Jaipur and Agra - Photos

JAIPUR
An early start as we enjoy breakfast on the front lawn of our hotel
We could only get 1 night there so are quickly packed off to their sister hotel around the corner - Greg and Shandy squeeze into the back of our taxi with the bags!

Our new hotel which is lovely

Unloading and relaxing before our tour of the city...

Jaipur is full of litter on the streets, and goats everywhere!

A couple of local kids walk past us and are obviously the best of friends

Cruising the streets of the city...

Cows relax when and where they like - they are sacred in India

Some local workers in one of the many markets we pass

The old fort on top of the mountain looking over the city

The local kids all want to have their photos taken with any Westerners You see traffic of every kind in this city

The people are so friendly - this market stall owner was keen to have his picture taken...

The old city walls in the background - and another cow just chilling out!

This main road is just a huge market all the way down...

A camel hard at work...

Followed immediately by an ox

This lovely local guy gave us a mni tour and took us to this rooftop to enjoy the view of the city

The outskirts of the Royal Palace

Leise gets up close and personal with a snake charmer...

A glimpse of the Royal Palace

We catch a tuk tuk to go and see more of the city

The Water Palace - built centuries ago to keep the Maharajah cool during the hot season

The travel crew

An elephant cruises along the main road...

Time for a late lunch and we go to an amazing vegetarian restaurant

A great end to a tough day of exploration!
AGRA AND THE TAJ MAHAL

Check the clock, another early start in India. Greg and Shandy look surprisingly fresh as we arrive at the train station for our trip to Agra

The station is full of locals sleeping on the floor

We finallyt jump on board

Our cosy sleeper bunks for the 6 hour trip

We arrive at our hotel in Agra just in time for lunch

A quick snack before heading to the Taj Mahal

And a quick game of cards which Greg loses badly!

And off we go...

Our tuk tuk tour guides for the day

We arrive at the world famous Taj Mahal...

The outside gates...

And there it is - magnificent!

Pictures don't do it any justice - it really did blow us all away!

The grounds are huge and stunning

You have to hand your shoes in before entering this monument - and it's smelly!

The Yamuna river behind the Taj

A mosque sits beside it

We take a quick tour of Agra - this is the old fort

Chin Ka Rauza - another important monument in Agra

Then we head to Itimad-ud-Daulah - this is the outside gate

This is commonly referred to as "The Baby Taj"

Some local workers inside

It is full of beautiful artwork inside
The beautiful river behind it
V researching some history on this monument

Lara heading for a look inside the temple - gotta get your shoes off!

Heading back to the river to watch the sunset over the Taj Mahal. You see this sight everywhere in India, they love their cricket!

The view from the gardens across the river

The crew enjoying a relaxing end to a great day

Such a spectacular setting!

Took a lot of attempts to get this shot - the people around us clearly thought we were nuts!!

The sun about to set and it's time to head off

A final look as we leave the beautiful gardens

Time for dinner at Mehfil Restaurant - despite the power cuts the food was amazing!

A good Indian beer to finish our day and our stay in Agra. Tomorrow is a full day of travel as we make our way to Kerala in the South of India