Another quick night’s sleep and we were off to New Delhi. Sadly, our visit coincided with that of Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, which meant all the security at the tourist places in New Delhi was beefed up, with the result that we were unceremoniously shooed away despite our press credentials. Connaught Place, thankfully, was not one of those places.
Sadly, though, the legendary Wenger’s Bakery was still shut when we got there, so we were forced to head out and search for grub elsewhere. Grub acquired, we were off to Agra, taking the legendary Yamuna Expressway and absolutely flooring the car on this gorgeous stretch of 165-km-long tarmac. I got to test out the Fortuner’s convenient cruise control feature. It is but a two-step process to engage, and then all you do is relax and quite literally cruise along while the car does all the work for you.
Exiting the expressway into Agra, the first place we visited was Itmad-ud-daula’s tomb. The first ever white marble construction in Indian history was commissioned by Emperor Jehangir in honour of and named after his father-in-law and Chief Minister, Itmad-ud-daula Mir Ghiyas Beg. From there, we also visited Agra’s more famous white marble construction: the Taj Mahal. No need for a history recap on this one, wouldn’t you agree? We also had the opportunity to visit the Agra Fort, an 11th-century edifice spread across 94 acres.
