On To Agra, India

 

Our bags were outside the door by 8 am and after a nice breakfast of fruit and toast, I was determined to eat light this day, we met together at our assigned bus, identified our luggage to be sure it was with us and we were shortly on our way. A group from the staff of the hotel lined the drive as we drove away to say goodbye. 

We had spent five nights at the Oberoi Hotel, three on our own and two with Uniworld. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful that experience was even though we were sick for a day. The smallest details were taken care of, many without our request. Just one example was the laundry. If it was given to them by 10 am it was returned by 7pm. It was charged by the piece but reasonable and we needed to keep up with it since our packing was limited with the weight requirements on our luggage for the domestic flight to come. We didn't pack as much as usual.

Just past 6:30 we had a knock on the door and our laundry was delivered in a covered basket. He set it on the sofa and opened the top to reveal a package of laundry with a rose on top of it. The shirts were meticulously pressed and folded with a paper band around each one individually. Bob underwear folded neatly beneath it all.

The ride to Agra took four hours, a good part just getting out of New Delhi traffic. Some of the places we passed were interesting in the city as we left. A barber chair set out under a tree, barber waiting for customers and of course the food stands that were preparing breakfast food. 

Once out of the city, we were on our way, this time on a freeway. Not a lot of traffic and certainly not a lot of honking horns. The countryside was farmland. Yogi said that it was time to prepare fields for planting. We did not see a lot of people in the fields working but we did see one oxen driven cart. Oh, and there were several cows along the side of the road.

About two hours into the trip, we had a rest stop. It was a relatively new place now that the freeway had been built according to our guide. Amazingly we saw a Burger King, a Subway and a Starbucks. Yogi pointed to a door that had a sign on it, "Jolly Go". Needless to say, it made us all giggle. The restroom inside was very clean with an attendant handing out toilet paper as you went in and more to dry your hands with after washing.

We explored the Burger King and the rest of the food court. Of course there were no beef burgers. Everything was chicken. One lady bought fries and said they were really good. I don't think they have the same restrictions on what they fry them in here so its probably the good stuff we used to have at home before everyone decided we were going to die from eating too much of it.

Agra is a smaller city than New Delhi but similar. Still traffic. 

The hotel in Agra was another Oberoi. I'm not sure if there were more rooms but the outdoor area was larger with more places to sit, lounge and walk. Upon our arrival, we were surprised to find our rooms were ready so we could take our backpacks there and leave them before lunch. 

Key in hand, I turned one way and the other and immediately a staff member was by our side to lead us to our room. The hallways are a bit intimidating at first as they kind of weave a bit. I was afraid we wouldn't find our way back to the elevator to get to lunch. 

The door opened and I gasped a bit. The room was just as magnificent as the one in New Delhi but the view was spectacular. It overlooked the gardens below and out on trees in the distance was the Taj Mahal peeking over the top of them. I knew every room in the hotel had that view but I wasn't expecting it to be so overwhelming.

Reminding myself to eat light, I had a delicious assortment of veggies and a cup of mushroom soup before we readied ourselves for our first full glimpse of the Taj Mahal. Gulf carts that carried ten to twelve guests awaited our arrival at three and we were soon on our way the short distance to the Taj, passing lots of opportunities to shop along the way. This was what the whole trip was for actually. Bob wanted to see the Taj Mahal. A tick off the bucket list was about to happen.