India
Taj Mahal
India is a beautiful country with rich history, spice and a diverse group of people, religion and languages. I had an opportunity to visit for a wedding in 2018 with a group of friends. Sharing some of my favorite moments in this post!
Suggested Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive in Mumbai. Visit the Siddhivinayak Temple, take a taxi and visit Queen of the Suburbs in Bandra. Shop for souvenirs at Linking Road. Walk along the Marine Drive.
Day 2 - Visit the Gateway to India, Chowpatty Beach, CST Train Station. Take a Bollywood dance class (my friend taught a short skit at the airport)! Fly to Aurangabad.
Day 3 - Visit the Ajanta Cave system. Visit the Bibi-ka-maqbara (mini Taj Mahal).
Day 4 - Visit the Ellora Cave system. Fly to New Delhi. Enjoy dinner at India Accent and drinks at 1911 bar.
Day 5 - Enjoy breakfast at Khari Boali (a street in Delhi, India known for its wholesale grocery and Asia's largest wholesale spice market selling a variety of spices, nuts, herbs and food products like rice and tea). Visit the Red Fort, (India’s equivalent of Arc de Triomphe), Purana Qila (old fort), and Jama Masjid Mosque (largest mosque in the country). Enjoy Kashmir dinner at Chor Bizarre.
Day 6 - Hire a taxi to Agra. Visit the Taj Mahal. Hire a tour guide!
Day 7 - Visit the Lodhi Gardens (gardens built around tombs) and check out the Lodhi art district. Visit the Nizamuddin Dargah and enjoy a qawwali performance at dusk (devotional sufi music).
Day 8 - Visit the Agrasen ki baoli (an ancient step well), Devi prasad sadan Dhobi Ghat (neighborhood of traditional washermen). Enjoy lunch at Dilli Haat (an open air traditional village market). Visit the Qutub Minar Complex (an ancient islamic monument). Check out the Dastkar Bazaar (natural traditional handicrafts). Enjoy dinner at Champa Gali (a hipster expat area).
Day 9 - Rest day.
Day 10 - Travel back!
Gateway to India
The monument commemorates the legacy of British colonial rule, namely the first visit of a British monarch to India and its use as an entry point for prominent colonial personnel into British India. Today the Gateway is synonymous with the city of Mumbai. - Wikipedia
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
A heritage, five-star, luxury hotel situated next to the Gateway of India. It opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has historically often been known simply as "The Taj" and considered one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of the British Raj. The hotel was one of the main sites targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The hotel is the setting for the 2018 film Hotel Mumbai about the attacks, starring Dev Patel.
Drive Through Bandra
CST Train Station
Ajanta Cave System
Ajanta Cave system is comprised of 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BC.
Bibi-ka-maqbara
It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son prince Azam Shah in the memory of his loving mother Dilras Banu Begum (posthumously known as Rabia-ul-Durrani). It bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother, Mumtaz Mahal.
Ellora Cave System
Ella caves are multi-religious rock-cut cave complex with inscriptions dating from the period 6th century AD. These consist of 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves. Each group represents deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE, as well as monasteries of each respective religion. They were built close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India.
- Wikipedia
Red Fort
The red fort historically served as the main residence of the Mughal emperors. The Mughal dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origin that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid-18th century.
Khari Boali
Jama Masjid Mosque
To visit, dress modestly with long sleeves and pants.
