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| Taj Mahal (Crown of the Palaces), Agra |
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| Main Gate |
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| Mosque |
One funny liner contributed by hotel guests in New Delhi !
" The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It also house the tomb of Shah Jahan, the builder "
Day 3 - 21 Nov 2018 (visit to Agra by day train from New Delhi) - upon arrival at the Agra train station, our group hired a private car & a tour guide and paid RS3,410 which covered the driver's services, tour guide & driver tips, use of air-conditioning in the car, parking charges etc (cost sharing of 3 people) for a 3/4 day guided tour of Taj Mahal & Agra Fort including 3-4 shopping visits (carpets, leather wears, handicrafts, apparels & traditional saris, semi-precious stones, bazar market etc) in Agra city ! Given that both tourist attractions are 10-15km from the train station, we could have opted to use the services of auto-rickshaws which could incur less charges (unlike the various hidden charges our group paid after boarding the vehicle, it was a scam at the Agra train station !) - a lesson learned on this Agra trip for our group !
1) Taj Mahal (Crown of the Palaces), Agra (UNESCO World Heritage site & one of the 7th Wonders of the World) - entrance fee Rs1,100 (Rm63) - For the last two years, Taj Mahal was under restoration and given a facelift - our group was lucky to see a whiter Taj Mahal as air pollution over the years had tainted the ivory white surface to yellowish color !
Day 3 - 21 Nov 2018 (visit to Agra by day train from New Delhi) - upon arrival at the Agra train station, our group hired a private car & a tour guide and paid RS3,410 which covered the driver's services, tour guide & driver tips, use of air-conditioning in the car, parking charges etc (cost sharing of 3 people) for a 3/4 day guided tour of Taj Mahal & Agra Fort including 3-4 shopping visits (carpets, leather wears, handicrafts, apparels & traditional saris, semi-precious stones, bazar market etc) in Agra city ! Given that both tourist attractions are 10-15km from the train station, we could have opted to use the services of auto-rickshaws which could incur less charges (unlike the various hidden charges our group paid after boarding the vehicle, it was a scam at the Agra train station !) - a lesson learned on this Agra trip for our group !
1) Taj Mahal (Crown of the Palaces), Agra (UNESCO World Heritage site & one of the 7th Wonders of the World) - entrance fee Rs1,100 (Rm63) - For the last two years, Taj Mahal was under restoration and given a facelift - our group was lucky to see a whiter Taj Mahal as air pollution over the years had tainted the ivory white surface to yellowish color !
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| Arcade Galleries |
2) Taj Mahal from main entrance - magnificent & spectacular looking !
3) 4 Minarets frame the tomb
4) Walkways beside reflecting pool
5) Base, Dome & Minaret
6) Calligraphy of Persian Poems
7) Calligraphy of Arabic Ayaat
8) Plant Motif
9) Exterior marble décoration / reflective tiles
10) Interior marble decoration
11) The western building, a mosque facing the tomb
12) The Main Gate
14) Candid shots on Taj Mahal
Makan Makan (Eating) - late lunch at The Silk Route restaurant, Agra after the Taj Mahal visit
Guided shopping visits in Agra - prices quoted on their merchandises were unusually high so not much interests shown by our group members !
Guided visit to an open bazar market in downtown Agra
Wow, what a beautiful palace. The travelers would love to visit and enjoy over here. affordable park and fly deals
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