India Excursions

We have arrived in Agra really late yesterday and checked in to our hotel. It called the Taj View, because we do have the most amazing view of the Taj Mahal. It was 5,900INR and converted in to CAD $150 for the week.
Well we were up at 6:30am this morning simply because we did not want to miss anything. A few locals that we met on the train to Agra told us that we should get up as early as we could to see the Taj Mahal because it is a very popular tourist site and it’s going to be very busy. And they were right. We got there at about 7:30 and people were already started to fill the area. However the Taj Mahal(1) it self was beautiful, just the culture and history behind it all was so interesting. The Taj Mahal is a mix of Persian, Turkish, Indian and Islamic architectural styles. It is said to finally be completed in 1648.(2)Just a few important things for those of you who are going to see the Taj Mahal and what you are allow to bring with you:

1.Water bottles that are transparent
2.Small video cameras
3.Still cameras
4.Phones, but they must be turned off
5.Small purses( note to those who are backpacking)

After we decided to walk around and do some local shopping. There is a market called Shilpagram(1) which is to the east of the Taj Mahal. It is a really great craft village we were told about by some locals that this market was a very popular place to get all sorts of very unique Indian artifacts, and souvenirs(2).

Because we are checking out the Taj Mahal we thought that we should check out something people here keep referring to as the “Baby Taj Mahal”(1) It really does look like a baby Taj Mahal. It was built to represents the change from red sandstone structures to marble. (2) Outside of the building are several beautiful gardens.

Once we had our fill of this beautiful structure we decided that we should do some more shopping. India is known for its beautiful fabric, marble and sandstone. We were able to pick up some beautiful fabrics. I would have picked up the carpets that they are also know for making however I don’t think it would have been able to fit into my suitcase.(2)