Arriving at Delhi airport on Oman Air B737max aircraft, I reached the immigration counters. It was my second time passing through Delhi airport, but I still didn't realise that there is actually an e-visa counter located further down the aisle. Probably the long queues at the foreigners' counters and the even longer queues at the local nationalities counters blocked the views of the otherwise empty queues at the e-visa counters. That unnecessary queue took up quite a bit of time.
Anyway, after the counter is the mandatory walk through the duty free shops before exiting into the main terminal. My pre-arranged guide was already waiting the terminal hours earlier. I had pre-booked a tour to Taj Mahal for my day tour as I believe it is almost impossible to get there safely or reliably on bus or train. This private tour itself was expensive, but still worth it, considering the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.
After settling down in the car together with my luggage, I was soon out of Delhi heading towards the Taj Mahal. The driver stopped by in Delhi city to fill up petrol. Each way took about 3 hours on the road in mostly smooth traffic. Nearer the monument, the guide boarded the car.
Once the monument is in sight, we had to alight from the vehicle. This followed by a short ride on the tuk-tuk, again in both directions. A fun ride for me!
Finally, the last mile to the monument is done on foot. On that weekday morning, the monument is relatively crowded, but the wide spaces around the Taj Mahal meant there is comfortable walking space for everyone. Over there, I was persuaded to hire a photographer to take photos of me and the monument. The rate wasn't cheap though.
Once all photos are done, the guide led me into the Taj Mahal itself. Now, the queue for entry was very, very long. Just then, the guide led me and sort of pushed me through into another line meant for foreigners. And this was empty. Subsequently, I realized that whenever there is a queue within the monument, I would always be led to the front to enter, passing by the endless queues. Needless to say, this saved me lots of time. The perks of being a foreign visitor in India, I guess. Haha !
Once the tour was done, the guide brought me to a souvenir shop where I bought a small replica of the Taj Mahal ad a photoframe. This time round, I used my bargaining skills and manage to get a decent discount.
Once done, we left the monument in the same manner of transport as we arrived. Box lunch of Indian cuisine was taken in the car itself as I needed to get back to the airport in good time for my domestic flight.
Overall, it was a great, if somewhat hurried tour, of the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, there was no time for the red fort, another less famous attraction in Delhi. It's a once in a lifetime experience, and I'm glad I visited the Taj Mahal.
In my next post, I shall detail about my experience with taking Vistara premium economy domestic flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad.
Currently I don't have plans to return to India anytime soon. If I do, then Mumbai will be the next destination for me.
Anyway, after the counter is the mandatory walk through the duty free shops before exiting into the main terminal. My pre-arranged guide was already waiting the terminal hours earlier. I had pre-booked a tour to Taj Mahal for my day tour as I believe it is almost impossible to get there safely or reliably on bus or train. This private tour itself was expensive, but still worth it, considering the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.
After settling down in the car together with my luggage, I was soon out of Delhi heading towards the Taj Mahal. The driver stopped by in Delhi city to fill up petrol. Each way took about 3 hours on the road in mostly smooth traffic. Nearer the monument, the guide boarded the car.
Once the monument is in sight, we had to alight from the vehicle. This followed by a short ride on the tuk-tuk, again in both directions. A fun ride for me!
On the India's tuk-tuk
Finally, the last mile to the monument is done on foot. On that weekday morning, the monument is relatively crowded, but the wide spaces around the Taj Mahal meant there is comfortable walking space for everyone. Over there, I was persuaded to hire a photographer to take photos of me and the monument. The rate wasn't cheap though.
While waiting for my guide to get the tickets
A river by the Taj Mahal
Once all photos are done, the guide led me into the Taj Mahal itself. Now, the queue for entry was very, very long. Just then, the guide led me and sort of pushed me through into another line meant for foreigners. And this was empty. Subsequently, I realized that whenever there is a queue within the monument, I would always be led to the front to enter, passing by the endless queues. Needless to say, this saved me lots of time. The perks of being a foreign visitor in India, I guess. Haha !
Once the tour was done, the guide brought me to a souvenir shop where I bought a small replica of the Taj Mahal ad a photoframe. This time round, I used my bargaining skills and manage to get a decent discount.
Once done, we left the monument in the same manner of transport as we arrived. Box lunch of Indian cuisine was taken in the car itself as I needed to get back to the airport in good time for my domestic flight.
On the return
My box lunch of Indian cuisine in the car
In my next post, I shall detail about my experience with taking Vistara premium economy domestic flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad.
Currently I don't have plans to return to India anytime soon. If I do, then Mumbai will be the next destination for me.
