Trip to Taj Mahal

We woke up early and we left Delhi around 6 am to see the most recognisable structures in the world. We went by cab which was not the cheapest possibility but as far we didn't have any car we didn't have an other choice. The journey was great. We crossed Haryana which is the most developed state of India and Uttar Pradesh which is one of the poorest and dirtiest state. So I saw the huge differences. On the way we stopped at Dhaba which is a traditional Indian motel without bed so we had breakfast there which was really flavoured.

And than at 11 am finally we arrived to Agra which city is situated on the bank of Yamana. And the site of Taj MAhal.
To get in to the Taj Mahal from Agra we took a local taxi which means there camel or riksa.
It took 10 min to get to the most beautiful building in the world and than because I am not Indian I had to pay 750 Rps which sounds much compare to 20 Rps the fee for Indian. Anyway I didn't care about it. So we went in.

The first impression about a symbol of eternal love, TAj MAhal was indefinable.
The huge marvellous monument which is the symbol of eternal love is glamorous. There aren't any words to describe it.
And than we had a giude there who told us eve
rything about the building and history.

Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1631 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen.

You can see 22 towers on the gate of Taj MAhal because it took 22 years to build it.There are lot pof stories about TAj MAhla which I will not write down here in this blog but it is unbelievable how everything especially the numbers connecting to each other.It was built by Mughal emperor Shan Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Matal It is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love. We spend there at least 3 hours just wondering.

The dream has came true :)

Delhi sigthseeing

Delhi is a great city where you can find lot of spectacle. It is India' s capital with lot of history and modernity where the past meets the present.
Points of interest:
Quatab Minar: A 5 storied 72,5 m tall tower is made of red shrine and marble. The tower of victory and a minaret once used by the mauzzis. The construction was started by Prithvi Raj Chauan. Firozsah Tughlag added 5th storey and a cupola in 1351-68. It is illuminated by the Hood lights in the night.Red Fort: Delhi's most magnificent monument, built of red sandstone. Emperor Shah Jahan during 1638-56. UNESCO World Heritage Site is the location from which the Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on Independence Day.

Lotus temple: The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian Subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.
Jama Masjid: The largest mosque in India. It was built by Shah Jahan between 1644-1650 at a cost of about 10lakh rps. About 20 000 people can pray in same time.
In front of Jama Masjid there was a market lead by muslim and to be honest it wasn't safe to be there at all. First of all everybody was looking at me like "a new meat" and the other thing was that it is not allowed to go in for women. So we just had a quick look on that from outside and we decided better to leave.


As we strated sightseeing quite late and everything closes around 5pm we didn't have any time to visit another places. Next time :)

Indian Metro is one of the biggest metro system in the world. It has 6lines and which really amazed me there is one wagon just for women so it is not allowed to go there for men. But break the rule is fun so there were some idiots who didn't care about!

The colorful Delhi!

It is hard to explain what I felt when I step out from the plane at the Delhi international airport. First time in India!

First off all there was horrible hot even it was only 4 am. Than we cought a cab which I should say wasn’t really cheap (around 10 Euros)

But at least it was comfortable and safe and the taxi driver spoke English.

It was one hour to take to the hotel which was on the border of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh( The state of Behenji J )

The second thing I realized that the traffic here is crazy they don’t have any rules and almost any traffic lights. People are honk on each other and there is only one rule: Get out from the mass as soon as possible!

The hotel was nice and the room was also I just had couple of spiders no water and sometimes the TV went crazy and switched on and off every 10 s. The electricity is not that good in Delhi so sometimes it was gone suddenly but just for few seconds so that was not a big issue.

The reception was extremely kind and helpful the reason: I am European blond young girl.

Than my friend who I know from Erasmus came to pick me up and we head towards the city.

First challenge was crossed the road. As I mentioned the traffic is crazy but people are too. If you have ever been to NY you could have some idea about the insane traffic but this is 1000 times worse. So my friend Romil just cought my hand and we „crossed” the street it means we were running among the cars.Here you can find a special car which is kinda cheap taxi called "riksa".

After that we started our sightseeing in Delhi.

We went at first to the The Swaminarayan Akshar Dham Temple which is the newly constructed beautiful temple situated near bank of river Yamuna. It is the largest temple complex and one of the major landmark in Delhi. It has been constructed by Swami Narayan Sect employing more than 7000 sculptures over 500 years and investing 200 core Rps. Its built of pink sand stone and white marbel and is spread over 100 acres of land.

I had to take off my shoes and wash my hands before I went inside the temple. It was really interesting and the architecture was astonishing. My friend explained me some costums and stories about his relegion so I have got a brief about hinduism.

Next place which we went was CP (City Centre). The CP is a well developed part of Delhi. There were modern buildings, central park, shopping centres same as on Time Square. J

We were by car as Romil’s friend Assis brought his car so I could experience the „amazing” traffic all day.

Delhi is an open air ZOO. You can find cows crossing the street, dogs resting on path, elephants and goats just hanging around next to railway and of course monkeys and donkeys everywhere.

After CP we took a direction towards India Gate and Presidential House.

India Gate is The All India war 42 meter high Memorial designed by Lutynes. Names of 85 000 soldiers who died in 1st world war in 1931 are inscribed on its walls. In the centre of the arch on the ground stands an inverted rifle and helmet on a raised platform sorruended by an eternal flame started in a 1971. The flame flares constantly 24/7 .

We also saw a small lake next to India gate which was not that clean but it hasn’t frightened away the bathing Indian boys.

It is time to experience Indian food!

But NEVER from the street! – told me the doctor before I left for India.

But it looks and tastes great so you just can’t resist. As I was with pure Indian Delhi guys who know what is forbidden to eat I felt comfortable. So they suggest me try the street food.

The flavour of Indian food is just amazing I immediately fell in love with it. It is delicious and very rich. Although I was afraid of stomach reaction I couldn’t stand up against it.

Some more information about food: you can’t find these flavours anywhere in the world except India. I tried 10 different dishes and all of that was toothfull.

( If you are more interested I have an other blog just about the food J )

Indian home made food is extraordinary. Romil invited me to his house to have dinner with his family. It was a great time to learn some hindi. When I enterd the house I placed my hands together and said „Namaste” which is the proper greeting. They welcomed me with open arms.

It was a great opportunity to get more information about Indian family house. The enterior was miraculos. Everywhere nice colorful pictures regarding to religion and everything had its meaning and story.

Weird thing about Delhi which for the Europen nose is unusual that some streets have weird smell. We went to the market and that was an icredible experience. You could find there everything, different kind of fruit, vegetables, fish, pasteries etc. Can you imagine when the smell of fresh fish is mixing of smell off grilled fruits!

One really fascinating thing about Indians: they love smyling and being kind and helpful.

And they are really surprised to see a pale BLOND girl! So it happened to me 1000 times that people were just stearing at me on the street! It was really funny.

It occured also when we were sightseeing that some guys just came up to me and asked me to make a picture with them.