My flight from Sydney to Delhi on April 25 was not direct; I was flying with Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong. I had a 5-hour layover in Hong Kong, and they recommend you don’t leave the airport if you have less than 6 hours, but I decided to do it anyway.
I took the train from the airport into the city, then hustled down to Victoria Harbor. The harbor was pretty misty and foggy but I’m glad I made the effort!
Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower
Selfie at the harbor
Statue at the entryway to Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars, which is the equivalent to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, except they use handprints only.
I found Michelle Yeoh’s hands!
I didn’t have time to explore any more than the harbor, so I hurried back to the airport and boarded my flight to Delhi. I landed around 11:30pm and took a taxi to my hotel (which I significantly overpaid for; Chloë and Peter paid 500 Indian rupees for their taxi and I literally paid 5 times that, which is about $30. Welcome to India!!) and immediately went to bed because naturally, I had a tour booked for the following day.
I got to India a day before Chloë and Peter, so I decided to make the most of it by booking a day trip from Delhi to the Sariska Tiger Reserve. It was about a 3-hour drive away, and the tigers in question are wild animals, so there was every possibility that I might not see one. But I’d had a lot of good luck on previous game drives in other places so I decided to cross my fingers and go for it. But everything that could possibly go wrong that day, did.
My driver and I left Delhi at 6am, and I got my first glimpse of the organized chaos that is driving in India. The last 40 minutes to the reserve was bumpy, unpaved roads, so I was thrilled when we finally got there and I could get out of the car. I quickly realized my driver didn’t know what was going on when he went to the wrong place first, and then when we arrived at the correct place, they told us the terrible news: because tigers are active early in the morning or late in the afternoon, the reserve shuts down between 9:30am and 2:30pm. At this point, it was 9:30, so we could either wait 5 hours or turn around and go back to Delhi.
The driver asked me what I wanted to do, and I was very torn because both options sounded pretty terrible, but I decided to stay and wait it out. I ended up reading almost an entire eBook on my phone while we waited, but finally 2:30 rolled around. I then found out that because I was alone, and since they charged per Jeep on game drives, I’d be expected to pay $75 to enter the reserve (the Jeeps hold up to 6 passengers, so if my “tour” had been better organized, I could have shared with a group and paid significantly less). Since I’d already waited five hours at this point, I figured why not and paid the $75. We drove around the tiger reserve for nearly two hours until sunset and, the icing on the cake—we didn’t see any tigers. We saw some other animals, like lots of peacocks and some antelope and deer and such, but no tigers. We then immediately headed back to Delhi as soon as the game drive was over, and I ended up getting back around 11pm. Oh, did I also mention I had no opportunity to eat anything? I literally ate chips and some Oreos at like noon, as well as a bunch of water, and that was it. It was a 0/10 day, and I have those so rarely when I travel that I can’t complain too much. And Chloë and Peter got to the hotel from their flight from Bali around the same time that I got back from my failed tiger-finding day, so things were looking up.
We got some sleep, had breakfast, and then our driver picked us up for the first day of our tour. We were sightseeing in Delhi for the first day. I thought we might be on a private tour because the three of us filled the back seat of the small SUV, but it turns out there was one solo traveler joining us: a French woman named Laurene. It was almost a private tour and that was good enough for me.
The first thing we saw in Delhi was the India Gate, a war memorial dedicated to the 84,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in WWI. 13,000 servicemen’s names are inscribed on the gate.
Then we got to explore Jama Mosque, one of the largest mosques in India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656. (We had to cover up and take off our shoes, so obviously this is the height of fashion.)
Interior of the Jama Mosque
Raj Ghat, the place where Gandhi was cremated, the day after his assassination in 1948, including the eternal flame in the middle.
Peter, Chloë, and I posing with a Gandhi statue
A pathway leading to Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Humayun’s Tomb is the final resting place of Humayun, the second emperor of the Mughal Empire. The tomb was built between 1558 and 1571. This was built more than 200 years before the Taj Mahal, so many people think Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal, took inspiration from Humayun’s Tomb.
A unique thing about tombs in India, including the Taj Mahal, is that tourists and visitors are allowed inside the tomb, but due to religious reasons, they’re not allowed to see the real gravesite. So at Humayun’s Tomb and the Taj Mahal, this is a fake grave that looks similar to the real one, which is below this fake façade.
Our tour included a stop at Qutub Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it’s an excellent example of Afghan architecture, constructed with marble and red sandstone. Our tour guide offered to bring us properly inside the monument, but we’d have to pay an admission fee to get in, and obviously we could see the whole tower from outside, hence why there is barbed wire in the bottom of this picture!
I often eat vegetarian anyway just because I enjoy it, but a friend of a friend who’d been to India recommended to me that I stick to mostly vegetarian dishes in India because it’s safer from risk of food poisoning. We had a delicious but huge lunch late in the day, where Peter (who is always vegetarian) and I both tried malai kofta for the first time, which is potato and paneer dumplings served with a creamy gravy. We both really enjoyed it.
We had a chill evening in our hotel, had breakfast in the morning, and then made the 4-hour drive to Agra. We got set up in our hotel, had another late lunch (butter paneer this time for me) and then we headed to the Agra Fort.
Agra Fort, built by Emperor Akbar in 1565, is a massive red sandstone fort on the bank of Yamuna River.
I was blown away by the Agra Fort. The interior is amazing, and the photos really don’t do it justice.
This white marble section of the Agra Fort was built by Shah Jahan, the same emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is the most famous example that uses inlaid marble, but at the Agra Fort, we got to see some of it up close.
Closer-up of the inlaid marble detail
Close up of the inlaid marble detail
I’m going to tell the story of the Taj Mahal once I share photos of it in Part 2 of my India posts, but let me give you this tidbit: this is where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son until he died.
Interior courtyard back in the original section of the Agra Fort
Agra Fort gateway
I just couldn’t stop taking pictures; I knew the Taj Mahal would be breathtaking but India has so much incredible architecture.
Another interior courtyard of the Agra Fort
Obsessed with Agra fort
I actually took this picture for my sister and I don’t think I ever showed it to her; this was the library at the Agra Fort. The little wells were built to hold books.
I snagged this photo of Chloë being swarmed by Indian people because we got asked to take photos absolutely everywhere we went. I had heard of that happening to white and/or Western people but somehow I was still surprised when it happened to us, especially with how frequently it happened. Peter’s red hair was like a beacon. Our tour guide explained that India has thriving national tourism, so the people who wanted photos with us were likely on vacation in Delhi and Agra from their small villages, which is why seeing white people is a novelty.
Almost the last photo I took
View of the Taj Mahal from the Agra Fort
In case you thought I was exaggerating, we got swarmed by these ladies as well on our way out. I was in the throng at first but I extricated myself; the tallest woman in the middle is Laurene, our French co-tourist.
After we left the Agra Fort, we went to Mehtab Bagh, a series of parks on Yamuna’s east bank that has views of the back of the Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh
First picture with the Taj Mahal! We did a full tour the following morning but this was our first taste of it.
After enjoying the beautiful sights of Agra, our tour guide took us to a workshop to see people crafting inlaid marble masterpieces. I am a sucker for handmade/unique souvenirs, so I bought a serving plate for myself and a candle holder for my mom.
Crafting inlaid marble pieces
Mini Taj Mahal on an inlaid marble table
We called it an early night that evening because we were getting up early the next day for the showstopper on our tour: the Taj Mahal!