed. Finding the hotels website to link, I had to laugh out loud when I saw that it shows 3 stars. Coming from the USA, it’s not what we’d think of for 3 stars. It had a room, with a bathroom and a bed. For us, it was fine. But don’t expect 3 stars like in America. We loved it for it’s walking distance to the Taj Mahal, and the next mornings breakfast was FANTASTIC. I would have to say it was the best egg & cheese omelette I have EVER enjoyed. And the Indian Masala tea, WOWEE. Fun fact, “chai” means tea in Hindi! At the restaurant we were amazed to see all the chai flavors, until we realized it just meant tea.
We had heard conflicting reports on when the gates would open, and we knew our time was short. We decided to set the alarm for 5:25am. We were in line by about 5:50am. It was a short walk from our hotel. The lines are confusing and even though we were warned, in person and via signage, I was so flustered when it was finally my turn for tickets, that I forgot to make sure I got my change. It was only 200 rupees so I didn’t let myself be too upset. Having the exact amount would’ve been helpful. The entrance fee included a bottle of water and booties to wear over your shoes if you want to go inside the Taj Mahal.
The gates don’t actually open until sunrise, so we had about 10min left to kill once we had our tickets. I was so anxious. I didn’t know what to expect, if I’d get “THE” pics I wanted, if I’d be disappointed. I can’t even describe the feeling when we rounded the corner and saw it for the first time. It literally took my breath away. We stepped up to the rail and took a pic. And then the tears came. I couldn’t believe we were ACTUALLY here. AT THE TAJ MAHAL. It wasn’t just that it was the final 7 Wonders of the World to check off, we were in India, at this iconic spot, together. I loved it. Walking along the pond I knew I wanted a picture. The kind you wait your turn to get. I initially felt dumb being “that tourist”, but I regretted not taking more pics in Machu Picchu, and thankfully John gets me. So, we waited in line, and then realized it was a tour guide holding everyone off to take pics for his group. He wouldn’t take one for us. I almost cried again, but John made it happen. I’m so glad!
We wondered around for about an hour. Every turn was a new angle I wanted to capture in a photograph. I took 126 photos in an hour. When the sun came up a little further, the glow on the white marble was stunning.
As we left, I was so thankful for the photo we’d gotten when we first came in. Just one hour later it was absolutely packed! There’s no way we could’ve gotten the same photo had we arrived later.
On the way out, we saw monkeys everywhere. Just after this picture the monkey lunged at John. The monkey didn’t leave the railing but we took our cue to move along.
We took a wrong path on the way out and ended up too far from our hotel. It gave us an excuse to take a tuk tuk ride back to the hotel. Oops! If it’s dark when you walk in, make sure you pay attention.
We made it back just in time for that delish rooftop breakfast I mentioned earlier. And you could even make out the Taj Mahal in the haze. Devender arrived to drive us back to the airport. We drove past a couple more sites on the way and had plenty of time to make our flight.
Our stay in India was fantastic. The people were great, we weren’t scared. I’d say the only problem for us was the air quality. I had to take my inhalers for a week after our visit. And we only had about 28 hours there! If you EVER have the opportunity to visit, absolutely DO IT!