Day 17: New Delhi, India - The search for the Taj Mahal in a night and fog operation

After our exciting first day in Delhi, another highlight of our trip followed today. Because during the planning in advance, we decided to book a day trip to Agra, about 3 hours away from Delhi, to visit the Taj Mahal, the most famous building in India. At that time, we quickly found and compared some tours and then decided on an all-inclusive tour, which would take us to the Taj Mahal at sunrise.

After 4 hours of sleep, our alarm rang at 1:30 am, and in a mix of half asleep and anticipation, we rushed to take a shower and packed our things for the day.

At a little after 3 am, our private driver picked us up from the hostel and we set off through the almost empty streets of Delhi towards the Taj Mahal.

Even though we could sleep a little in the car, the drive was anything but relaxing. Dense fog on the entire route made it difficult for our driver to safely take us to our destination.

He could only see as far as the hood in most cases, and we drove at a relatively fast pace through the gray and dark night with the warning lights flashing constantly.

Every now and then, when our driver had to brake a little harder because another car suddenly appeared in front of us or our exit appeared, we were rudely awakened - but hey, better that than something else!

After about three hours, the fog still hadn't disappeared, but we were almost at our destination. We picked up our private guide and then walked through a park towards the Taj Mahal. Although it was almost 7 am, time for the sunrise, we couldn't see anything at all. We couldn't see anything that was more than 5 meters away from us.

After an entrance control, we stood at a large gateway, the main entrance to the Taj Mahal. Exactly at the spot that is known from so many pictures, where you look straight ahead, over the symmetrically and perfectly laid out garden with water basins and plants, and behind it, you see the magnificent Taj Mahal rise.

Well, we saw nothing. At the spot where we assumed the Taj Mahal was (we couldn't say for sure if it was still there), we saw a dark gray wall of fog. Nothing else. And it was cold, very cold! Because we had expected a beautiful sunrise, a sunny day, and 15 degrees at 9 am...

A little disappointed, we walked through the park and suddenly we could see the Taj Mahal directly in front of us. Well, at least the lower part, because the dome could only be guessed in the fog.

And even after we had a little tour inside and visited a nearby mosque, there was no sign of the hoped-for beautiful sunrise.

The fog had only cleared a little, but at least enough for us to take a picture in front of the Taj Mahal with the dome. For the sunrise and the typical picture, we'll have to come back here another time.

After visiting two more buildings, the Agra Fort and the Baby Taj Mahal, we drove back to Delhi around noon, pretty exhausted. We let ourselves be driven back, actually.

After a short break, we went out again in the evening to meet Sam for a typical Indian dinner. Sam was a nice Indian guy our age who had approached us on the street the day before. After a bit of small talk, he gave us some helpful tips for our time in Delhi over coffee.

For dinner, we went to a small restaurant where we tried two types of curry and garlic naan bread.

In general, you should be a bit cautious with the food and drinks here. Because tourists often struggle with the so-called "Delhi Belly". It is said that the associated stomach problems occur because you are not accustomed to the local cuisine and spices.

That is why we haven't tried the food stands on the street yet, and we brush our teeth with bottled drinking water. We also make sure not to drink tap water, not to have ice cubes in our drinks, and if possible, always use a straw.