This morning we were up at the obscene time of 4:30 am so, needless to say, we were a bit sketchy getting going. We got downstairs to the lobby at about 5:15 am, where we met our guide, Devesh, and headed off in one of the hotel’s golf carts to the Taj Mahal to experience it at sunrise.

We passed through the security checkpoint and headed into the grounds just after 5:30 am. We walked through the east arch to see the Taj Mahal in the pre-dawn light.

The Taj Mahal from the east just before sunrise.
The Taj Mahal from the east just before sunrise.

We walked around to the south side of the Taj Mahal and waited for the sun to make an appearance. Unfortunately, the cloud cover meant that we didn’t get a bright sunny morning but, nonetheless, it was a stunning sight.

The Taj Mahal from the south just on sunrise.
The Taj Mahal from the south just on sunrise.

Next we headed back around to the main entrance to the mausoleum to go inside and have a look (where no photography is permitted, unfortunately). The centrepiece of the interior is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, the favourite wife of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (whose tomb is next to Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb). The interior is quite beautiful.

Andrea at the entrance to the Taj Mahal.
Andrea at the entrance to the Taj Mahal.
Keith and Andrea at the entrance to the Taj Mahal.
Keith and Andrea at the entrance to the Taj Mahal.
Pattern made from inlaid semi-precious stones on the exterior of the Taj Mahal.
Pattern made from inlaid semi-precious stones on the exterior of the Taj Mahal.
Keith and Andrea outside the north entrance of the Taj Mahal.
Keith and Andrea outside the north entrance of the Taj Mahal.
The Mehmaan Khana (guest house).
The Mehmaan Khana (guest house).
Keith and Andrea with the Mehmaan Khana (guest house) in the background.
Keith and Andrea with the Mehmaan Khana (guest house) in the background.
Keith and Andrea with the east gate entrance in the background.
Keith and Andrea with the east gate entrance in the background.
Keith and Andrea with the east gate entrance in the background.
Keith and Andrea with the east gate entrance in the background.
Andrea and Devesh admiring the Taj Mahal.
Andrea and Devesh admiring the Taj Mahal.
Andrea on the north side of the Taj Mahal.
Andrea on the north side of the Taj Mahal.

After admiring the Taj Mahal from all sides, we walked back through the gardens, which provided lovely views looking back to the building.

A nice view of the Taj Mahal from the garden.
A nice view of the Taj Mahal from the garden.

We even found a young owl, asleep in a tree and blissfully unaware of our presence.

A young, sleeping owl.
A young, sleeping owl.

Back near the east gate, we stopped for one last look and to get some more photos.

Andrea with the Taj Mahal in the background.
Andrea with the Taj Mahal in the background.

We walked back out of the Taj Mahal grounds just before 7:30 am and hopped into one of the hotel’s golf carts for the short ride back to the hotel to have some breakfast.

Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.
Breakfast.

After breakfast, we left the hotel by car to head to our next stop, Agra Fort. Agra Fort was built by the Mughal emperor, Akbar. It took eight years to build, and was completed in 1573. The fort served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was moved from Agra to Delhi.

Keith and Andrea at the entrance to Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea at the entrance to Agra Fort.

As we entered the fort, Devesh explained the history and workings of the fort to us, and we found it to be surprisingly fascinating. We’ve seen a lot of forts and castles (not just on this trip but on previous trips too) so we had somewhat tempered expectations. But this fort was very impressive.

Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort (with the Taj Mahal in the background).
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort (with the Taj Mahal in the background).
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.
Keith and Andrea inside Agra Fort.

The fort has a view of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan (who commissioned the Taj Mahal) was imprisoned by his son in the fort for the last eight years of his life, in a room with a view of the Taj Mahal (where he would eventually be buried).

Looking back to the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort.
Looking back to the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort.
Looking back to the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort.
Looking back to the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort.

It was late morning by the time we left the fort. We hopped back into the car for the short drive to our next stop, to watch master craftsmen working with marble. We watched a short film on the mining of the marble before being introduced to one of the craftsmen. The level of skill was incredible and we were quite fascinated with the whole process. We even got to try our hand at shaping some marble!

Andrea trying out her carving skills in a piece of marble.
Andrea trying out her carving skills in a piece of marble.
keith trying out his carving skills in a piece of marble.
keith trying out his carving skills in a piece of marble.

We wandered around the emporium, admiring the amazing work. We felt that we should take home something made by the family we met earlier but, given the range of choices, making a decision was not easy! We did eventually find a nice marble jewellery box, that we had inscribed by the craftsman we met earlier.

Next, we headed for Kohinoor Jewellers, a fifth-generation jewellery store and gallery. We had a lovely time there, looking at not only jewellery for sale but also jewellery in the family’s private collection, which included pieces originally owned by Mumtaz Mahal (for whom the Taj Mahal was built).

Emerald jewellery from the collection of Mumtaz Mahal.
Emerald jewellery from the collection of Mumtaz Mahal.
Andrea modelling emerald jewellery from the collection of Mumtaz Mahal.
Andrea modelling emerald jewellery from the collection of Mumtaz Mahal.
A centuries-old emerald necklace (valued by Christies at US$7M in 1988!).
A centuries-old emerald necklace (valued by Christies at US$7M in 1988!).

We were also taken on a tour of the production side of the business, where we got to see each step from concept development through to the final quality control.

Touring the jewellery production facility.
Touring the jewellery production facility.
Touring the jewellery production facility.
Touring the jewellery production facility.

Another part of the business we saw was a small workshop dedicated to teaching three-dimensional embroidery. This was absolutely fascinating.

A student learning traditional embroidery techniques.
A student learning traditional embroidery techniques.

The last part of our tour was a visit to the on-site museum that houses the works of the Indian master of three-dimensional embroidery, Shamsuddin Sahab. His works have to be seen to be believed (and, unfortunately, photography was not allowed). We haven’t seen anything like this technique anywhere else in the world. Some of the pieces in the museum took decades to complete.

After our tour of the embroidery museum, it was nearly 6:00 pm. So, we decided to head back to the hotel. We said goodbye to Devesh and went upstairs to our room to relax before dinner. We sat outside on our balcony and watched traditional dancing in the grounds of the hotel.

Traditional Indian dancing in the grounds of the Taj Oberoi Hotel.
Traditional Indian dancing in the grounds of the Taj Oberoi Hotel.

As the sun set, we had a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal against a vibrant orange evening sky.

Sunset view from our balcony.
Sunset view from our balcony.

After enjoying the sunset, we went downstairs to the hotel’s Indian restaurant for dinner.

Papadams and flat bread.
Papadams and flat bread.
Tandoori prawn kebab in a citrus cream marinade and tandoori chicken breast in a saffron egg crust.
Tandoori prawn kebab in a citrus cream marinade and tandoori chicken breast in a saffron egg crust.
Bengal fish curry, butter chicken, lamb slow-cooked with ginger and cardamon, cottage cheese braised with lotus seeds, and black lentils simmered with tomatoes and pomegranate juice.
Bengal fish curry, butter chicken, lamb slow-cooked with ginger and cardamon, cottage cheese braised with lotus seeds, and black lentils simmered with tomatoes and pomegranate juice.
Milk dumplings with pistachio and cardamon, cottage cheese dumplings slow cooked in jaggery-flavoured milk, saffron and pistachio ice-cream, and three flavours of candied pumpkin.
Milk dumplings with pistachio and cardamon, cottage cheese dumplings slow cooked in jaggery-flavoured milk, saffron and pistachio ice-cream, and three flavours of candied pumpkin.
Cookies.
Cookies.

We thoroughly enjoyed dinner but we had eaten too much, so we went for a short walk around the hotel to try to burn off a few calories.

Taj Oberoi at night.
Taj Oberoi at night.
Taj Oberoi at night.
Taj Oberoi at night.

By the time we got back to our room, we were pretty tired after a very big day, so we decided to head to bed. We are leaving the hotel tomorrow at midday, so we’ll just have breakfast and relax before we set off on the drive back to Delhi airport to catch our flight home.