Sunday, March 18, 2012

Agra (and a little bit of New Delhi)

Time to finish posting about the trip up north. After training to Agra and freshening up a tad, we met with our tour guide and started our day bright and early at the Taj Mahal. 

The Taj Mahal:
Beautiful. These photos don't even come close.
Gargantuan. 
Perfectly symmetrical. (Per-fec-tly.)
One of the most beautiful tributes to love I have ever seen.
The absolute highlight of our 5 day excursion.

Shah Jahan, you are the man.

This is Nitin, our fabulous tour guide for the day who knew enough to write a novel about the Taj. 
He also had some beautiful eyelashes. Lucky us!!

There's nothing better than experiencing something amazing with a person that means so much to you! So great to be able to share these Indian adventures with Kelli Ann.

The Taj Mahal is just as beautiful today as it appeared after its initial completion (or so they tell me). The intricate stonework found all throughout the Taj are entirely composed of inlaid stones. 
No paint. Zilch.

Side view of the Taj.

Exploring the Mosque next door.

Nothing better than exiting a major tourist attraction and finding any little trinket you could ever imagine for a "vedi good price madam".

Site number two of the day: Agra Fort. The historic (and current) base for royalty and military.

I have officially fallen in love with the ever so distinct Indian architecture. 

View of the Taj from the Agra Fort. 

Marble carving and stonework demo.

See all of the lovely circular brown disks on display? Cow pies. Used for fire fuel. 
They were EVERYWHERE.

One of my favorite photos of the day- a perfect glimpse of every day traffic. 

New Delhi time. Visited a number of archaeological sites, worship centers, 
and enjoyed a more laid back day.

Ah, the details. Really worked on taking the time to soak in even the smallest morsels of some of the sights we were able to visit.

Sam and our driver, Rajesh. "You can call me Raj."

Dinner with Praveen, our travel agent, and his beautiful family. 
A delectable meal and great end to our lovely trip.

2 comments:

Cherise L. C. said...

Lovely pictures! I found your blog through the blog of a friend, and I am loving the glimpse into another culture.
Are you there for pleasure? Study? A mission trip?

Brooke Shoko said...

Well thank you! Traveling around doing a few humanitarian projects and taking some leisure time as well. Thanks for stopping by!

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