Kathie - you really do need to see the Taj. It's one of those places that look better than the photographs. I had doubts too, but I was absolutely enchanted. You can't really see the pietra dura inlays in the photographs, and the way the marble changes color is fascinating. Then there's overall impression, the proportions, etc., etc.

Besides, you can also visit Fatehpur Sikri and the Bird Park.

What a wonderful, engaging report!

Kathie, Now that it's so easy to get to the Taj from Delhi, I would say it's a must do...You won't be sorry if you go, but might be sorry if you miss it.

thursdaysd is correct - no matter how many photos you've seen, no matter how jaded a traveler you are, you will be blown away at first sight. We also found the history fascinating (lots of myths covered in the audio tour).

However, going off season was the right call for us. A friend who was there in October reported that there were "thousands" of people in the entry line and that it was claustrophobic inside the mausoleum. In contrast, in late September there were only 15 or 20 people ahead of us at opening time and even fewer inside the monument.

violetm, Full moon, lucky you! A photographer friend of ours will be going for that in Feb as well. Your plan sounds perfect. Mehtabh Bagh was where our Udaipur guide urged us to go at sunset (phooey on the Amarvilas concierge for discouraging us!). For our sunrise visit, we arrived at 5:30 am, entered at 5:45 and stayed until about 9:00 or 9:15 - much longer than we intended. We loved wandering around the grounds - you don't hear much about the gardens, other buildings, great people watching, the bustling scene on the river below, etc., but all of that was fantastic.

No view from the Indian restaurant at the Amarvilas. But you'll get a great view from the terrace off the lobby (bring repellent!) You can have a drink there, then go to dinner. Worth seeing the Amarvilas just for the decor (and the employees' outfits) - the lobby is a sight to behold and the restaurant is lined in Mogul-inspired fabrics, lots of candles, delicious food from many regions served on silver platters, plus live exotic background music.

We are borderline foodies, and our server tweaked our order both nights to give us tastes of dishes he thought we would like. The first night we originally ordered just two appetizers, and he said this would be too much food and arranged a special thali (not on the menu) for us to share instead.

Another off-season perk: The hotel is supposed to be very strict about their two seatings - this was not enforced when we were there.

Thanks, Fra, for the kind words!

Wonderful report and I have to add also that the Taj is a must see! It is such a feminine and romantic structure and the inlaid work can only be appreciated in person. I treasure the small, marble inlaid box that I purchased while there as it reminds me of that monument.

bookmarking

Thanks so much for all the info Crosscheck, looking forward to the next instalment

With both thursdays and crosscheck saying we have to see the Taj, we will take that into consideration in our planning.

CC, great report. Thank you!

Sorry ;i thought you went to Masai Mara via road while in Kenya. No driving to MM? No wonder you didnt mind the roads!!

VioletM, be aware that in winter especially you may well encounter fog/smog early a.m. in Agra, which give a rather different "sunrise" effect. Even in summer when i was there (and supposedly less am. fog) it was a hazy, muted color.

The sunset is often better and clearer, and your idea, to go to the Moonlight Garden (Methtab Bagh)across the river fro the TM, is an excellent one.

CC, strange your hotel recommended dyou not going there . Local traffic in India is a reason to not do something? You might as well avoid the country entirely then Besides the view is from the hotel. since the Oberoi is on the same side o the river as the Taj , whereas Mehtab Bagh is on the opposite side.

Although i dont think every guide is (in my experience) worth the time or money, I daresay had you had one booked for Agra, they would have picked you up at the hotel and got you there your first evening...at least, ours did.

ps. CC, just realized you arrived late ito Agra. Still, Moonlight Garden would've been nice the next evening. BUT i wouldn't recommend another trip to Agra just for that!! And as I said above, the sunrises and sunsets are too unpredictable.

Why would a concierge think any guest at Amarvilas is "cheap" ? My goodness, one night 's tariff there is probably what the concierge earns in a month or two (or more?)

Violet, ITC Mughal is lovely. It's not the ultimate in Agra...but it costs lots less than the Oberoi.
At first the brick exterior seemed out of place, but the bricks actually match lots of local buildings. Check out he inlaid marble , even in the lobby bathroom's floor. I was there 2.5 yrs ago, and they have done a bunch of remodeling since. Breakfast buffet was delicious, the room bright with lots of windows.Their downstairs restaurant dinner (lots of kebabs and interestig naans) was yummy.

And while I didn't get a chance to go, their huge spa is considered one of the best in the world.

When we visited the Taj in Jan., our sunrise entrance was cancelled as it was so misty the visibility was almost non existant. Instead, we went in at 9am and were lucky that 1-there were no crowds and 2-the photos we got of the Taj were good/excellent IMO. Kathie, I agree that the Taj should be included in your trip. It was not the most memorable place we visited, but was definately worth seeing. And the other sites in Agra-baby Taj, the Fort, etc. made for a very interesting day.

Bookmarking......

Thanks, Cali for your input. I feel pretty happy with our plan now. I've wanted to see the Taj since I was a little girl, so I'd hate to get it wrong. At least this way we have a few opportunities to see it in different light (smog/mist included!).

I think we will probably skip Amarvilas for dinner, as we are doing quite a lot that evening and it would probably make more sense to eat at our hotel so we can go to our room and change if we need to.

Any idea how long it takes to get from ITC Mughtal to the Taj and also to Mehtab Bagh?

Of course they didn't really think we were cheap - that was an attempt at humor, but they (correctly) might have thought we were lazy. There also could have been a festival clogging the streets (we did hear lots of music on loudspeakers)...or whatever.

Yes, a guide would have taken us to the park. but there was also something great about seeing the Taj and then slowing down and chilling at a world-class hotel for the rest of the day.

DAY 11 – SMELLY DEHLI

THE YAMUNA EXPRESSWAY
At the last minute, our tour people suggested substituting our scheduled train ride with the convenience and thrill of a 6-lane super highway. The brand new road had been freshly inaugurated but we seemed to be the only ones who had come to the party, zipping along at 100k an hour with zero other traffic. Not in the least bit scenic, but we got a glimpse of Agra on the way out of town, including the Red Fort, a smiling monkey and, sadly, a shanty town that stretched on for miles and miles.

B-19
Our guest house was no Amarvilas, but a fun oasis in a pleasant leafy subdivision. The mid-century six-room structure was renovated by an American architect and his Indian wife. Not as "architectural" as the photos suggest, but has hip accents and a tranquil, relaxed vibe, unlike the remainder of the city. Our room was spotless, comfy and spacious with local fabrics and a lovely terrace. No official room service, but there is a very talented cook who will prepare whatever you'd like and serve you on the terrace (while there we had two kinds of killer dal, served with way too much rice, prepared fresh - allow at least an hour). We loved the manager, but often couldn’t find her...Like staying at a friend’s house, if the friend wasn’t home.

Big bonus: spectacular view of Humayun’s tomb (same architect as Taj Mahal) from the rooftop, and a small shopping street with local life - and an Anokhi outlet - a few blocks away. Would highly recommend for an extended stay – we met a British publisher who was there for a month.

NEW DELHI
Wide tree-lined boulevards and magnificent government buildings reminded us of Mexico City, which we adore.

OLD DELHI
After lunch we had a driver but no guide. Headed to Old Delhi, which turned out to be our least favorite excursion of the trip. First we experienced the earsplitting, insane traffic you hear about, with neighboring vehicles ½ inch away. Then we parked near the Red Fort and our driver found us a bicycle rickshaw. Our new driver turned out to be a passive aggressive psycho. We told him we wanted to buy beads (for one of Mr. C’s friends who makes jewelry). Took over 30 minutes to move just one block…this is when I tragically lost my Ray Bans while getting a shot of an oxcart. When we reached the supposed bead street, our rickshaw guy kept telling us all the beads we liked were fake and insisted that we visit his friend’s shop instead. The whole area was so claustrophobic that we requested to leave after about ten minutes without buying anything. I’m sure there’s a better way to see this place with a guide, but after Varanasi, where we embraced the chaos, Old Delhi lacked charm, and was just annoying.

RED FORT: SOUVENIR PARADISE
The tunnel of shops (Meena Bazaar) near the entrance turned out to be THE place to buy last-minute souvenirs. Louise later told us it’s the oldest tourist market in the world. We found little brass Ganeshes at great price, fabulous shawls, beads and more beads, basically everything we needed for small gifts. And we loved the shopkeepers.

THE FORT
Very impressive. We had left our guidebook in the car, so had no idea what we were seeing, but at this point it didn’t matter. We were happy that it had cooled off and that we had escaped Old Delhi. Excellent people watching (no western tourists) and marvelous geometric pillars and patterns, very photogenic in the golden hour. Then, a wonderful walk back to where our driver was waiting (probably about a mile), grateful for the chance to walk...India needs more of this.

DINNER AT THE PALACE....AGAIN
We wanted a cool and funky restaurant. Our driver recommended an intriguing South Indian place, but someone on Tripadvisor had gotten food poisoning there. So in a moment of paranoia, we decided to go to the Indian resaturant at the Leela Palace, where Louise had told us about a tasting menu. The meal was indeed delicious (we ordered a la carte) and the surroundings palatial, but we would have preferred more of a glimpse of local life. The next morning we found a Time Out Delhi magazine – turned out there was an artwalk that night with studio visits and food…wish we had known about that.

BARFI AT THE ODEOUS ODEON
All of our guides, hotel managers, shopkeepers and the local press had raved about the film Barfi, a romantic comedy about a deaf and mute guy from Darjeeling who has relationships with both a beautiful neighbor and an autistic woman (top Bollywood star). We just couldn’t leave India without seeing it, so while dining at the Leela Palace we asked the concierge to find a showing for us. Most theaters were sold out, but we snagged premium seats (on sofas) at Connaught Place for a 10:30pm show. The film was gorgeous cinematically and somewhat understandable since the protagonists could hardly talk to each other. Could end up becoming a festival favorite, but lacked the kitschy Bollywood production numbers we craved. The name, of course, will not cut it for English-speaking audiences, but was spot on for the odor in the theatre…after an hour we could no longer stand the aroma and had to leave without finding out who Barfi ended up with.

Louise later scolded us for not setting up the dinner and movie through her people, who would have found us a less barfy venue. After years of traveling independently we had screwed up our one free date night on the town!

NEXT: THE DAY OF MANY SHOPPING MISTAKES…THEN HOME

So sorry you didn't enjoy Old Delhi. We didn't get out of our rickshaw and just soaked up the insanity of it all.

A small correction: the Taj Mahal was completed almost a century after Humayun's tomb and is thought to have been designed by a collection of architects. Humayun's tomb certainly influenced the design of the Taj Mahal.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/232

Waiting for more!

Still following along, crosscheck. I'm now looking at everything about India though the lens of "Is that where we want to go next year?" I have to get my 10 year India visa put into my new passport.

bring on the shopping

Unfortunate about the theater aroma and the film title...great report though.

Still following...

Barfi is a wonderful Indian sweet. Yummmyy..although I agree the name could be offputting!