Agra fort...........the first magnificent fort that we visited in Agra and one of the most interesting places filled with history of Shah Jahan.

Can you believe that these forts are mostly hundreds of years old? The paintings and the foundations of the monument are still well preserved.

Agra Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city.The present-day structure was built by the Mughals, though a fort had stood there since at least the 11th century.

  After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort and seized a vast treasure, including the diamond later known as the Koh-i-Noor. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it. The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530.

Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.

It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state. Legend has it that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort to make his own.

The 94-acre (380,000 m2) fort has a semicircular plan, its chord lies parallel to the river and its walls are seventy feet high. Read more of it here.

Tickets are included in the Rs 400 ticket that you bought for City Palace entry.

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.