Visiting the Taj Mahal was not part of our 21 day cruise or in our planning while visiting India. We had all but given up on visiting here because it meant leaving the ship for two days and having to find transportation to New Delhi via plane and then to Agra via car where the Taj Mahal is located. My wife had it in her mind, without telling me to see the Taj Mahal while in India. She said she would never come back and just had to try. Well....she got online and bought airline tickets and then booked transportation and a guide via Viator just 24 hours in advance. We went to the ships Front Desk and requested our passports and told them we would be getting off the ship and would meet up with them again in Mangalore. This meant missing a stop in Goa. The ship while at first making excuses not to let us off due to the short notice, finally submitted and let us depart. Our ship was leaving at 5pm that night so we packed light overnight bags that we could carry and jumped ship and stayed the night at the Taj Mahal Palace for the night. This was another special moment not planned as we loved the Taj Mahal Palace and chance to spend some more time in Mumbai. We left the hotel at 5am to make our flight from Mumbai to New Delhi along with our Mumbai tour guide, Divya who we hired to join us and provide directions, translation and help getting around. The flight was great and upon landing we were met with our Viator Driver who drove us the 3.5 hours to the Taj Mahal. The drive was one of the scariest and craziest experiences of my life as our driver and all drivers in India drive with abandon. No lanes. No speed limits and no rules. It was like a ride at Disneyland only with our lives in the balance. We weaved and sped through traffic like NASCAR drivers. The white knuckle ride turned dangerous when our driver began to fall asleep. We realized this fast and then stopped to get him some coffee and take a brief rest. Made it to Akra and were met by our Tour Guide on land. This guy was a gift from God and without him, I don't think we would have got our tickets and through the lines before the sun set. Our guide was a local who grew up living right next door to the Taj Mahal. The guy knew everyone and he escorted us through the huge crowds and beyond security at every check point. We did note that he was providing each person who let us pass with a small stipend. It was pure magic to watch him work and guide us through all the crowds and chaos. I would not return the the Taj Mahal without having him with us. As we approached the entrance he summoned a local man with a camera. He said the guy would take photos for a very low price. The price increased when we went to pay but was less than $50 for all the photos with prints and digital copies. A bargain because they got us to the best photo spots and took professional photos in record time as the sun was setting fast. Highly recommend getting the photographer. It seemed like all the stars lined up for us at the Taj Mahal. The experience was awesome and really made our entire trip to India. My wife was right, you cannot visit India without seeing the Taj Mahal. Glad we pulled out all the stops to make this happen.
Click links below to view more posts on how we got to the Taj Mahal;
THE TAJ MAHAL - INDIA
AGRA IS ABOUT 3.5 HOURS FROM DELHI
WELCOME TO THE TAJ MAHAL
LINES - LINES AND MORE LINES
JUMPED ON A GOLF CART FOR A SMALL FEE
MAIN ENTRANCE TO TAJ MAHAL
MASSIVE CROWDS, PUSHING AND CHAOS
FIRST VIEW OF THE TAJ MAHAL
CROWDS ARE CRAZY
THICK FOG/POLLUTION MADE IT VERY HAZY
WE MADE IT TO THE TAJ MAHAL!
DIVYA, OUR GUIDE FROM MUMBAI STRIKING THAT POSE
BLESSED TO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE LOCAL GUIDE
THIS LOCAL TEAM WANTED A PICTURE WITH ME
A DAY TO REMEMBER AT THE TAJ MAHAL
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