20250511 Regent Seven Seas Voyager Cruise Bangkok to Dubai, Day 20 - Agra to Delhi to Mumbai

Regent Seven Seas Voyager Bangkok to Dubai Day 20 - Agra to Delhi to Mumbai - back to the ship

It was another early morning as we departed at 7:30 for Delhi.  

One last look out of our window - it was hazy today and hard to see the Taj Mahal

Even with the haze, it was nice to get a last look

As we waited to board, a musician entertained everyone in the lobby

The roads in Agra are narrow, and the wiring hangs low. As we drove through the city, our bus snagged a wire. The driver stopped, and folks tried to free the wire, but it was stuck. The solution? Drive on. We ripped that cable apart, likely killing the Internet for a large group of people. Welcome to India.

We settled in for the long drive to Delhi, retracing our path from a few days ago. After a little more than an hour, we made a comfort stop and then continued on our way. Traffic on the highway was light, and we were making good time.

Roadside sculptures

The easy eight-step emergency exit instructions on the bus

A Lord Shiva statue along the road

As we came into Delhi a short four hours later, we saw the Swaminarayan Akshardham Hindu temple.

It is the eighth-largest Hindu temple in the world in terms of area

Indian drivers use their horns. Even on the highway, we would hear the occasional horn as cars passed. The heavier the traffic, the more frequent the horns. Our guide said that honking is India's 23rd most popular unofficial language.

Helmet on mom and dad, but not so much for junior

Another view of India Gate war memorial

Getting close to the airport

The Mahatma Gandhi statue at the entrance to the airport

We reached the airport in Delhi in about four hours as planned. There was a bit of confusion at the airport about how luggage would be checked in, but the guides worked it out, and we went to security. Security was as nuts here as it was in Cochin. Empty everything that even looked like it was electronics. Crazy. A 500ml bottle of water? No problem - it's allowed. I just don't get it.

We got to our gate and boarded a nearly full Airbus A321. Knee room was non-existent, and we were happy it was only a two-hour flight to Mumbai. Mumbai, renamed from Bombay in 1995 to get away from British influence, is a huge metropolitan area with many contrasts.

After everyone gathered their luggage, we boarded coaches for the roughly 45-minute ride to the ship. A local guide came on and narrated the ride.

Between 23 and 24 million people live in Metro Mumbai, more than the population of Florida. There is a distinct split between the "haves" and "have-nots" in India, and that is evident when looking at the housing.

Slums in front of high-rises

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link Bridge

Slums right at the waterline

The Mumbai skyline

A Christian display at the waterfront

The Haji Ali Dargah - it is only accessible at low tide because the water blocks access at other times

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai

An evening market

The General Post Office

We arrived at the cruise terminal and made our way through exit immigration  and back onto the ship

Our experience returning to the ship was much better than when we got back from Angkor Wat. That time, there was nobody there, and we schlepped our luggage up a steep gangway. This time, the Cruise Director and General Manager were there, greeting people.  Porters helped with luggage, and cold champagne was waiting. Quite the change.

We had a couple of drinks in the Observation Bar to wind down our long travel day before hitting Compass Rose for a nice dinner.

We just don't understand these decorative Versace chargers that decorate the table but are removed before anything is served

We sailed from Mumbai a little after 8:00, and we bid farewell to India. It was a great mid-cruise journey to see the Taj Mahal, and we're happy we did it. It's one more thing checked off on our list of places we want to see.

Tonight, we shift our clocks back 30 minutes to align with the rest of the world. We'll move one more hour before we reach Dubai. Tomorrow is a sea day. Tuesday is mostly a sea day as we reach Dubai about 4:00 in the afternoon.

20250510 Regent Seven Seas Voyager Cruise Bangkok to Dubai, Day 19 - Agra India Taj Mahal

Regent Seven Seas Voyager Bangkok to Dubai Day 19 - Agra, India  - Taj Mahal-ing

We were up and ready for our 4:45 a.m. departure to the Taj Mahal. 

Our hotel is close, so we made the five-minute journey in what amounted to golf carts. Each could hold 8-12 people, and our little caravan zipped over to the Taj Mahal, where the early entry line was forming.

There are a whole lot of items you can't bring to the Taj Mahal

Do not look into their eyes...

After scanning our tickets and passing through security, we entered the complex through the main entry gate.

The main entry gate

Our first look at the Taj Mahal up close

The main structure is the mausoleum

A few more Taj tidbits...

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, had 14 children. Only six survived, four boys and two girls. Mumtaz was a good luck charm for Jahan and joined him on the battlefields. He never lost a battle when she was there. She delivered their 14th child on the battlefield and, because of complications, died as a result. As she was dying, she asked the following three things of her beloved husband:

• Do not marry another after me
• Raise our children as their father, not their King
• Do something so the world will remember our love

He did not remarry, but already had other wives and multiple concubines, so he weathered that part of his life just fine. He raised the children as their father and built the Taj Mahal as a testament to his love for Mumtaz, fulfilling her final wish. Agra is regarded as the City of Love because of this. Agra has multiple lavish wedding venues, and many come here to be married.

The details in the white marble are amazing

We donned foot covers and entered the mausoleum. They do not allow photos inside the mausoleum, which was too bad, as the detailed work inside was stunning. There are tombs visible inside a filigree marble wall. These are decorative tombs only, as the real tombs are below the structure.

While we were in the main chamber, a guide asked each of our names. Then, he sang each name, one by one, letting his voice resonate and echo for several seconds before it faded out. The acoustics were absolutely haunting and beautiful.

We were allowed to take a single photo of the ceiling in one room

We were also allowed to take this engraving as we exited the mausoleum

The sun was starting to rise

There is a mosque on one side of the main building - an exact duplicate is on the other side, so that everything around the Taj Mahal is symmetrical

The black onyx inlay around the arch are quotes from the Qur'an

Looking back toward the entry gate building

The apparent six sides on this column are an illusion, as there are only three - the detail work is incredible to create the illusion of depth and an angle that isn't there

We were lucky to be there early and off-season, so the crowds were down

The rising Sun gave the building a golden glow

The Taj Mahal is located on the south bank of the Yamuna River

This is the mosque

The main entry gate building

Arlona spotted more green parrots

After a wonderful visit, we bid farewell to the Taj Mahal

Our intrepid Bus #3 group with tour guide, Sunny (Sunil), in front

We returned to the hotel and enjoyed breakfast and a short rest. Then, we were off to visit the Baby Taj. The tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah is often regarded as a draft of the Taj Mahal and is nicknamed the Baby Taj. The Baby Taj was built by Nur Jahan for her father, Mirza Ghiyas Beg. Baby Taj was built between 1622 and 1628.

Just some cows hanging out

More cows

There was a lot of trash all over this area

Walking to the entry gate for the Baby Taj

They warned about monkeys here as well, and a pair were on the main wall

The entry was made from red sandstone inlaid with white marble

The mausoleum

Just like the Taj Mahal, Baby Taj had matching buildings on both sides and at the back

More beautiful inlay work

The matching back building

The painting inside the mausoleum was done with pigment mixed with precious stone dust gathered from the shaping of gemstones - the lower art, where people can reach, has been restored - the upper art is all original from the 1600s

More decorative tombs - the actual tombs are below

Beautiful ceiling work

One of the side buildings

The entry building

We enjoyed the visit to the Baby Taj. We started heading back to the hotel.

A vendor was pressing sugar cane to produce a sweet drink

More cows

We saw lots of questionably loaded trucks

Sugar cane drink vendors were all over

Hindus drink cow milk but do not use cows for food as they are regarded as one of the Hindu's four mothers: 1) biological mother; 2) Mother India; 3) Mother cow; 4) Mother Ganges River

Traffic on the highway back was interesting. We're used to limited access on highways. Not so much here.

Motocycles

Overloaded tuk-tuks

We passed  some of the less wealthy areas

Even tractors were on the highway

This was perhaps a little too close to our hotel

We got back and relaxed before having lunch. We rested for a little while longer and then headed out for a visit to a marble inlay center and a jewelry center.

They explained the inlay process and how each stone is cut by hand, as are the holes where the pieces will be mounted

It is a painstaking process using manual grinding wheels

Pieces are carved by hand, creating the mounting points for the stones

Larger stones are cut into smaller ones and then assembled into designs like flowers

The workers are working with pieces as thin as a hair at times

Here are flowers assembled from 19 individual pieces - they are smaller than a pinkie fingernail

Pieces are tested for fit before final assembly, gluing them into place

They didn't allow photography of their finished pieces. All I can say is "wow". Everything was amazing. Lucky for us, most of it doesn't fit in with our decorating aesthetic.

Having said that...we found this.

It is a 14" black onyx top inlaid with mother-of-pearl and will be placed atop a 22" high carved base

They are shipping it to us in about ten weeks

Next up was a visit to a jewelry store. They had lots of lovely pieces but very little that spoke to us. Arlona did get a simple amethyst bead bracelet. After that, we returned to the hotel.

The sunset visit to the Taj Mahal was departing right after we got to the hotel. Our guide said that it will be more crowded and hotter than our morning visit, and given the cloudy and occasionally rainy conditions today, the views won't offer anything new. We decided to give ourselves a three-hour break for a needed shower and to give me time to put this missive together before dinner.

Dinner was another buffet at 7:30, allowing for the evening Taj Mahal visitors to return.

Tomorrow, we will depart the hotel at 7:30 and make the four-hour drive back to Delhi. A two-hour flight to Mumbai and up to a two-hour bus ride to the port will bring this excursion to a close. There was a lot of travel time in this excursion, but it was worth it to see the Taj Mahal and learn about its beautiful history and the love story behind why it exists.