India: The golden triangle, Holifest and Layover in Dubai

The golden triangle is a common sightseeing round in India. This route includes Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. There is a lot to see and experience in those three places! We did this trip in March 2017, but had our base in Delhi. Here are some of our experiences and travel trips!

I would recommend to bring anti-back to use before meals and imodum or other medicines against stomach issues. I also redid some of my vaccinations before traveling. Most Indians use rather conservative clothing's with no bare shoulders. There will be plenty of Sarees and Indian clothing everywhere, and I would recommend to try some of them. But remember that a Saree is very hard to put on ^^  


Travel and arrival: 
We flew with Emirates and had a stop in Dubai. On the retur, we chose to visit Dubai for a short stop for our lay-over. Well worth the time. Remember to have you visa organized in advance for India. For citizens who can get theirs online, we used this page. On the airport they offer free sim-cards for tourists. We didn't do this, but I think it would be useful because you will be able to book an uber when you need transport.
Once in Delhi, we choose to do a pre-paid taxi to take us to our hotel. Its a bit more expensive, but you dont have to worry about being scammed. 


Delhi
Delhi is the main city in India. Its a large city, so be aware of the traffic!! We stayed at Connaught place, which was very convenient. The easiest means of travel in Delhi is the underground, a tuck-tuck or taxi. A tucktuck is a fun way to travel and I really recommend trying this!

There is a lot to see in Delhi. Our favorite were the Humayun's tomb and the Mughal gardens. Humayun's tomb are old and on the UN world heritage list. It was also apparently the inspiration for Taj Mahal. The area is quiet, but the building is impressive, although slightly worn down. Well worth the trip! The Mughal gardens are only open during February and March, but if you happen to be in India around then I would highly recommend a trip there. The gardens are beautiful and very impressive!

The western shops in Delhi are very expensive, but you can find cheap clothing sold in markets and the streets. Remember to bargain!! And I would not recommend to follow anyone's recommendation for where to go. The best way to get rid of annoying sellers are simply to completely ignore them!  I love Indian food and there are lots of places to eat. Pind Balluba had alright food and was really convenient, but I would really recommend Punjabi by Nature because they food was delicious. 


Taj Mahal / Agra
We chose to go to Taj Mahal on a one day trip from Delhi. We booked the trip after arriving in Delhi through the travel agency at the hotell. I would, however, recommend you to book somewhere else as you get the same service, but cheaper than at the hotel. Taj Mahal is only open for praying muslims on Fridays, so you would have to go on any other day of the week. The drive to Taj Mahal takes about 3-4 hours and the roads are, for the most part, very nice. We had a guide who tried to rush us through Taj Mahal, but dont let the guide stress you if you are in the same situation. Taj Mahal is stunning!! But there isn't much to see around in Agra, so it is will worth to spend most of the day in Taj Mahal. We went by Agra fort, but did not enter as we didn't think it looked too interesting.


Jaipur

Jaipur is known as the pink city due to the colors of many of the buildings. It is an old city with lots of forts. We took the train there, which we booked through the trainwebpage before we left from Norway. However, you do need an Indian phone number to log in. The trainstation was not a place I would recommend anyone to travel alone on in the early morning or late nights though. The first class air condition train was decent, with lots of food and water being served. We stayed at the Holliday Inn City Centre. We felt it was a bit outside of the city centre, but the hotel was absolutely lovely and the breakfast as well, so I would highly recommend it. It was easy to get a tucktuck or a taxi to anywhere we wanted to go. We had dinner at the Peacock rooftop cafe, which was more of a tourist-friendly backpacker place, but the food was good, and the view as well. 

The pink city is a must see in Jaipur. There are several buildings you can enter for a price here, we chose the city palace which we enjoyed. There are also plenty of shopping options in the pink city, but remember you have to bargain! A pair of typical Indian shoes should be between 200 and 400 rupee.  We also chose to go to Amer Fort, which was beautiful and well worth the trip! There was also plenty of monkeys around, and we also got to see som elephants (although, due to how the animals are treated, it is recommended to not ride the elephants!)


Holi Fest! 
The Holi fest is celebrated every year in India and it is known as the festivals of colors. This festival was on while we were in India. Be aware that several stores and museums are closed for the celebration. In the evening, Holi is celebrated with a bonn fire. However, it is the day after that is the big celebration. For the holifest the participants buy colored powder and put it on each-other. Its a very happy and colorful celebration! We got color on everything we owned, but it was quit easy to get of. However, it was a really fun experience and everyone was in a great mood, so I would highly recommend being a part of Holi fest if you get the chance! 



Layover in Dubai
We landed in Dubai in the evening and had about 12 hours at the airport. We decided to entre the city and make it into an experience. As Norwegians, we would get visa on arrival. This did take a bit of time due to queue, but it was otherwise very simple. From the airport we chose to take the metro into the city. We took this to Dubai Mall, where we could see the worlds tallest building and the water show at the fountain every half hour. We worth the visit. The shopping mall was also great, although slightly expensive. From there we took a taxi to the Dubai Marina. This place was interesting with all the tall buildings, but the taxi drive was very expensive. I would thus recommend to take the metro instead of. From the Marina, we chose to go back to the airport as the metro stopped running at 11 or 12, depending on which day in the week. although it was just a short stop in Dubai, we all thought it was well worth the visit! 

All in all our vacation in India with a layover in Dubai was a great trip. We got to see a lot, experience a lot and eat a lot. However, the golden triangle is not the place to go for a relaxed vacation as the places are crowded, its noisy and sometimes even very very smelly! 

Flower-power in Mogul Gardens in Delhi

The Pink city - Jaipur!

One of the more impressive buildings in the Pink City! 

One of the many monkeys around Amber Fort

Layover in Dubai!