One Week in India: Mumbai, Amritsar, Agra/Taj Mahal, Jaipur and Delhi CX and EY J



Welcome to my 2nd trip report installment of 2018. This year has started quite busy having spent New Year’s in Seoul then a week in January in Tokyo and Manila. That trend continues into February. Follow me along as I share my pictures from this one week trip to India, my 41st country visited.

Previous reports:

A Snowstorm in Tokyo and Volcanoes in the Philippines

New Year’s in Seoul, South Korea Delta A350 Suite

Keeping it Domestic: Grand Teton National Park

9 Days in Asia: Taipei, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Shanghai

Two Weeks in South Africa and Namibia: Joburg, Cape Town, Sossusvlei and Kruger

¡Bienvenido a Cuba!





You can use the following links to access specific parts quicker:

I. Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Boston to Hong Kong

II. 14 hours in Rainy Hong Kong

III. Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Hong Kong to Mumbai

IV. Mumbai. Sunrise Photoshoot and Flight to Amritsar.

V. Amritsar. Golden Temple and Wagah Border Ceremony with Pakistan

VI. Agra. Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and a Drive to Jaipur

VII. Jaipur. Fort, Fort, Fort!

VIII. A Day in Delhi

IX. Flights Home and Overnight in Abu Dhabi. Etihad 787-9 Business Class Abu Dhabi to Washington DC


Sidenote: Sorry if the images are loading slowly, there's a lot of them and I had to use a different image hosting website so they wouldn't be blocked at work. Also, if any don't load properly just refresh the page. Seems to be a glitch with that hosting website.

One Week in India: Mumbai, Amritsar, Agra/Taj Mahal, Jaipur and Delhi

Welcome to my 2nd trip report installment of 2018. This year has started quite busy having spent New Year’s in Seoul then a week in January in Tokyo and Manila. That trend continues into February. Follow me along as I share my pictures from this one week trip to India, my 41st country visited.

Background:
I’ll be honest, India was, for the longest time, not really towards the top of my list for places to go for several reasons. Delta doesn’t fly there anymore, it’s difficult to get to because of reason one, it’s a bit more difficult to travel than other places, and the people I normally travel with didn’t have much interest in going. That changed though. My company has an office in Mumbai and over the last few years, I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with some of the folks over there. So about a year ago, a co-worker and I decided we’d go over and visit. It started as just visiting Mumbai and the Taj Mahal but it grew crazier and crazier. One of our final itineraries had us hitting Mumbai, Amritsar, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Delhi over the course of 8 days. However, we finalized the itinerary by cutting out Udaipur, and for the most part, Mumbai, to better cover the other cities (and cut the trip by one day). So with that, let’s begin with Day 1.


Day 1


Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Boston to Hong Kong


The day started as a normal day at work. I got out at roughly 2:00PM and headed straight for the airport and got on a rather uneventful JetBlue flight to Boston. Once in Boston, I had a quite a bit of time… about 9 hours to be exact. As my JetBlue and Cathay tickets were separate, I chose the extra-long layover to be safe.With my time in Boston, I decided to head to the North End for a lobster roll. Neptune Oyster Bar serves up a pretty good one, albeit rather expensive at $31.
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Once I returned to Logan, I headed to the British Airways lounge. The lounge is rather new (or renovated?) and was completely empty.
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A quick shower before the 16-hour flight to Hong Kong.
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Boston Terminal E at midnight on a Thursday.
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Boarding commenced around 12:35AM for the 1:30AM departure. I took my seat in 16A and settled in for the flight.
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I’ve flown Cathay Pacific in business class several times in the past but had heard they’ve experienced some cost cutting so I was interested to see if my experience would be any different this go around.

Appetizer.
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Main course, shrimp stir-fry and white rice. I actually had wanted to go with the beef option but the FA had skipped over me by accident and by time I noticed they no longer had beef available. Ok then.
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Cheese plate for dessert.
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I woke up just a tad south of the North Pole and decided to order the roast duck soup, which was fantastic. Easily the best food item on the flight I had.
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Pre-arrival fruit.
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A mediocre omelet for breakfast.
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Day 2


14 hours in Rainy Hong Kong

I had been to Hong Kong a few times in the past, but there’s always something different to see in that city. Cathay Pacific only flew to Mumbai once that day, so I had no choice but to have this 14-hour layover. We landed ahead of schedule at about 5:20AM. I had already purchased my Airport Express ticket so I headed straight downtown to Kowloon Station. I jumped in a cab from there to the Avenue of the Stars / Promenade area to shoot the skyline for sunrise. I had a few issues. One, I forgot to check the weather; it was raining, foggy and misty. Two, Avenue of the Stars was closed so I had to walk around quite a bit to find a spot to setup. Three, it was the day after Chinese New Year so literally nowhere was open around me.

The fantastic sunrise view of Hong Kong!
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The promenade that morning.
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I was hoping the weather would clear up so I hung around for a while but it didn’t. Since nothing was open, I just walked around and wasted time.
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Taxi.
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Some Chinese New Year decorations.
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I took refuge in Pacific Place for a while and scoured the internet for somewhere to get lunch. I was craving some soup dumplings but almost everywhere was closed. I found one place and took note of it to check later if they were open.
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I then got on the train and headed to Tai Koo Station.
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I came here to photograph Montane Mansion, somewhere you see in lots of Hong Kong pictures. It’s just an apartment building complex but it makes for some great pictures. It’s more popular before sunrise and after sunset though.
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Burning stuff, Montane Mansion.
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Montane Mansion.
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Tram.
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Back on the subway, my next stop was Choi Hung.
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Buildings.
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Choi Hung is famous for its colorful buildings.
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Choi Hung.
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After Choi Hung, it was lunch time. The place I had researched earlier, the Dim Sum Library, was open. I got my fix of soup dumplings but chose to go with the Dan Dan version instead. Fantastic dumplings.
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Cathay Pacific 777-300ER Business Class Hong Kong to Mumbai


Back at the airport! I arrived around 3:00PM for the 8:00PM flight to Mumbai, which would give me time to shower, get dinner in the lounge and relax.
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My go-to lounge in Hong Kong is The Pier, which was fantastic as always. I grabbed some dinner after a quick shower.
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The Pier J lounge.
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One more flight. Gate 46 to Mumbai.
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Looks familiar. It was actually the same plane that flew me into Hong Kong, it had just sat around all day.
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Appetizer.
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Nearly 12,000 flown miles and I’m almost there.
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Mumbai. Sunrise Photoshoot and Flight to Amritsar


Customs and immigrations in Mumbai were crazy. Even though I had a business class boarding pass, they only had one queue open for E-visa holders. Only two officials were working the line of 200+ people and people were having serious trouble with getting their fingerprints scanned. Even though we landed early (around 11:45PM), it was close to 2:00AM before I finally exited the airport. I met up with my co-worker who had flown in the day before and a few people from our Mumbai office. They drove us back to the hotel (which was near the airport). The original plan was some of our co-workers from the local office were going to pick us up for sunrise and show us around Mumbai since we had a flight to Amritsar at 1:00PM the next day. We continued with that plan but that meant we only got 45 minutes of sleep. Oh well.

We got picked up around 5:15AM and were taken to the nearest metro station. We wanted to ride on a local train at some point and Sunday morning seemed like the best time when hauling around camera gear. Tickets were only 10 rupees a piece ($0.15) for the ~ 20 minute ride.
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Hanging out of the train en route. Doors aren’t used.
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We got off at the end of the line, Churchgate. Mural of Mahatma Gandhi near the station.
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We hopped in a taxi to our next stop…
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…which was the Gateway of India.
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Sunrise.
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Sunrise through the gate.
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Gateway of India.
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Gateway of India.
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“Mumbai”
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Harbor.
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The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is a 5 star luxury hotel in Mumbai. It was also a victim of the 2008 Mumbai attacks which unfortunately killed 31 people in and around the hotel.
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The next stop was Marine Drive. We weren’t here very long but we got some good pictures and just hung out for a bit.
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Marine Drive. Just look at those pasty white legs.
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Mumbai skyline.
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We then visited the Siddhivinayak Temple, however, photography wasn’t allowed. Next up was lunch. Started with Missal Pac, a popular Maharashtrian breakfast dish.
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A cheese and onion Uttapam.
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We also got some Mysore Masala Dosa.
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Statue of the Hindu God, Krishna in the restaurant.
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We bid farewell to some of the people we met up with from the office and after only a few hours of sightseeing around Mumbai, we headed to the airport.
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Mumbai airport.
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We booked a flight on Vistara to Amritsar for only $50, which included a checked bag and a seat, so not a bad deal.
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Departing Mumbai.
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Landing in Amritsar.
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Amritsar. Golden Temple and Wagah Border Ceremony with Pakistan


Amritsar was the first “real” destination of the trip. Mumbai was more of a stopover and meet up point. We had a day and a half in Amritsar with every second accounted for. We landed around 4:00PM which gave us time to check in to the hotel before heading out. We splurged a bit on this night by picking the Fairfield Marriott, but I was glad we did because we were exhausted at the end of the day.

The room at the Fairfield Marriott.
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We decided to meet up with the other person traveling with us at the Golden Temple around sunset so we hopped in a cab shortly after checking in.
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Walking to the Golden Temple.
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The Golden Temple is one of the most revered spiritual sites of Sikhism.
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Golden Temple.
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Tripods weren’t allowed but I managed to get a decent long exposure.
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After visiting the Golden Temple, we did some shopping.
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Kara. They’re steel bracelets worn by initiated Sikhs.
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We went to Kesar Da Dhaba for dinner, which was fantastic. Included was Tandoori Roti, Aloo Paratha, Dal, Raita, Chole, Indian Pickle and Paneer Tikka Masala.
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Dessert consisted of Rasmalaai, Firni and Rasgulla.
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Day 4


Day 4 started with another early morning alarm. Everyone had said to visit the Golden Temple for sunrise to witness the praying and the line is usually shorter (we didn’t go inside the temple the day before).

We arrived at the Golden Temple right at sunrise, relaxed and took in the environment.
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After sunrise at the Golden Temple.
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The Golden Temple is covered in 750kg of Gold.
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We proceeded inside, however, photography wasn’t permitted.
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Akal Takht, one of the five seats of power of the Sikhs.
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We proceeded to walk around a bit and take in the city.
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We then visited Jallianwala Bagh, which is a garden and memorial for the 1919 massacre in which British occupying forces killed 379 people and wounded an 1,100 or so more. Below is the memorial.
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Bullet holes in a building.
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Walking around.
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Cow.
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Next we stopped by the Durgiana Temple. There was basically no one there so it was a nice place to walk around.
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Durgiana Temple Gold.
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Walking around.
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Bull.
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It was about noon at this point, which meant it was time to head over to the border with Pakistan for the closing ceremony. The people we were traveling with hired a rickshaw to take us there, wait, and then bring us back. Great deal when divided amongst the five of us for the one hour drive.
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We also stopped for some Pakoda on the way to the border, which is basically fried vegetables. Tasty.
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Arriving at the border was interesting. The rickshaws and cars are held back about 750m from the actual border. We stood in line there before they allowed us to go to the security check. After that was another line, where we were eventually allowed to enter the stadium.

Border sign with the flags in the background (that’s the border).
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Waiting in line.
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The Indian side is called the Attari Border, but Wagah Border is the more popular term.
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The nationalism is strong here.
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The stadium.
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Signage.
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Armed guard.
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Pakistani flag.
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Indian women running with the flag.
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Around 3:00PM, the Pakistani side started blasting some music. Within seconds the Indian side followed suit. It was quite loud but made the experience rather unique. We were seated about 100 feet back from the border at first, but since our group had foreigners (my co-worker and I) they allowed us to move to a completely empty section getting us about as close as you could get to the border. My phone even connected to a network in Pakistan although the jammers blocked all data connections. Below were the security guards in charge of our section. There was a lot of whistle blowing for people that were misbehaving.
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They brought out these highly trained dogs.
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The ceremony began around 5:00PM.

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The gates were closed and opened (rather aggressively) several times over the next 45 minutes.
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The flags were then lowered simultaneously.
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Along with the large Pakistani flag.
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The gates were then shut one last time.
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I ran down to the center of the street at the conclusion of the ceremony for a picture.
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Exiting Wagah Border.
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Keeping to our hectic schedule, we headed straight back into the city to collect our bags at the hotel then proceeded directly to the airport for our flight to Delhi.
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My first time on an ATR for the short flight down to Delhi.
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After arriving in Delhi, we took a cab over to the Bloomrooms Hotel @ Link Road, which is near the Hazrat Nizamuddin train station, where we’d be departing for Agra the next morning. Short night.
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Agra. Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and a Drive to Jaipur


Day 5


Another early day, this time to begin our trek down to Agra. We arrived at Hazrat Nizamuddin station at about 7:30AM for the 8:10AM train.
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Hazrat Nizamuddin train station in Delhi.
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Boarding the Gatimaan Express, India’s first semi-high speed train service. Top speed is 99mph.
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One hour and 45 minutes later, we arrived at Agra Cantonment Station.
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We somehow fit three people and our luggage in a rickshaw and headed to the guesthouse. We saw some monkeys on the way.
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The exterior of the Max Guesthouse.
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Not bad for only $17/night.
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We hired a rickshaw driver for the day and started the day at Itmad Ud Daulah, known as the Baby Taj.
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Entrance gate.
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There are a lot of stray dogs in India, especially so in Agra it seemed. Found this one hiding from the sun.
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The Baby Taj is a Mughal mausoleum and was built around 1622.
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Tons of water buffalo, dogs and pigs along the currently dry Yamuna River.
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Pigs.
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Baby Taj.
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Another entrance gate.
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Our driver then took us to Agra Fort.
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Agra Fort is better described as a walled city.
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Details.
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We spent a few hours walking around the massive fort.
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There were several different rooms, some were used for banquet type functions, some were bedrooms, etc.
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Agra Fort.
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An open courtyard.
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The detail on the walls and ceiling was astounding.
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There it is!
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Pillars.
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Diwan-i-Aam.
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Agra Fort.
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Indian Palm Squirrel.
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In Amritsar in the morning, you’d see people cleaning the streets and getting rid of the trash. That didn’t seem to be the same in Agra unfortunately. Where’s the “adopt a stream” signage!?
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After Agra Fort, we picked up some quick fast food for lunch then drove over to Mehtab Bagh, which is a beautiful garden that sits across the river from the Taj Mahal.
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Taj Mahal.
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Bee.
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It was a hazy and clear skied sunset, so not the greatest for pictures but it was still a great experience.
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We then headed out for a quick dinner at Subway and stopped by a rug store as my co-worker wanted to look at some. Agra proved to not be the place to do that (Read: they were hella expensive).
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He just wanted a quick look…
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Day 6


You guessed it, another early morning. Can you refuse sunrise at the Taj Mahal though, no matter how little sleep you got? We set off for the Taj about 30 minutes before sunrise in order to get tickets and go through security.
Cow.
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The shot.
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Bird.
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Each minaret is actually angled slightly outward so that in the event of an earthquake, they don’t fall on the main structure.
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Found a bright green bench to do a little photoshoot with everyone.
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The Great Gate, the main entrance.
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Walking around the main tomb.
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The Yamuna River is the longest and second largest tributary river of the Ganges.
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The arch has calligraphy of Arabic Ayaat.
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A friendly stray overlooking the river.
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He also posed for me.
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Main dome.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0379-x2.jpg


Inside the neighboring mosque.
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Incised painting on the ceiling.
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The gardens surrounding the Taj Mahal.
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Exiting through the main gate where there were a million people (possibly three million, I might’ve miscounted).
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Quick chicken burger for lunch. The next task was the long drive over to Jaipur with a stop at another fort, Fatehpur Sikri.
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We hired a small sedan to get the three of us over to Jaipur by sunset.
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Inside Fatehpur Sikri. It’s actually a city and acted as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0420-x2.jpg


Pillars.
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The complex was very colorful and expansive.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0431-x2.jpg


Diwan-i-Khas.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0451-x2.jpg

Jaipur. Fort, Fort, Fort!


We continued our drive over to Jaipur for another four hours or so with a few stops for food and the bathroom on the way. We finally arrived just before sunset and checked in to our hotel (more like an AirBNB). Not bad for only $6 per person per night.
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The hotel.
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We had some shopping to do so we took a cab over to Bapu Bazar.
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Serving up some Panipuri, which is a common street snack that consists of a hollow deep fried bread filled with flavored water.
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Shopping.
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Shopping.
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Picking up some sugar cane juice.
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Sorry for the blurry picture, but for dinner we got butter chicken, laal maas and some biryani.
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Day 7


You didn’t guess correctly this time, we were actually able to sleep in past sunrise today! The plan for the day was to hit all of the main sights in Jaipur as we wanted to relax a bit the next day and get some more shopping out of the way.

We hired a rickshaw again for the day to take us around to the three forts and the other sites around the city.
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Breakfast.
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The first stop was City Palace, which was mostly a museum.
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City Palace. The royal family lived here for decades.
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Archway, City Palace.
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Peacock Gate, City Palace. There are tons of peacocks around the outskirts of Jaipur.
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Peacock Gate.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0494-x2.jpg


The next stop was Jantar Mantar, an equinoctial sundial.
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There are actually five similar sites in India, but this one in Jaipur is the largest.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0514-x2.jpg


Jantar Mantar was built in the early 18th century.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0517-x2.jpg


Now on to the forts. The first fort of the day is the largest one in Jaipur, Amer Fort.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0523-x2.jpg


Climbing up into the fort.
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Looking up at another fort in Jaipur, we’ll visit that later.
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Interior courtyard in Amer Fort.
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Great view of the other surrounding forts.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0552-x2.jpg


Pillars. The fort is made of red sandstone and marble.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0561-x2.jpg


Of course, if you didn’t want to walk, elephants were at your service.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0566-x2.jpg


Instead of taking the rickshaw up to the other fort, we decided to hike it. It was a tad hot outside (roughly 90F) but it was a relatively short and easy hike. Next stop, Jaigarh Fort. View from the top.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0581-x2.jpg


Camel ride.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0590-x2.jpg


The world’s largest cannon on wheels of the Early Modern Era.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0599-x2.jpg


View from Jaigarh Fort.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0601-x2.jpg

Monkeys.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0606-x2.jpg


We departed the fort and headed to some nearby stepwells for pictures.
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Stepwell.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0614-x2.jpg


The next and final fort was the Nahargarh Fort.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0618-x2.jpg


This fort had a small museum as well.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0619-x2.jpg


It provided the best views of Jaipur.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0615-x2.jpg


Jaipur.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0623-x2.jpg


Close up.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0624-x2.jpg


Nahargarh Fort architecture.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0644-x2.jpg


For sunset we headed back down the mountains to Jal Mahal (translates to water palace). As far as I know, you can’t actually visit it, but it makes for good pictures from afar.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0653-x2.jpg


Sunset behind the mountains.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0656-x2.jpg


Jal Mahal was built in 1799.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0662-x2.jpg


Pig walking around.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0673-x2.jpg


I wanted to shoot Jal Mahal during blue hour but they didn’t turn the lights on until about an hour after sunset. Oh well.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0686-x2.jpg


Next up was dinner at an Indian chain restaurant, Barbeque Nation. We started with some veggie appetizers.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0687-x2.jpg


Followed by some Laal Maas and biryani.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0695-x2.jpg


Day 8


Today was one of the slower days since we had covered so much the day before. We started with breakfast at McDonald’s (yes, I know) as it was convenient. Oddly though, they were out of most items. Also… Veg Pizza McPuff lol.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0697-x2.jpg


We then hired an Ola cab out to Galtaji Temple, which was a bit further outside of the city than expected (with no cell reception). So if you’re going out there, make sure you have your return sorted out to avoid getting ripped off by the rickshaws waiting to take you back.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0699-x2.jpg


Galtji is an ancient Hindu pilgrimage site which consists of a series of temples built into the foothills.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0702-x2.jpg


Painter.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0704-x2.jpg


Galtiji is also known by tourists as the Monkey Temple.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0705-x2.jpg


Monkey.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0708-x2.jpg


View of the Monkey Temple.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0720-x2.jpg


Our next stop was Albert Hall Museum, named after British King Edward VII.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0723-x2.jpg


Photography wasn’t allowed in the museum (learned that the hard way) so moving on. We went to Tapri Tea House for some tea and a quick lunch. I opted for iced tea as it was 92F outside.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0728-x2.jpg


My co-workers got hot tea, which was presented nicely.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0731-x2.jpg


Maggi for lunch.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0732-x2.jpg


The next destination was a photo stop at Hawa Mahal. People recommended we not go inside as it’s just empty rooms so we just got some exterior pictures and went on to souvenir shopping.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0741-x2.jpg


Hawa Mahal translates to “Palace of Winds”. It’s made of red and pink sandstone.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0753-x2.jpg


Sharpening.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0746-x2.jpg


Walking around.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0758-x2.jpg


Not a great picture, but we saw this monkey run from across the street, steal some grapes from a street vendor then jump on the roof to consume them.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0764-x2.jpg


Jaipur architecture.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0767-x2.jpg


Once we finished shopping, we called it a day and headed to the airport, which took over an hour. Our Uber driver also rear-ended some people on a scooter at the airport entrance but thankfully no one was hurt.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0769-x2.jpg


Back on another ATR for the even shorter flight to Delhi. The next day was our last day in India as both of us were flying back to the US from there in the late evening.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0771-x2.jpg


Oh man. This hotel. Initially when I booked it I booked based off of the good reviews. We checked in and were advised we were ‘upgraded’ to a king room (from twin beds…). They had no more twin rooms available, so we took it. The room’s ac unit displayed a temperature of 29C (84F) and it was unbelievably humid. They kept saying the AC would kick in but it never did, so they moved our room. This time the AC worked but the mattress was about as hard as tile. There was a piece of cardboard over the “window”, everything was dirty, it was an electrical nightmare, and no hot water… you get the point. Further research shows that 40 of the last 46 reviews on Trip Advisor are all from people who have ever issued one review and they all use the owner’s name… Hmm. Just take my word and don’t stay at Hotel Emperor Palms in Delhi.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0775-x2.jpg

Day 9


Our last day in India. I woke up to find myself with a nasty head cold (likely a result of barely sleeping for the last 8 days) so the day was a bit dreadful. None the less, we saw a lot of stuff in Delhi. We hired a cab driver to take us to all the sights and drop us all off at the Delhi Airport by 6PM. I didn’t take as many pictures as I normally do this day since I wasn’t feeling well (and to be honest, just wanted to lay down and sleep for a very long time in a quiet room with my dog).

Off we go for the day.
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Our first stop was The Laxminarayan Temple (aka Birla Mandir). Photography was once again not allowed, but it was a peaceful morning to walk around (for Delhi).
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0785-x2.jpg


Birla Mandir.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0789-x2.jpg


We then stopped at the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple, built in 1783.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0791-x2.jpg


The pool outside the Sikh temple.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0793-x2.jpg


We drove past the Gyarah Murti statue as well, which is near the President’s Estate in New Delhi.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0794-x2.jpg


The next stop was the famous India Gate. It was a hazy morning so you couldn’t see too far. The pollution at the time was measured at 250PM (categorized as Very Unhealthy).
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0799-x2.jpg


Some street food for breakfast.
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The next stop was Raj Ghat, the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0809-x2.jpg


Then we headed over to the Red Fort, the most popular tourist attraction in Delhi.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0812-x2.jpg


The Red Fort was built in 1639 and was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty for nearly 200 years.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0824-x2.jpg


Red Fort.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0859-x2.jpg

Jama Masjid is constructed with red sandstone and marble and was built in 1644.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0843-x2.jpg


It was then a 35-minute ride down to Humayun’s Tomb (Humayun was a Mughal emperor).
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0863-x2.jpg


Humayun’s Tomb.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0866-x2.jpg


The final stop of the day was the Qutb Minar. It stands 240 feet tall.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0902-x2.jpg


Pillars.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0887-x2.jpg


Qutb Minar site.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0897-x2.jpg


Pillars.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0909-x2.jpg


Walking around the Qutb Minar site.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0917-x2.jpg

Flights Home and Overnight in Abu Dhabi.
Etihad 787-9 Business Class Abu Dhabi to Washington DC

We arrived at the Delhi Airport at 6:00PM. My flight wasn’t until 9:00PM, so I had some time to shower, or so I thought. To recap, at this point I was pretty sick, exhausted and hadn’t showered for almost two days since the shower in the hotel was ice cold. I got to the Plaza Premium Lounge where I was told the shower was out of order. I proceeded to whimper quietly in the bathroom for a few minutes.

I arrived at the gate 50 minutes prior to departure for the flight to Abu Dhabi and found an empty gatehouse and the board flashing final call. Interesting.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0925-x2.jpg


The flight over to Abu Dhabi was on an A321, so no lie flat seats, but the flight was only a few hours. I completely passed out takeoff to touchdown so, unfortunately, no meal pictures. I guess the week had finally caught up to me.
I had an 11 hour overnight layover in Abu Dhabi, which is unfortunate because just driving along to the hotel, it looks like a pretty interesting city that I’d like to return to. I arrived at the Holiday Inn (only $50 for the night) around 1:00AM.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0932-x2.jpg


Day 10


I woke up around 6:30AM (still tired of course) as I wanted to hit the lounge in Abu Dhabi before the 10:50AM flight to DC. Below is the view from the hotel that rainy morning.
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A blurry picture of the J and F class check-in.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0938-x2.jpg


The pre-US departure section J lounge was quite nice.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0939-x2.jpg


I proceeded through US Preclearance about an hour and a half before departure and sat in the small lounge post-immigrations. Not the largest, but it was fine. I proceeded to gate 60 for the DC flight around 9:50AM.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0950-x2.jpg


The flight to Washington DC was on one of Etihad’s newer Boeing 787-9s.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0952-x2.jpg


I had selected 6K as my seat, which is one of the true window seats which was extremely private.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0954-x2.jpg


Champagne.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0955-x2.jpg


Pushing back from the gate.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0958-x2.jpg


A nice high resolution and large TV.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0961-x2.jpg


Taking off over Ferrari World, home to the world’s fastest roller coaster.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0969-x2.jpg


Long way to go.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0976-x2.jpg


Nuts to start.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0979-x2.jpg


Arabic Mezze for the appetizer.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0983-x2.jpg


I went with the beef tenderloin for the main. Cooked medium.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0987-x2.jpg


Cheese plate for dessert.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0993-x2.jpg


Flying over some mountains in Iran.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_0999-x2.jpg


I woke up over Iceland many hours later and ordered the steak sandwich.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_1002-x2.jpg


We flew over the very southern tip of Greenland which was beautiful.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_1004-x2.jpg


Southern Greenland.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_1007-x2.jpg


An out of focus picture of the pre-arrival scrambled eggs.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_1010-x2.jpg


Roughly 15-hours later.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_1011-x2.jpg


Welcome back to the United States.
https://photos.smugmug.com/One-Week-...MG_1012-x2.jpg


Well, that’s a wrap! I had a fantastic experience during my time in India and I’m super glad I finally got to meet some of the people from our Mumbai office. India is super diverse and even though it’s not very easy to travel (comparatively speaking), there is a ton to see and I definitely see myself returning. Even with getting sick on the last day, the trip was still enjoyable. If any of you are planning a trip to India and are thinking of skipping Amritsar, I’d highly advise against skipping it. I think the Wagah Border Ceremony there was one of my best experiences in India and is certainly very unique. There’s still a lot of travel on the books for 2018, so stay tuned. Nigeria will be a fun one.