Agra, India
Taj Mahal
Our impressions of Agra
Much more to offer than the Taj: We were initially planning on spending a night and a morning in Agra so we could wake up early, see the Taj, and go on to our next stop. This would have been a mistake for two reasons: 1) the Taj is closed on Friday so we wouldn’t have been able to see it (what a gaffe that would have been…) and 2) Agra has so much more to offer than the Taj. We loved experiencing the crowded alleys of the city, exploring Agra’s other historical monuments, and eating our way around town. Though Agra is synonymous with the Taj Mahal in the minds of many tourists, it is a place that is worth seeing in its own right
Crowded and chaotic in a good way: As a city of 2 million people, Agra is a happening place. We found it to be more densely populated and chaotic than other cities in India, but not in a negative way. We really enjoyed wandering through the winding, narrow alleys of the old city, dodging motorbikes, tuk tuks, and animals, and just watching life unfold
Friendly but commercial: We encountered some of the friendliest people we met in India in Agra. Between our homestay hosts that went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, the waiters and owners at the restaurants we ate at, and our fair and kind tuk tuk driver, the majority of people we met were welcoming and differentially kind. In contrast, Agra was perhaps the most annoyingly commercial place we went in India with lots of people trying to sell us stuff (thanks but no thanks on the Taj replica) and make a quick buck
What we saw in Agra
Rishikesh to Agra train: Our journey from Rishikesh to Agra was an experience, like most of our long distance transit in India. Our hostel suggested we should arrive at the Rishikesh train station with plenty of time to spare before our 5:45am train, so we set off for the station in the wee hours. When we arrived, we were the only people at the train station outside of the people that had slept there the night before. We settled into two empty seats in the second class waiting room and waited for our train to arrive. Unfortunately, it was delayed until 8:00am, extending our 12-hour journey by a few more hours. Once the train arrived, we boarded and found our seats/bunks. We were in sleeper class which is how the majority of Indians travel. Sleeper class consists of very close quarters with bunks stacked three high and no AC, but it was much less uncomfortable than we imagined (though we were definitely sore from not being able to sit entirely upright or recline fully by the end of it). The train was fairly empty in Rishikesh, but it quickly filled up as the stops continued to pass. Vendors also began to fill up the halls of the train yelling and selling pretty much anything we could imagine needing – chai, chips, full meals, phone chargers, kids toys, and more. The 14 hours on the train (it was further delayed) passed quickly as we spent some time being productive and the rest enjoying life unfolding on the train. During our journey, we enjoyed chai and biryani – most people would probably raise an eyebrow about trying food from an unknown vendor on a long-haul train but we really liked it!
Agra Fort: Before Delhi, Agra was the capital of India during the Mughal Empire. The Agra Fort was the political and military center of the empire during those times. We had seen the outside of the Red Fort in Delhi but didn’t have time to go inside, so were excited to check out the Agra Fort. The fort was expansive and much more palace-like than we were expecting – beautiful gardens, intricate mosaics, and even a section in white marble similar to the Taj. We had a blast exploring the ins and outs of this historical site. We also got our first glimpse of the Taj from afar outside one of the windows of the fort. Even from far away, the Taj looked magical which made us very excited for the following day. During our exploration of the fort, our homestay host WhatsApp’ed us and asked us to come and move our stuff (we got demoted from a room with a double bed to two single beds), so we had to cut our visit shorter than planned. If we had more time, it would have been a nice place to spend an afternoon reading or watching the monkeys wreak havoc
Baby Taj (Itmad-ud-daula): Built in the early 17th century, the Itmad-ud-daula is known as the “Baby Taj” as it was the first building made entirely of white marble. Though the Taj is undeniably more impressive in terms of scale, the Baby Taj is stunning in its own right. We found its marble inlays to be more beautiful than the Taj and marveled at the intricately decorated ceilings and tombs on the inside. We also had our first real experience being “celebrities” in India here. We were the only non-Indian tourists (it was surprisingly empty) so many people came up to us and asked to take photos with us. One guy even made Jessie star in a music video that he posted on his Instagram reel. Jessie thought it was funny, but Doug didn’t love it especially when the guy instructed Jessie to look lovingly in his eyes. Jessie decided enough was enough when the guy asked for a second take…
Mehtab Bagh: Though we got there too late to enter the gardens themselves, we spent a lovely evening watching the sunset over the Taj from a view point right outside of these gardens. We got a glimpse of the Taj from the Agra Fort, but here we could see the full scale of it relatively up close which was amazing. It was relatively empty here which made for a pleasant and peaceful sunset as we marveled at the Taj. Neither of us like to ask people to take photos of us, but we couldn’t let an opportunity like this one pass. Doug worked up the courage to ask an English-speaking woman to take a photo of us to which she said “I think I’d rather not…” with a disgusted look on her face. OUCH! We felt a little burned by that one, but got over it and continued to enjoy the view
Taj Mahal: Given the Taj is one of the most recognizable monuments in the world, we were excited to see it but we kinda expected it to be just like what we had seen in pictures – beautiful, grand, and crowded. Luckily, our time at the Taj completely surpassed our expectations and turned into one of the most memorable experiences on our travels. One of the friends we made in Chitwan, Suzie, had traveled to India many times and recommended that we use the guide she went with to the Taj. We excitedly took her up on it. The night before, we set our alarms to 4:30am in order to meet our guide, Don, at 5:00am sharp at the Taj gate. The Taj opens 30 minutes before sunrise (6:15am the day we were there), but Don wanted us to get there early so we wouldn’t be too far back in line. Lo and behold, we ended up being among the first few people in line. We made friends and chatted with the only people in front of us – a couple from France that was equally shocked that we were the only ones in line at that point. Don told us we needed to prepare to run when the Taj opened (we initially thought he was kidding), so we banded together with our French friends and committed to running the Taj race. Run we did and we were the very first people in that day — it was amazing. The Taj appeared mystical under a thick layer of fog and clouds before the sun lightened things up. We had a blast running around the different sides of the Taj before others came in. The pictures that we had seen hadn’t prepared us for the grandness and sheer beauty of the Taj – we couldn’t take our eyes off of it the whole time we were there. Before it got too busy, we snapped many, many pictures (and got too many pictures taken of us) and made our way to a nearby pavilion from Mughal times to get another view of the Taj with Don’s son, Faizal. Though the walk to this spot was a bit lackluster (garbage, cows, monkeys galore), it was another amazing place to marvel at the Taj. We got to see the clouds lift from the side of the Taj in real time and it emerged like a castle in the clouds. We loved our time exploring the Taj and would wake up at 4:30am any day to have the experience that we did here
Fatehpur Sikri: Fatehpur Sikri is typically a day trip from Agra, but for us it was a stop along the drive to Jaipur. Constructed in red sandstone and marble in some places by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri gave us a great glimpse into the history of Akbar and the Mughal empire in the 16th century. We took a tour of Fatehpur Sikri with a fantastic guide with great hair, Ali. We learned about the day-to-day happenings of the empire at the time, notably how justice was carried out (Akbar occasionally released his killer elephant, Hiram, onto petty criminals to set an example), how all religions were tolerated to unify the empire, and where Akbar’s multiple wives and courtesans resided. The grounds were much more understated than the monuments we saw in Agra, but still beautiful and relatively empty. After walking through the old palace grounds, we made our way to the Jama Masjid where there were many more people. Here, we bought a green cloth to drape over the Tomb of the Holy Man (the man that blessed Akbar and enabled him to have a son) so we could participate in a tradition that dates back to Akbar (the money also goes to local schools so we were happy to donate). We made three wishes after tying knots on the beautiful white marble tomb. Fingers crossed they come true 🙂
Where we ate and drank
Bamboo Family Restaurant: We were quite tired after a very long journey to Agra, so we decided to dine right around the corner from our homestay. This restaurant was run by a family – the mom cooked while the dad and the son tended to customers. As a result, we had an awesome, home-cooked meal of veg curry (for Jessie), butter chicken (for Doug), and some very garlicky naan. While we were eating, the son sat with us and taught us about the history of the Taj Mahal and his life in Agra – a bonus!
Joney’s Place: Named after the grandfather of the current owner, Joney’s Place has been an Agra establishment for three generations. We were the only ones in this small joint, so we got a one-on-one consultation from the owner/waiter on what to order. Banana lassis, malai kofta, and paneer pasanda it was! The dishes were all delicious and distinct from the other food we had tried in India thus far, particularly the malai kofta (paneer wrapped in a mashed potato, deep fried, and dropped into the most delectable tomato curry). Our mouths still water thinking about this meal
Lakshmi Vilas: This restaurant has become a bit of a running joke for us due to a mishap with the pronunciation of “vilas” (Jessie was insistent that it was called villas), but ended up being a delicious South Indian meal. It was a bit of an adventure to get here (Doug had to sit upfront with the tuk tuk driver and help him navigate the dark Agra streets by Apple Maps), but once we did we had the full place to ourselves. The waiter was awesome and hooked us up with the restaurant’s specialties – dahi vada, malabar parantha, masala dosa, and a South Indian platter. We particularly loved the dahi vada (vada covered in yogurt topped with spicy powder and rice crunchies) and the parantha which was flaky, soft, and melted in our mouths
Good Vibes Cafe: This place was nothing to call home about (we had a really quick meal here), but the Google searches that led us here are worth mentioning. We wanted to grab breakfast somewhere close to our homestay after our early morning at the Taj and before setting off on the long drive to Jaipur. We looked into a few places near us and initially found one called the Bob Marley Cafe (or something like that) that looked like a fine enough place to grab coffee. Then, Doug started to dig into the reviews (one of his hobbies has become reading reviews of places). The reviews exposed a total racket – multiple people mentioned that the waiter or owner had taken their phones to “get them on the WiFi” only to go on Google and give the restaurant, and in some cases another restaurant hundreds of miles away, a five-star rating. Luckily Good Vibes didn’t have this problem and generally had some good vibes 🙂
Where we stayed
Aman Homestay: Aman Homestay was one of our favorite places we stayed in India. Family-run, cozy, and within walking distance of the Taj, this guesthouse/homestay was the perfect spot for our two nights in Agra. The rooms had fun multi-colored lights in them (why not?) and the mom even made us a to-go lunch for our long drive to Jaipur – a total gem!