In the same vein as the other thread in here, such as the list below, I thought it might be nice to know where people go on holidays or just on trips to visit new places.
I guess this could be stickied if enough people find this interesting.
I will start.
In the past few weeks I have visited Agra and Goa in India.
Agra:
So Agra is near Delhi in India's North-west. It houses one of the most famous monuments in the world, the Taj Mahal as well as several other important historical sites of the Mughal Empire.
I was there only for two days and we visited the following places:
Mehtab Bagh
Baby Taj - Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah
Taj Mahal
Radhoswami Bagh
We hired a guide for both days who was very open to going wherever we wanted. He explained the history of each place to us and was quite good. Although his demeanor felt a bit strange - he talked a bit like a robot - he was very thorough and could answer most of our questions.
So on two each place:
Mehtab Bagh:
This is just a garden opposite the Taj Mahal on the other bank of the river. It was really nice to see the Taj from this side and allowed for fun pictures too.
Baby Taj - Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah:
This was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal apparently as the wife of the emperor wanted to be buried in a nice tomb and she was referring to this place.
She got a 'bit' more than she expected probably, but the Baby Taj is certainly worth a visit and probably before seeing the Taj.
Taj Mahal:
The reason people come to Agra. I felt in awe of this building and it is certainly an architectural marvel. It is certainly worth visiting.
Radhoswami Bagh:
This is an unusual visit for tourists who go to India apparently. It's a temple that's been under construction for 100 years or so. It's outside structure is all made of beautifully-decorated marble. There is apparently a curse that says it will never be finished. Even so, in its current forum it is quite beautiful.
Parts of the inner sanctuary is being renovated as the inner inner one is just a box basically, but that can be entered at the moment.
I think two full days is perfect for Agra. The only two places we 'missed' were the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
According to our guide, the fort is not worth it so much as the army controls most of the place. He told us Fatehpur Sikri is certainly worth a visit. Well, this means I could go again in ten years and see if the Radhoswami bagh temple has been finished
Goa:
Goa is a beach resort. It's an old Portuguese colony so you can still see lots of European influences in the buildings' architecture.
I'm not a beach person so I was a bit bored of the beaches. Apparently Old Goa was supposed to be very special, but after having seen places like Florence, it does not compare to the nice European cities.
Old Goa just had lots of old churches and it may be worth a visit, but it's not a MUST in my opinion.
All we did was sit next to the beach, reading books, relaxing, drinking.
Apparently we went there off-season, so it's much more lively from November to January.
The weather was great though, so it's perfect if you want to relax a bit after having visited some other places in India.
I guess this could be stickied if enough people find this interesting.
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I will start.
In the past few weeks I have visited Agra and Goa in India.
Agra:
So Agra is near Delhi in India's North-west. It houses one of the most famous monuments in the world, the Taj Mahal as well as several other important historical sites of the Mughal Empire.
I was there only for two days and we visited the following places:
Mehtab Bagh
Baby Taj - Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah
Taj Mahal
Radhoswami Bagh
We hired a guide for both days who was very open to going wherever we wanted. He explained the history of each place to us and was quite good. Although his demeanor felt a bit strange - he talked a bit like a robot - he was very thorough and could answer most of our questions.
So on two each place:
Mehtab Bagh:
This is just a garden opposite the Taj Mahal on the other bank of the river. It was really nice to see the Taj from this side and allowed for fun pictures too.
Baby Taj - Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah:
This was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal apparently as the wife of the emperor wanted to be buried in a nice tomb and she was referring to this place.
She got a 'bit' more than she expected probably, but the Baby Taj is certainly worth a visit and probably before seeing the Taj.
Taj Mahal:
The reason people come to Agra. I felt in awe of this building and it is certainly an architectural marvel. It is certainly worth visiting.
Radhoswami Bagh:
This is an unusual visit for tourists who go to India apparently. It's a temple that's been under construction for 100 years or so. It's outside structure is all made of beautifully-decorated marble. There is apparently a curse that says it will never be finished. Even so, in its current forum it is quite beautiful.
Parts of the inner sanctuary is being renovated as the inner inner one is just a box basically, but that can be entered at the moment.
I think two full days is perfect for Agra. The only two places we 'missed' were the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
According to our guide, the fort is not worth it so much as the army controls most of the place. He told us Fatehpur Sikri is certainly worth a visit. Well, this means I could go again in ten years and see if the Radhoswami bagh temple has been finished
Goa:
Goa is a beach resort. It's an old Portuguese colony so you can still see lots of European influences in the buildings' architecture.
I'm not a beach person so I was a bit bored of the beaches. Apparently Old Goa was supposed to be very special, but after having seen places like Florence, it does not compare to the nice European cities.
Old Goa just had lots of old churches and it may be worth a visit, but it's not a MUST in my opinion.
All we did was sit next to the beach, reading books, relaxing, drinking.
Apparently we went there off-season, so it's much more lively from November to January.
The weather was great though, so it's perfect if you want to relax a bit after having visited some other places in India.