The Golden Triangle trip

Finally I got a chance to visit the places around Delhi after being here for 9 months - the tourist heavyweights in India, The Taj Mahal in Agra, Jaipur in Rajasthan and the local sight seeing of Delhi. These three places put together as the Golden Triangle is one huge money spinner for the country as well as the localites, who do their best to empty your pockets and fill in theirs. The distances are almost equal and you can call it as an equilateral golden triangle with each side making upto 250 kms. Angles between the sides here is not exactly 60 degrees for you math freaks. In English, Delhi - Agra is 250 kms, Agra - Jaipur is approximately the same and Jaipur - Delhi is again 250 kms. Now you get the point and so do I, as I started the blog straight on the point because I know that it will be long ass blog from now on. Brace yourself.

Note: If you are clicking on the links and are bombarded with spam, I am no least bit responsible for it.

After our round of Delhi sightseeing with India gate ,Qutab Minar, Mahatma Gandhi memorial and Indira Gandhi memorial hogging the limelight, we had taken rest for the day and headed to Agra the next day. We also got to see Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna on our way and we reached the Taj Mahal at 4 pm. Its magnificent, the first impression. The beautiful thing with the Taj more than itself, would be your picture. Any living or dead object captured infront of Taj looks lively. Taj is made of white marble and the quality of marble is different for different parts which I felt was a smart move. For example, the base was constructed with marble from India and as you progress up towards the tomb and other shit,(I dont know the terms) the marble used was an imported one. Cost cutting was present even then and why not, when you are taking of a giant monument for love called, the Taj.

It would take couple of hours to absorb its beauty and the gentle breeze from the river Yamuna will let you savor the moment, even more if you are holding the hand of your opposite sex. As I went with my family we headed to Jaipur, saving those extra minutes of mine. We night halted at Jaipur. It was like 11pm by the time we reached there considering that Agra - Jaipur highway is under construction, which is scheduled to become a four lane highway, by the end of sometime frame, possibly before the next elections. In India we dont follow the deadlines strictly, because every deadline has an extended deadline.

Next morning we headed to the Pink city, called Jaipur. It's called pink not because of gays if any, there, but because of the pink and red brick colour of the city walls at the historical places. The Amer fort or the Jaipur fort rocks. If you haven't seen a fort or presuming that you've seen those little fort like structures and termed them as a fort, then you gotta see this. This one is for real and you may not only get lost with the beauty of it but may also lose your way while your excitement to explore the fort doesn't stop. Its situated right in the center and surrounded by small mountains and the sheer extension of the boundary wall of the fort on all the neighboring mountains is breathtaking. A sense of solidarity will creep into your itinerary after seeing the Hawa Mahal ( the palace of the winds ) and the grand Jaipur museum. You'd feel ah okay, I am full and satisfied today with my tour, than those few minutes of satisfaction which you would normally experience elsewhere.

The best way to go through this tour is to book a cab with 4 or 5 people so it costs less per head, or you better take government organised travels which would come to 1800 Rs per head, for Indians. Yeah we have different prices for Indians and foreigners. The entry ticket for the Taj is Rs 20 ( half a US dollar ) + Rs 50 for the camera, for brownies (Indians) and for foreigners including whites and blacks, it is 750 Rs. ( Work on it you math folks 1 USD = 40 INR ). approximately.

I am feeling if I am taking a mock essay test today as if TOEFL is round the corner. My mom, after the trip and moments before departing from Delhi, seemed like she learned the art of holding her tears back . But my grandmom couldn't !