So this will be the first leg of our second destination in India...Agra.

If you missed our visits in Jaipur, you can read all about it in :

INCREDIBLE INDIA : JAIPUR

INCREDIBLE INDIA : JAIPUR, THE CITY PALACE 

INCREDIBLE INDIA : JAIPUR, JANTAR MANTAR

INCREDIBLE INDIA : JAIPUR, HAWA MAHAL 
INCREDIBLE INDIA : JAIPUR, ALBERT HALL
INCREDIBLE INDIA : JAIPUR, AMBER FORT

After we explored most of the interesting places in Jaipur, we head to our next destination, Agra. It gives me the excitement knowing that our next destination will be one of the 7 wonders of the world. 

We had 2 nights in Agra and we chose Pyrenees Home Stay as our lodging. You can view the Taj Mahal from the rooftop of Pyrenees Home Stay. All rooms are equipped with a satellite TV, shower and toilet. It offers a restaurant and a 24-hour front desk. Free WiFi is available in the public areas of the property. There are also books and magazines to read and do research on places in Agra. You can view the hotel here.

The price of the home stay was very affordable. The total cost was Rs5,600 (RM 330) for 2 rooms, 2 nights which include the food we had at the roof top cafe. You can charge it to your room bill. Yes, most budget hotels in India are dirt cheap, clean with all the amenities, helpful and friendly. 

A currency exchange and luggage storage facilities are available. Pyrenees also offers bicycle rentals and laundry facilities at an extra cost.

Our journey from Jaipur to Agra took about 9 hours on an overnight express bus. Our departure time was 6.30pm (from Jaipur) and we arrived Agra around 4.30am the next day. Women of all nationalities are entitle 30% off the bus tickets in Jaipur. Not sure why but why not?

There are 2 types of express bus that you can choose from. The AC and non-AC. Hey, tell you what, air conditioner is a big of a deal in India. The ticket price is around RM 30 per person. They also provide mineral water for each passengers on board. 

The bus will stop every few hours at a designated service area along the 'highway'. The toilets are clean but the variety of food are not many so you can buy your own snacks prior to departure. Bus schedules in India can be unpredictable. Your departure time can be 6.30pm but it could be earlier. But normally they're on time. So make sure you're at the bus station earlier.

As you arrive Agra, there will be tuk-tuk drivers come flocking around you. Do not panic and say no to them in a nice way. Ask any tuk-tuk driver on how much do they charge to bring you to your destination (keep your hotel address in hand. Bookings.com has mobile app that you can easily download and save the address in your phone). Please note that there might be midnight charges.

The tuk-tuk price is negotiable.We were charged Rs 300 to Pyrenees Home Stay and as I mentioned earlier, hotels in India are flexible that most of the hotel allows you to check-in earlier than the check-in time because normally they will prepare and reserve the room only for you once you have confirmed your booking.

1. Remember to bring your bags containing important documents on board and put the rest of the luggage underneath the bag compartment. 

2. Advisable to choose bus with A/C because the condition of the bus is cleaner and the type of  passengers are decent ones which sometimes can be other tourist from other country.

Street of Jaipur nearby to the bus stations.

Amber fort was our final destination during our first stop in Jaipur. Because the location is far away from the city, around 45 minutes by tuk-tuk ride, we put Amber fort as our last place to visit in our itinerary.

Amber fort or 'Amer fort' as pronounced by the local stood high up on the hill, situated 16 kilometers from the main city of Jaipur. Amer Fort is also known as the Amer Palace.

Amber, or Amer, is derived from Amba, the Mother Goddess who was the protector of the world.

Amer Fort is known for its artistic Hindu style elements. With its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake.

Amber fort has also a series of water and drainage system built in the palace. The water is circulated around the palace in order to lower down the temperature during a hot weather or during the summer. The system is also used for their jacuzzi pool (yes they have jacuzzi too but in a more luxurious way).

Photo courtesy: The Independent Tourist

At the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2013, Amer Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the group Hill Forts of Rajasthan.

Situated nearby to it are also Nahargarh fort and Jaigarh fort, it took us about 2 hours to finished the whole of Amber fort. We didn't had the chance to visit Jaigarh and Nahargarh fort due to time constraint.

You can take the tuk-tuk from the hotel and it cost around Rs 350 for one trip. The journey takes about 30 minutes and the entrance of the fort is not accessible to any vehicle but if you choose not to hike up the fort, you can take the elephant.

The main attraction of this fort, I believe is the Mirror palace or Sheesh Mahal. What is  Sheesh Mahal?

Sheesh Mahal is situated in the third courtyard, where the private quarters of the Maharaja, his family and attendants were located. The building is exquisitely embellished with glass inlaid panels and multi-mirrored ceilings. The mirrors are of convex shape and designed with coloured foil and paint which would glitter bright under candlelight at the time it was in use. Also known as Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), the mirror mosaics and colored glasses were a "glittering jewel box in flickering candle light"

Albert Hall Museum is a museum in Jaipur city in Rajasthan state of India. It is the oldest museum of the state and functions as the State museum of Rajasthan. 

It is named after King Edward VII (Albert Edward), during whose visit to the city as the Prince of Wales, its foundation stone was laid on 6 February 1876.

This museum amazingly houses 19,000 historic objects and has various collections like metal ware, ivory work, lacquer work, jewelry, textiles, pottery carved wooden objects, arms and weapons, clay models , sculptures, educational, scientific and zoological objects, tribal costumes, ceramics, oil and miniature paintings, inlay work, musical instruments, clocks and marble statues.

The central museum is the most visited destination by tourists of Jaipur. It is famed for its enormous and exclusive collection. One section of the museum, also known as Darbar Hall, has the largest floor covering in the world. This is the oldest and finest identified carpet, and is solitary in its kind. This museum remains open all days expect on the Holi festival. The museum is open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Albert Hall is 20 to 30 minutes walking distance from City Palace but you can opt to go by tuk-tuk.There are many bookstalls and food joint along the way. Preferably you walk as you can blend in with the locals and see their day-today life activity.

Albert Hall tickets are also included in the Rs 400 City Palace ticket.

Hawa Mahal is one of the many places in Jaipur that you have to visit. It is situated not far from our hotel and it takes about 15 to 20 minutes of tuk-tuk ride. 

Hawa Mahal or "Palace of Winds", is a palace in Jaipur, India, so named because it was essentially a high screen wall built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivities while unseen from the outside. Constructed of red and pink sandstone, the palace sits on the edge of the City Palace, and extends to the zenana, or women's chambers.

Its unique five-storey exterior is akin to the honeycomb of a beehive with its 953 small windows called jharokhas decorated with intricate latticework.

The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to obey strict "purdah" (face cover). The lattice also allows cool air from the Venturi effect through the intricate pattern, air conditioning the whole area during the high temperatures in summers.

As Hawa Mahal is known as "Palace of the Wind", you can actually feel the breeze going through the inner building as you walk through the place. Not one place left without the breeze. Because the building were built by red sand and some parts are made of marble, you can feel the coolness. 

I was inspired by one of our top Malaysia artist FB post, Red Hong Yi that I wanted to share a post on what's my favorite thing of all time.

Recently Hong Yi posted a post on her FB page that she decided to organize a solo exhibition, hopefully by end of next year. She was asking for a favor from her account followers on what are their most meaningful object. It could be a gift or something that you have bought yourself. You can read about Red Hong Yi here.

So today I would like to share with you, my favorite object of all time. Possibly the only one.

It's a watch that was presented to me by my father on my 21st birthday. The time when my father was working in Sri Lanka. The fact that the watch came from the other side of the globe, makes it even special.

I've been fond for watches since I was a kid. I'll ask for watch as my birthday present, every year.

This watch basically grew up with me. I love this watch perhaps because it symbolizes my adulthood. My dad said that I should get a proper watch as I'll be entering into the working world in the next few years. So he wanted to get me something decent.


I wanted something classic yet chic look, and stainless steel watches has been my preference, therefore the Tissot PR50 became my choice, Stainless steel can never go out of style and they're everlasting.

 Wherever I go, she comes with me and I would never trade anything for it. My dad don't spend unnecessary because he knew, it is never easy to earn a living especially when you're abroad, away from the family. He has never bought anything expensive for himself. So for him to present me that watch means a lot.

Until today, I wear the watch everywhere. Sometimes to the office or formal functions. That watch gives me the sense of warmness that is hard to explain. But definitely I'll keep the watch for until the end of time.
Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. 
~Ruth E. Renkel

Perhaps I could say that Jantar Mantar is one of my favorite place. As you step into the Jantar Mantar, you'll be aww with their huge size and variety of astronomical measurement instruments.

Jantar Mantar is situated at the opposite road of the city palace (note that there are a few entrances to the city palace). The entry price is around Rs 400.

The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king. He had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. 

The name is derived from jantar ("instrument"), and mantar ("formula", or in this context "calculation"). Therefore Jantar Mantar means literally 'calculation instrument'. 

The Jaipur observatory is the largest and best preserved of these. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as "an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period". 

The Jantar Mantar was made by Sawai Jai Singh as he was particularly interested in learning about the sky above his head.

The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars' location as the earth orbits around the sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides. 

Built from local stone and marble, each instrument carries an astronomical scale, generally marked on the marble inner lining. Bronze tablets, all extraordinarily accurate, were also employed. For further reading, you can go here.

Photo courtesy: I Love Jaipur
These 12 monuments represents the 12 horoscope. Each one measures each horoscope.

Do you know that the Brihat Samrat (refer to photo below) probably the largest gnomon-sundial ever built. With a gnomon arm 22.6m high and two lateral quadrants of radius 15.15m, it measures local time to an accuracy of 2 seconds? More facts about the Jantar Mantar here.

The Brihat Samrat is one of my favorite instrument in the Jantar Mantar. Why? Because the instrument is so huge!. Spectacular will be the word I can use to describe this one.