Friday, March 29, 2024
We had a pretty early flight this morning, but we managed to get all eight of us in the van and to the airport on time! It felt like quite an achievement. Al and I got a credit card with lounge access in advance of our trip, but each of us can only bring one guest into the lounge. Meera and Sangita drew the long straws, so the four of us had breakfast and chai before getting on the plane. Our flight to Agra was uneventful, but the process of getting to our accommodation was a little less so. The Agra airport is on an Air Force base, so all arriving passengers have to use a bus to get out of the military area into the town. In town, we met our driver for the next day or so and loaded into our private bus which took us to the Taj Hotel. Our stay there was my birthday present from Sangita (thank you!!) and it was such a luxurious experience. All the public areas of the hotel smelled like flowers and upon arrival they had a delicious Mughal drink made of black carrots and Damascus rose.
Meera, Al and I had a big nap in our room, then later on met up with the whole group at the buffet restaurant. They had about a million different options and they were all so good. There were more Americans in that dining room than we had seen in the previous month! We had definitely arrived in the part of India that tourists visit.
After dinner we all went straight to bed since we had an early morning date with the Taj Mahal!
Saturday, March 30, 2024
We woke up before dawn, loaded into the bus with bleary eyes and shuttled the short distance to the Taj entrance gate. The sky got light as we did the security screening with monkeys jumping on the fences above us. The gates to the mausoleum were made of red stone with beautifully intricate white and black marble inlays, including the full text of the Quran. We marveled at the carvings on the gates and the refraction of the sunrise on the white marble towers of the mausoleum.
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Our tour guide told us about the building of the monument - it’s the tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (who was one of his five). She birthed 14 of his children, so really it’s the least he could do. Once we crossed the gardens to the building itself, we were required to don shoe covers or remove our shoes in order to preserve the brilliant white of the marble. I heard a rumor that they’ve restricted car traffic nearby to reduce the impact of pollution, but honestly I did not fact check this information at all. I choose to believe it.
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The white marble on the outside of the mausoleum is covered with intricate carvings and inlays of semi-precious stones, but the inside of the building was even more magnificent. Photos and stopping to stare were both banned inside, but it was genuinely breathtaking. We shuffled our way around the inside of the temple, then stepped blinkingly back into the Indian sun.
We spent a little time resting on the cool marble floor outside of the temple when I spotted an inspirational couple. They were both wearing gray t-shirts, one with text “together 19”, the other with “since 71”. At no point in time were they standing on the correct sides of each other, but the message was still clear: “Together Since 1971”. I generally don’t take photos of strangers, but I just couldn’t help myself this time. When I pointed them out to Al, he wanted to go over and introduce ourselves to them, but I was too shy for it! The point is, look forward to seeing us rocking the same look for decades to come.
After a couple of hours at the Taj Mahal, we headed back to the Taj Hotel for breakfast. We were hungry and tired, but only had time to satisfy one of those needs before heading back out to our second site of the day: Agra’s Red Fort. It’s a huge fort made primarily of red sandstone, giving it the name, but it also had many of the same carving and inlay techniques as the Taj Mahal. The Mughal influence was definitely clear, but the range of architectural detailing was due to multiple renovations over the centuries. Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the Red Fort for a time, during which he was able to see the incredible mausoleum he built for his wife, but was unable to visit her tomb. We toured the gardens and baths which were only for use by the emperor’s concubines and appreciated how effective the design was for keeping the rooms cool on an absolutely scorching day. Overheated and ready to nap, we headed back to the hotel.
After a big nap, Al and I headed up to the rooftop pool. The cool water felt so good after our hot morning and we had a great time relaxing in the water with a different view of the Taj Mahal! After a while, Meera and Sangita joined us for a dip and a chat.
We all did our own things for dinner, since everybody was still pretty spent from the morning out. Al and I visited a restaurant on site, which had live music which was good but way too loud. We did get to try some unfamiliar Mughal dishes, so that was a plus! Poor Meera got stood up by the friends that she planned on having dinner with, so she came and joined us at the end of our meal.
Sunday, March 31, 2024
It’s my 31st birthday! To celebrate, we had two bookings: a street food tour around Agra and a reservation at a chic rooftop bar.
After an ill-advised breakfast, I snuck into the hotel spa for a quick haircut. Did he do a great job? No! Did it also cost less than $10? Yes!
The guide for our food tour picked us up and we walked through the Agra train station, where we had a beautiful view of yet another of Shah Jahan’s monuments: one of the largest mosques in India. Our first stop was a naan shop with a traditional tandoor where we learned about some different Indian breads (naan vs chapati vs roti) and tasted from fresh naan out of the oven.
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The second stop was a poori shop that’s been serving the people of Agra for nearly 200 years. We each got a thali, which is made up of small servings of a few different curries and sides, with beautifully fluffy freshly fried bread called poori. Alarmingly, we were already kind of full! We knew the right choice was just to taste a little bit of each dish, but it was so delicious it was hard not to accept seconds when they were offered.
Our guides led us through the winding alleys of Agra’s old city to an ancient temple where we saw locals going in to pray, then to a paan shop. The proprietor takes a paan leaf (also known as betel leaf) and wraps it around a mixture of sugar, spices, dried fruit and optionally, betel nut or tobacco. It’s chewed, specifically after meals, as a digestive and to prevent bad breath. Sangita and Shashi told us stories of being given paan by their father when they were little kids. Al and Meera each had some, but I abstained. I’m not big on things like gum that you chew but don’t actually eat. We laughed as they tried to gracefully tuck the packets into their cheeks while monkeys jumped from awning to awning overhead.
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Our guide asked us if we wanted a stop for some chai, which, obviously, yes we did. We had some fabulous chai around the corner served piping hot in single-use unglazed clay cups. I was sure that he was lying when he said they were single-use, but sure enough the ground around the shop was covered with shards of clay. Caffeinated, we moved on.
Petha is a traditional Mughal dessert made from sweet gourd. They’re clear and often flavored with rose or paan. The texture is a wonder, juicy and yielding but also sticky, pulpy and crystalline. We had a few samples of petha and bought Sangita and my favorite sweet: laddu. It’s made from whole wheat or chickpeas rolled into a ball with sugar and spices. The best ones are heavy in cardamom.
We poked into a couple shops selling spices and wedding-related goods like money garlands and turbans, then visited a South Indian restaurant specializing in dosa.
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At this point we could have rolled home, but we still weren’t done! Our guide had two more important stops for us: a food street and a chicken shop. The food street was lined on both sides with stands selling a variety of street foods, including some of our favorites! We had a chaat made of fried potatoes, mint and tamarind chutneys and yogurt. They also had a stand selling kulfi, a delicious pistachio ice cream pop that was a favorite of Al’s grandmother (and everyone else). Our final stop of the day was a place called Mama Chicken, which served delicious roasted chicken covered in spices. Our guide told us that KFC kept trying to open a location in Agra, but it could never compete with Mama Chicken.
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Our tour was only supposed to be a couple of hours, but by the time we were dropped off, we had been gone for almost six! We had an amazing time being shown the amazing food and culture of Agra by our guide, who was born there. Something we really valued about the tour was the ability to communicate effectively about dietary restrictions, which our group had a few of! It was such a relief to be able to try so many new things and be confident that we would be safe. Our guide told us that in his 20 years of doing food tours, none of his guests had ever gotten sick (allergy or food poisoning) and we can be added to his perfect record!
We had a little break in our rooms during which we snoozed and I fielded sweet birthday calls from family members around the world. Both our driver and food tour guide said that the place Al had booked for my birthday evening was the best in town! We sat out on the rooftop and listened to some great live music and sipped our cocktails. My birthday cake was presented in a chocolate orb, which was opened by pouring over melted chocolate. Al’s cousin Ria asked the band to play me happy birthday, which they obliged so happily.
I could not have asked for a better golden birthday than spending time with our wonderful family and friends and stuffing myself silly with amazing Indian food.