A Journey Through India's Golden Triangle Part One: Agra

Welcome back, and Happy Year of the Dragon!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

For this year's Chinese New Year break, I decided to head down to China's largest neighbor, and the second most populous nation in the world:  India!

Let's face it:  With about 1.2 billion inhabitants, 1200 dialects, and 22 official regional languages, India can seem a bit overwhelming to a first-time traveler.  (You can check out some cool and interesting facts about India here.)

Having never been to India ourselves, my friends and I were a little intimidated to say the least!  So much to see, and only one week of free time--what would be the best way to experience our first glimpse of India?

Finally, we all agreed to explore India's so-called Golden Triangle--that is, the three northern cities of New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.  These three cities--located in three different states of northern India--offer a great introduction to Indian culture, and can be explored within a one-week period.

Our first destination?  Agra, the home of the world-famous Taj Mahal and capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh: 

Shah Jahan commissioned this stunning mausoleum for his favorite wife who died in childbirth, as proof of his eternal love for her. 

Left:  I'm not photogenic, but couldn't resist a picture in front of the Taj!

Right:  A guard patrols the entrance to the Taj complex, making sure no part of the area is touched by the sole of a shoe (socks or booties required!)

Another stunning structure in Agra, the Agra Fort, now partly serves as a barracks for military personnel.

Left:  A view of Shah Jahan's former residence in the fort.

Right:  Two of my very stylish friends soak in the fort's beautiful architechture.

Outside of the visits, we also enjoyed lots of down time to soak in the local vibe.  Here, for example, we grab some local breakfast with our Agra guide--a delicious combination of spicy and sweet flavors that would become a part of our daily life in India.

On the way out of Agra, here we are at the Fatehpur Sikri, just 40 km away.  The now-deserted 16th century city that--for only a brief 14 years--served as the capital of the Mughal Empire was abandoned due to extreme lack of water!

After all of this, we were only about 36 hours into our journey!  Now it was time to leave Agra, the first point of our exciting Golden Triangle tour.

Our next destination?  Jaipur, the 'Pink City'!  

Check back in for Part Two, the next installment of our incredible Indian adventure!

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Like what you see so far?  Check out our India Tour of Civilization and make some new memories of your own!