Delhi & Agra – Golden Triangle Line

23.09.2022
Today we set off at two o’clock „in the morning“. After I finally understood, half asleep, what the taxi driver was trying to say on the phone, which had just woken me up, we set off for the airport with an amazing amount of energy.
To see Delhi and the Taj Mahal, we took the Friday off and planned a long weekend. Delhi, Agra (where the Taj Mahal is located) and Jaipur together would form the famous „Golden Triangle“. However, we decided to skip Jaipur due to limited time and recommendations from our predecessors.
When we arrived in Delhi at eight o’clock, our personal driver for Friday and Saturday was already waiting at the exit of the airport. The first stop was at the Qutb Minar, an imposing minaret surrounded by ruins, old mosques and Imam tombs. A security guard, who, as we learned later, had studied photography, enthusiastically took pictures of us and showed us the best places to do so. See for yourself!

After a short drive, we next stopped at the Lotus Temple. This is a Bahai temple, which, like all Bahai temples, is open to all religions. The temple looks like a huge lotus flower, hence its name. It is very beautiful to look at from the outside and inside, but unfortunately, as with almost all temples so far, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the temple.
Before lunch, we had a guided tour of an inconspicuous tailor’s shop, where we were introduced to Indian craftsmanship. Afterwards, we went to a local restaurant where we had a quick lunch.
The last sight we visited today was the Red Fort. The way there took us, among other things, through the government quarter, where we passed by the Parliament and the Supreme Court in addition to the house of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Red Fort is a beautiful, very impressive complex where the Prime Minister always gives the Independence Day address.
Back at the hotel, we treated ourselves to a hot shower, which we desperately needed due to the rain all day. We then enjoyed our dinner in the hotel restaurant before falling into our beds, dead tired.

24.09.2022
The next morning we helped ourselves generously to the morning buffet and set off for Agra at eight o’clock. After four hours we finally arrived.
A few minutes before we reached the entrance of the Taj Mahal, a local guide joined us, who nimbly took care of our tickets and thus spared us the crowds.
After leaving our car, we had to go through security before we were allowed to enter the grounds. Every day, the Taj Mahal has more than 20,000 visitors, which, as our guide explained to us, is just little compared to „pre-Corona times“ with up to 50,000 visitors. When we looked to the left after a few metres, we already saw the impressive tomb through a gate. After we passed the gate, however, rain quickly set in. As it turned out, most of the visitors were very shy of water, which we used in our favour to take some pictures without the crowds.

Our guide explained to us on the way inside that everything at the Taj Mahal is symmetrical. So there is a red mosque next to the white main building, which is also on the other side, although the eastern building is not allowed to be used as a mosque, as it is not facing Mecca, just for the sake of symmetry. The only exception is the tomb of the king, who was buried over 30 years later next to his wife, which is perfectly placed in the centre.
After our tour of the Taj, as it is called by most here, we continued to a small family business that practices the art form of setting numerous tiny gems into marble, which was used for the Taj Mahal, among other things. Before we drove back to Delhi, we stopped at a small but nice restaurant.

25.09.2022

We took it easy on the last day of our stay and, after breakfast at the hotel, had our driver pick us up at noon. When he finally arrived, half an hour late, we made our way to Delhi’s city centre once again. There, we visited India Gate as the finale of our trip. The weather was better this day than the last two days and so we were able to enjoy the sun while admiring the huge archway.
Afterwards, we went on to the airport, which is about half an hour’s drive from India Gate. Check-in went very quickly, so we used the time to finish our „Tichu round“ (card game). After a short snack in the form of milkshakes and sandwiches, we finally made our way to our gate and waited for boarding.
After a little more than two hours of flying, we reached the airport in Bangalore, where we ordered an Uber for the last part of the journey home, which took us back to our flat in Electronic City. So our weekend came to a successful end with many exciting and beautiful impressions from Delhi and Agra.