One of my biggest travel disappointments was back in 1990 when I did a Himalayan trek in Nepal and then went to India mainly to see the Taj Mahal in Agra. I made it to Delhi but couldn’t get in to Agra for two days by train or air due to clashes between the Hindus and Moslems there. I missed getting in by a day or so and I think it was the first time Agra had ever been closed by a curfew. Ever since, seeing the Taj Mahal has been on my “Bucket List”. Since it is almost completely on the opposite side of the globe, I wasn’t sure I’d ever go that far again just to see the Taj Mahal.
Another item on my “Bucket List” ever since it opened was visiting the observation deck of the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Once again, that was a long way to go to just see that building so I had my doubts.
While looking at possible future travel destinations, Kathy and I found a cruise that left from Singapore and stopped in Phuket, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Cochin, Goa and Mumbai (Bombay) in India; Muscat, Oman; Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE. It didn’t include Agra since Agra is not near the coast. I had been to Singapore, Thailand and India but Kathy hadn’t been to any of these countries.
The cruise was on Celebrity Cruise Lines’ Constellation. We had sailed on this ship five years earlier in the Black and Aegean Seas. We got a great price on the cruise and somehow, also a great price on airfare. Since we would be so close, we decided to skip the last port (Abu Dhabi). Instead we would fly to Delhi, India and take a day trip from there to see Agra and the Taj Mahal. This was our 22nd cruise and because of the way we booked the flights, it was our first around-the-world trip in one direction.
Even though the most days of this trip were on the cruise, it still took more research and preparation than any trip we’ve been on. First of all, we had a hard time determining what visas we would need. We knew we needed a visa for India.
The first time I went to India, I drove to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco and got my visa in one day. Things are different today. Now most embassies and consulates contract out issuing visas. We chose one of the contract companies that India uses and the first part was applying online. Their web site was REALLY difficult to use, but eventually, we were able to submit our forms, photos and fees online and get an appointment at the contract office in San Francisco as we still had to go in person. Things at the contract office went much smoother except their fingerprint machine kept rejecting our fingerprints.
As for the other countries visited, only Sri Lanka and Oman required visas and we were able to get those online fairly easily.
We booked two tours in advance through Viator.com (a “middle man” that books tours with different companies). We read online reviews of this company and most were very good. We booked the Burj Khalifa Observation Deck and Agra day trip through them. We also had to book hotels in Singapore, Delhi and Dubai on our own and got good deals through Booking.com.
When we booked the cruise, we also booked the shore excursions offered by Celebrity Cruises as they sometimes sell out during the cruise. You can find cheaper deals in the various ports after you arrive but we prefer booking through the cruise lines as they guarantee the ship will not leave port without you if your bus breaks down or you’re delayed for other reasons such as your vehicle hitting a sacred cow in India.
Finally, I bought three DK Top Ten tour books for further research and reference: Singapore, Delhi/Agra and Dubai/Abu Dhabi.
We booked this trip about five months before departure. For some time before that, Kathy had noticed some pain periodically in her hip. She didn’t think it was serious and at first thought she would be fine for the trip. Then in January, the pain was getting worse so Kathy saw a doctor about two days after we made the final cruise payment (we paid the airfare in full when we booked it). Kathy was surprised to learn that her hip problem was more serious and would require hip replacement surgery.
Now we had to make a decision. Cancel the trip entirely and get refunds for most of it (we purchased trip insurance), or take a transport wheelchair and hope Kathy could get around OK on the ship, shore excursions and land tours with either me pushing her in the wheelchair or walking on her own. We thought long and hard on this and I left it up to Kathy to make the final decision as she was the one who would have a tougher time. Since this cruise was only offered once a year, the price of the cruise and airfare was so good and we may never get another opportunity like this, Kathy (with my blessing) decided to give it try. She scheduled her hip replacement surgery for after the trip as full recovery from the surgery can take up to a year.
We learned of one other concern after we booked the trip. I found out that the Taj Mahal was being cleaned for the first time in 450 years. The cleaning would take over a year and be done in sections and scaffolding had to be set up at different times. I even found a list of places NOT to visit this year and one was the Taj Mahal. I kept checking Trip Advisor online to see what the situation was but couldn’t really get an accurate update on the cleaning. So we finally decided that we’d take our chances and go to Agra as well. Even if the Taj Mahal had scaffolding on it, this was perhaps our last chance to see it.
Our adventure started by driving about 110 miles (177 km) to Kathy’s son Darrin’s house in Hayward. Darrin was gone on a vacation trip but we left our car in his garage and took a SuperShuttle van from there to San Francisco International Airport.
We flew from San Francisco to Singapore on a United Airlines B-787-8 Dreamliner. The trip was our longest non-stop flight at 16½ hours and at the time was one of the longest non-stop flights in the world. The Dreamliner seemed to be a little more comfortable than most other aircraft even in economy class but 16½ hours on a plane is still brutal.
Singapore, an island city-state located off southern Malaysia and only one degree or 87 miles (137 km) from the equator, is a global financial center with a tropical climate and multicultural population. It was a British possession from 1824 until 1963 and much of its architecture reflects the early colonial period.
We got to our hotel which was located about 5 miles (8 km) from the center of Singapore in the morning, checked in and were told we could still have their buffet breakfast. No time to sleep, rest or get over the jet lag after breakfast as we only had one full day to see the sights of Singapore. So we loaded the transport wheelchair in a taxi and headed for our first stop – the Raffles Hotel.
The Raffles Hotel, a colonial-style luxury hotel built in 1887, is famous because in its bar is where the Singapore Sling drink was invented. Unfortunately, the hotel was being renovated and was hidden behind scaffolding and a tarp with a picture of the hotel on it. Had it been open, we would have had on over-priced Singapore Sling there. With all our prior research, I knew it would be closed but figured it would be an easy drop off point destination to tell the taxi driver and a good place to start our “walk & roll”.
We chose to take a transport wheelchair with small wheels on this trip because it is lighter and folds up smaller than the standard wheelchair with large back wheels. Their main advantage is they easily fit in a car trunk when transporting people to and from the hospital, etc. I soon found out however that they are not really designed for pushing someone a few miles around city streets especially in high heat and humidity!
We saw the Civilian War Memorial (the Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II), the Padang (an open playing field), the Lim Bo Seng (a Chinese resistance fighter based in Singapore and Malaya during World War II) Memorial, the Raffles Statue, the People of the River Sculpture, the Merlion (official mascot of Singapore) statue/fountain and several historic buildings and bridges.
At some point we stopped at an outdoor refreshment stand where Kathy had a cold beer and I had a fruit smoothie. I was so hot that the smoothie gave me a brain freeze but it also re-energized me to keep pushing Kathy along. We ended up in the ultra-modern mall called The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands where we had dinner in one its many restaurants.
After dinner, we went to the nearby Marina Bay Sands Hotel and purchased tickets to the 57th floor observation deck. The Marina Bay Sands Hotel has three towers and across the top and connecting all three towers is a structure shaped like a ship. On this structure is a park, bar, restaurant and infinity swimming pool. We got a great view of Singapore from there and the tickets also included a drink from the bar where we relaxed on lounge chairs.
Across from the Marina Bay Sands Hotel is a huge park called Gardens by the Bay. In the park, there are several large structures called “Supertrees” that are shaped sort of like trees and are lit up by thousands of lights at night. We made our way to the park to see the free Supertree Sound & Light Show held twice each night. The show is very popular and after the show, we had to wait quite a while to get a taxi back to the hotel.
When I first visited Singapore in 1988. It became one of my favorite cities in the world and it still is. It’s both historic and modern, safe and super clean (don’t even think of littering there), it’s a melting pot of different Asian cultures and English is one of four official languages. There is so much more to see and do there but we made the most of our short stay.
The next afternoon we took a taxi to the cruise port and boarded our home away from home for the next 15 days. The ship had undergone at least one restoration since we last sailed on it but I don’t know if it looked different or not. We usually opt for anytime dining but on this cruise that was all booked. We were able to change from late to early dining at a table for six. The pool, shows, food, etc. were all very good. As usual, Kathy and I formed a team of two and played many trivia contests, winning the 70’s music version. We kept the transport chair in our cabin and Kathy was able to get around the whole ship and walk on the shore excursions without being pushed in the wheelchair.
After a full relaxing day at sea that helped us somewhat get over the time change and recharge our batteries, we arrived the next morning at our first port: Phuket, Thailand. Phuket, a rainforested, mountainous island in the Andaman Sea, has some of Thailand’s most popular beaches, mainly situated along the clear waters of the western shore. The island is home to many high-end seaside resorts, spas and restaurants. Phuket City, the capital, has old shop houses and busy markets. Patong, the main resort town, has many nightclubs, bars and discos.
This was the only port that we had to take a tender ashore. The first thing I noticed before getting on our bus were the bundles of co-axial cables hanging off of the utility poles. This reminded me of the cables in Bucharest, Romania.
Our shore excursion took us to an overlook of Nai Harn Beach and Promthep Cape, a lighthouse, a Buddha statue, the Phuket Seashell Museum and Wat Chalong, the most beautiful Buddhist temple on Phuket Island.
While on the shore excursion, Kathy got a call that her son Darrin broke his leg while on vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. He needed surgery but was flew home to California to have the surgery there. Kathy was quite upset but felt a little better after Darrin called her from the surgery recovery room. His surgery went well and after getting some metal plates, screws, etc., he’s now training for his first half marathon. We both have elderly fathers and are always concerned that something serious will happen to them while we are so far away, but we never imagined something like this would happen to any of our other family members.
That day happened to be my 63rd birthday and Kathy surprised me with dinner at the ship’s specialty restaurant called the Tuscan Grill. On most cruise ships including this one, the optional specialty restaurants cost extra. The meals are a little fancier and the service is a cut above the dining room service. I had crab cake, Caesar salad, three meat lasagna and red wine. For dessert, I had cheesecake and a complimentary lemon and vodka after dinner drink.
The next two days were spent at sea crossing the Indian Ocean at the Bay of Bengal. This was a great time to relax, swim, Jacuzzi, read, nap, walk a mile on the walking/jogging track, play trivia games, see the shows and “eat, drink and be merry”. I also purchased a full body deep tissue massage. About the only activity we don’t do on cruises is gamble in the casino.
Our second port was Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is an island nation south of India in the Indian Ocean. Its diverse landscapes range from rainforest and arid plains to highlands and sandy beaches. It’s famed for its ancient Buddhist ruins, including the 5th-century citadel Sigiriya, with its palace and frescoes.
Our shore excursion by bus and on foot included the Town Hall, Vihara Mahdevi Park, Independence Commemoration Hall, the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple and refreshments at the Colombo Club in the historic five-star Galle Face Hotel which opened in 1864. I was “blessed” by a Buddhist monk and saw Lord Buddha's hair relic in the temple so I figured both were worth a donation. It was very hot and humid and started raining hard while we visited the temple. Sri Lanka reminded me of India only cleaner and with less poverty, at least what we saw in Colombo.
That afternoon, after we set sail (or is it set engine?), we were heading straight into a storm. The dark clouds and lightning looked ominous and the wind really picked up. They strongly advised everyone to get out of the pool because of the lightning danger but we never seemed to reach the storm and the sea never got that rough. This turned out not to be a “batten down the hatches” kind of storm.
After another wonderful day at sea, we cruised past the southern tip of India and arrived at Kochi (also called Cochin), our first destination in India. Called the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi was an important spice trading center on the west coast of India from the 14th century onward, and maintained a trade network with Arab merchants from the pre-Islamic era. Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India. It remained the main seat of Portuguese India until 1530, when Goa was chosen instead. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state.
Our shore excursion took us to see a Kathakali Dance Performance and St. Francis Catholic Church. Vasco da Gama, the first European explorer to set sail for India, was buried inside St. Francis Church until his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539. We then boarded a boat for a ride around the harbor seeing the large cargo docks, a resort, a couple fishing off of a tiny round boat that looked like it was made out of reeds and the famous Chinese fishing nets.
Chinese fishing nets are large mechanical contrivances that hold horizontal nets measuring 66 feet (20 m) or more across. Each structure is at least 33 feet (10 m) high and comprises a cantilever with an outstretched net suspended over the sea and large stones suspended from ropes as counterweights at the other end. Each net is operated by a team of up to six fishermen. This way of fishing is unusual in India and almost unique to the area, as it was introduced by Chinese explorers who landed there in the 14th century. One interpretation of the city name Kochi is “co-chin”, meaning “like China.”
After another sea day during which we saw many dolphins swimming alongside our ship, we docked in Goa. The state of Goa is located in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea. Its long history as a Portuguese colony prior to 1961 is evident in its preserved 17th-century churches and the area’s tropical spice plantations. Goa is also known for its beaches and nightlife. Starting in the 1960s and continuing into the 1990’s Goa was a mecca for hippies from all over the world. The local government eventually clamped down on the loud music, nudity, drug use and huge beach parties and today, only a few old hippies remain.
In Goa, we walked around a local market and visited the Planet Hollywood resort where we had refreshments and wandered around the gardens and beach.
The next day, we arrived in Mumbai (formally Bombay). Mumbai has an urban population estimated to be over 22 million. It is the largest city in India and the fourth largest city in the world. On the Mumbai Harbor waterfront stands the iconic Gateway of India stone arch, built by the British Raj in 1924. Nearby Elephanta Island holds ancient cave temples dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The city is also famous as the heart of the Bollywood film industry and there’s a good chance if you call a help line for tech support, you will be speaking with someone in Mumbai.
We had a very knowledgeable guide on our shore excursion who sounded like she wasn’t too keen on the chauvinist ways and customs of India. The first stop she took us to was the Dhobi Ghat, an open air laundromat. You read correctly - we watched the activity at an open air laundromat.
But this isn’t just an ordinary laundromat. It’s the world's largest outdoor laundry. For 18 to 20 hours each day, over 7,000 washers known as dhobis flog, scrub, dye and bleach clothes on concrete wash pens, dry them on ropes, neatly press them and transport the garments to different parts of the city. Over 100,000 articles of clothes are washed each day. The dhobis collect clothes from all corners of the city. Their biggest clients are neighborhood laundries, garment dealers, wedding decorators and caterers, and mid-sized hotels and clubs. It’s really quite a sight to behold!
Our next stop was for a view of the exteriors of the Municipal Corporation Building, a gothic revival style building completed in 1893 and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station (formally known as Victoria Terminus). The station is a Victorian-Gothic style building opened in 1888 after taking 10 years to construct. It handles over three million commuters daily. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and I would have loved to walk around inside to see more of the art and architecture.
We visited Mani Bhavan, a mansion where Mahatma Gandhi lived and used as his headquarters from 1917 to 1934. It’s now a museum and library. Between the heat, humidity and wall-to-wall tourists crammed inside, it wasn’t easy to see but worth the effort. It was especially hard for Kathy as she had to negotiate several flights of stairs.
In November 2010, President Barack Obama became the first high-profile international visitor to visit the Mani Bhavan in the last 50 years. Before him, only Martin Luther King Jr. had visited in the 1950s.
We got to spend some time at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formally Prince of Wales Museum of Western India) housing numerous forms of art and artifacts hailing from India, Tibet, Nepal and other far eastern countries. The museum also houses a collection of 2000 rare miniature paintings from several noteworthy art schools in India. Ancient Indian art and sculptures are exhibited in the museum's sculpture gallery and I especially liked the jade collection. The Indo-Gothic style museum building and grounds are worth the visit as well.
Our final stop of the shore excursion was the famous Gateway of India. Completed in 1924, the arch was erected to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder on their visit to India in 1911. The monument's design is a combination of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles. The arch is of Muslim style while the decorations are of Hindu style. The Gateway of India is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The gateway faces out to Mumbai Harbor from the tip of Apollo Bunder.
While we were standing in front admiring the arch, a well-dressed little boy with a camera politely asked if he could take a photo of his sister posing with us. We determined they didn’t want to pick our pockets or anything like that (we dealt with that in St. Petersburg, Russia) so we posed for them. I guess they thought we were photogenic or maybe they admired Kathy’s long blond/gray hair.
Across from the Gateway of India, we were able to see the front of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel which opened in 1903. The hotel was one of several sites in Mumbai attacked by terrorists on November 26th, 2008. The hotel sustained major damage including the destruction of its roof. Hostages were taken during the attacks, and at least 167 people were killed throughout Mumbai, including many foreigners. Thirty-one people died at the hotel and 58 were killed in Victoria Terminus. On November 6th, 2010, President Barack Obama became the first foreign head of state to stay at the Taj Mahal Palace after the attacks.
That night on the ship, we saw a Bollywood show put on by local performers. They had two guys who explained what was going on throughout the show. The basic premise is good guy meets girl, bad guy wants the same girl, good and bad guys fight, good guy wins and gets the girl.
The next day was spent at sea, heading west across the Arabian Sea toward Oman. I’m always interested in how things work so I paid to take the “Behind the Scenes” tour of the ship which takes you to places normally off limits to passengers. The tour started in the dining room where we learned how to make the fancy napkin folds they use (mine didn’t look quite right). Then we walked through the galley where the many chefs, cooks and assistants work their magic. Next, we walked down “I-95”, the corridor that runs the length of the ship where all the supplies move through. We saw how they clean the thousands of sheets, towels, and crew uniforms in the ship’s laundry. I thought the semi-automatic machine that pressed and folded the sheets was pretty cool. The engine control room was very interesting with all the video screens and schematic diagrams that the chief engineer tried to explain what they monitored or controlled. The final place on the tour was the bridge where we learned about the ship’s steering, navigation, etc. With all the GPS navigation, radar, electronic warnings, etc. they still post a sailor lookout at the front window of the bridge 24 hours a day.
We arrived at Muscat, Oman’s port capital that sits on the Gulf of Oman surrounded by mountains and desert. With history dating back to antiquity and invasions or occupations by Persians, Arab tribes, Portugal and Britain, it mixes high-rises and upscale shopping malls with clifftop landmarks such as the 16th-century Portuguese forts, Al Jalali and Mirani, looming over Muscat Harbor.
Our shore excursion took us through the city of Muscat passing the modern, marble-clad Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. With its 164 foot (50 m) dome and prodigious Persian carpet, the mosque can accommodate 20,000 people. We then passed a large complex surrounded by a wall that our guide said was one of six residences of the Sultan of Oman. We also drove past Lexus dealers, modern malls and all the major American fast food restaurants. Most signs are in English as well as Arabic and one sign on a butcher shop read: "Meat Products and Murdered Chicken".
Our first stop was a fish market in the town of Barkha. We walked around the stalls taking in the sights and smells and watched a fish auction. Our guide Hasaam explained that sellers would bring their catch and display it on a slab in front of the buyer. After a price was negotiated, the buyer would pull out some cash from a bag and pay the seller. There were also some fruit and vegetable stands at this market. Hasaam mentioned we should ask permission of the sellers to take any photos. Some didn’t mind while others didn’t want their photos taken.
After driving 75 miles (120 km) from Muscat, we arrived at the Nakhi Fort, an important medieval stronghold perched on a rocky prominence at the foot of Jebel Nakhal, a spur of the main Western Hajar mountain range. The fort dates back to the pre-Islamic period when it was originally built by the Sassanids as a bulwark against incursions by Arab tribes. Over the centuries, it underwent many renovations and improvements. It was reconstructed by Omani architects in the 17th century and fully renovated in 1990. The fort is built on several levels which again posed a challenge for Kathy because of hundreds of stair steps but she slowly made her way to the top. The climb was worth the view which included the ancient Nakhal village, palm tree orchards as well as the surrounding desert mountains.
Near the fort, we stopped at the Ain A'Thawwarah Hot Spring, a desert oasis. Its clear water hot spring and surrounding date palms make this a great area for a picnic and we saw many locals there doing just that.
Our final stop in Oman was at the Al Nahda Resort & Spa where we enjoyed a buffet lunch of typical Omani and western food. After lunch, I wandered around the grounds to see the garden and pool.
Our final port of call was Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE is a country in Western Asia at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf. It borders Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing maritime borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north. Over the past centuries, this area has been ruled by the Ottoman Empire, Portugal and Britain before the UAE was formed in 1971. The sovereign absolute monarchy is a federation of seven emirates each governed by a ruler; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the rulers serves as the President of the United Arab Emirates. UAE's population is 9.5 million people, of which only 11.4% are Emirati citizens and the rest are expatriates.
Dubai is the largest and most populous city and emirate in the UAE with a population of 3.1 million people. It’s known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and a lively nightlife scene. Burj Khalifa, a 2,716’ (828 m) tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies Dubai Fountain, with jets and lights choreographed to music. On artificial islands just offshore is Atlantis The Palm, a resort with water and marine-animal parks.
UAE is a bit of an enigma to me. The UAE's judicial system is derived from the civil law system and Sharia law. Under this law, dancing and kissing in public are illegal and can result in deportation. Flogging is a punishment for criminal offences such as adultery, premarital sex and alcohol consumption. Amputation, crucifixion and stoning are also legal punishments. While some of these laws are enforced on Muslims, many non-Muslim expatriates and even some tourists have been convicted and sentenced.
The reason for my enigma is woman must dress modestly but are allowed to wear swim suits at hotel pools and the beach. At the Dubai Mall, I saw many women dressed in shorts or short skirts. Also, I know alcohol is served in hotel bars. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are ultramodern tourist destinations and host major horse races, tennis and golf tournaments. It’s hard to believe that such a country would also have such barbaric punishments.
Singapore and Oman have similar strict laws. In Oman, we were on a guided tour the whole time so I figured the guide would keep us from doing something wrong. But in Singapore and Dubai, we were on our own so I knew we had to be especially careful. I never really felt uncomfortable in any of these countries as it helps to know the local laws and customs.
Since we were staying in Dubai on our own and skipping the last port, Abu Dhabi, we checked out of the ship and took a taxi to our hotel. For some odd reason, we had to pay an extra $65 to leave the ship a day early. Once again, we only had one night in Dubai so we hit the ground running. I should say walk & rolling as for the first time since Singapore, we used the transport wheelchair. First stop – the Burj Khalifa!
I have always loved spectacular views whether it came from a mountain, an airplane or a man-made structure. I’ve visited observation decks of many iconic buildings including the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, 30 Rock, and the Freedom Tower in New York City, the John Hancock Center and Sears Tower (since renamed Willis Tower) in Chicago. I’ve also seen many towers around the U.S. and the world including the Eifel Tower, the Tokyo tower, the Berlin Tower, the Space Needle, the Stratosphere Tower and the highest tower in the world, the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. So when I saw the Burj Khalifa being built back in 2004, I knew that somehow, I’d have to see it even though it was located in some exotic place half way around the world.
At over 2,716 feet (828 m) and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records:
• Tallest building in the world
• Tallest free-standing structure in the world
• Highest number of stories in the world
• Highest occupied floor in the world
• Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
• Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
• Tallest service elevator in the world
There are two observation decks in the building. The main observation deck is called “At the Top” and is located on the 124th floor (outside deck) and 125th floor (inside) and is 1,496 feet (456 m) high. This deck has all the shops, virtual reality rides, etc. found on most modern skyscraper observation decks.
The “At the Top, Sky Level” observation deck is located on the 148th floor and is 1,820 feet (555 m) high. It includes both an outdoor deck and an indoor lounge with large windows. The cost is substantially more to go to this deck and includes the very less crowded lounge and Arabic coffee and dates. Both decks cost more in the evening and you purchase entrance tickets for specific times so they can manage visitation.
We chose to buy tickets online before we started the trip. I figured we’d be able to get there around 3:30 p.m. so I purchased two tickets for that time. You have to go through the Dubai Mall to get to the entrance of the Burj Khalifa and we arrived about 30 minutes early. I asked if we could go up early and they said OK. We also were able to go to the head of the lines because of Kathy being in a wheelchair.
Before entering the elevator, a tour guide (ours was a Russian and most of the workers there are from Europe, Asia and Africa), led us through a hall displaying many construction photos and facts and told us all about the architects, construction companies, etc. While riding the elevator directly to the top, video is projected on the elevator walls simulating passing many of the world’s tallest landmarks.
When we reached the Sky Level lounge, we were offered the coffee and dates and immediately headed to the outside deck. The view was beyond my expectations. Surrounding the Burj Khalifa are dozens of beautiful modern skyscrapers, a man-made lake called the Dubai Fountain, the barren desert to the east and the Persian Gulf to the west. We couldn’t see the crazy man-made islands off shore but we could just make out the five-star Burj Al Arab Hotel, the fifth tallest hotel in the world.
After spending over an hour at the Sky Level lounge, taking probably a hundred photos and some video and then relaxing in a lounge chair just enjoying the view through the window, we took the elevator down to the 125th floor. Even at that level, nearby 70 story skyscrapers looked like toy buildings.
After getting back down to earth, I pushed Kathy around the Dubai Mall which is the largest mall in the world by total area. It also has a 250-room luxury hotel, the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, the world's largest OLED screen, 22 cinema screens plus 120 restaurants and cafes. Most of the shops found in American malls like Bath & Body Works and Pottery Barn and all the upscale shops like Gucci, Tiffany & Co. and Dior are located here. Many of the American fast food and other restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster and TGI Fridays are located in the mall.
The mall was pretty crowded and most of the visitors as well as the employees looked and dressed like western Europeans or North Americans. Most of the store signs were in English. If it wasn’t for a few men and women dressed in traditional Arab garb walking around, you’d swear you were in the U.S.A.
Of all the restaurant choices, we picked Charley’s Phillycheese Steaks for dinner. The only difference between that place and the Charley’s at our mall back home is I paid in AED (Arab Emirate Dirham) instead of dollars.
After dinner, we went just outside the mall to see the fountain show in the lake. It’s very similar to the fountain show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We watched it earlier in the day and they played traditional Arabic Music. For the night show, they played an old French song. The Burj Khalifa was also lit up with what looked like thousands of LED lights computer generated to show different patterns. These lights covered the entire face of the side of the building facing the lake. It wasn’t hot at all and was a great way to spend the evening.
The next day, we loaded the transport wheelchair into a taxi and headed for the airport. There’s so much more to see and do in Dubai – mosques, an indoor snow ski slope (really), museums and art museums to name a few, but we saw the main site we came to see and so it was time to head back to India.
We booked our flight from Dubai to Delhi, India on Emirates Airlines and we always thought they were one of the better air carriers. We reserved our seats when we booked the flight online but when we got on the plane, someone was in one of our seats. Apparently, they were actually assigned the same seat as one of ours. After standing in the aisle for about 15 minutes, they finally found two seats together for us way in the back.
Then when they were serving meals, they never offered us one. When Kathy pointed that out to a flight attendant, they only had a selection we didn’t care for. I guess they were having a “bad (h)air” day.
Finally, we gate checked the wheelchair which in most cases means the airline will deliver the wheelchair back to your arrival gate. When we got off the plane in Delhi, India, we were told the wheelchair would be at the baggage carousels. After looking for the wheelchair at the baggage carousels without luck, I finally found it at the oversize luggage area. Other than all that, Emirates was fine. ;-)
When we booked the room in Delhi, it included one free transport either two or from the airport. We chose to be picked up at the airport and found our driver without too much difficulty. The ride to the airport in a regular car was quite different than our previous bus rides on all the India shore excursions. Basically, everyone ignores lanes (if there even are painted lanes) and each car honks their horn and cuts off the car that occupies space they want to enter. After coming within inches of each other, one car finally backs off – truly crazy!
We arrived at our hotel which was quite a ways from any major tourist areas around 9:40 p.m. The area was not the greatest but the hotel was nice enough. It included breakfast and the room rate was very good. The location didn’t really matter as we were probably going to skip seeing any of Delhi anyway.
We woke up the next day at 6:00 a.m. full of anticipation for our day trip to Agra. We had booked a tour which included pick up at our hotel, a train ride to Agra, being met by a private guide and car at the train station in Agra, seeing three sites in and having lunch in Agra, the train ride back to Delhi and transport from the train station to our hotel. Would everything go as promised? Would the Taj Mahal be encased in scaffolding? It was now or never time.
Our car and driver Kishor arrived at the hotel at 6:45 and took us to the train station. Kishor actually led us through the VERY crowded and old train station. We put our backpacks through an x-ray machine like all the locals, but it wasn’t even working. To get to our track, we had to go up and down stairs. Kathy managed to do that while I carried the transport chair.
While we were waiting for our train, another train stopped at our platform. It wasn’t quite like the ones you see with people riding on top but there were people hanging out the doors and the doors and windows were all open indicating the cars were not air conditioned.
We told Kishor we were a little concerned that we didn’t have actual train tickets. He put us in touch with the tour company owner by phone and he told Kathy “Don’t worry, this is India”. He did text our tickets by phone to the Kishor’s phone and he then texted them to Kathy’s phone just to ease our concern.
Finally our train arrived and it was much nicer and air conditioned. Kishor made sure we got in the right car and said he’d be back to meet us that evening. We had reserved seats and the conductor never asked to see any tickets. So far, so good.
The train ride to Agra took one hour, forty minutes. Most of the scenery consisted of slum housing with garbage strewn about and a few crop fields in between. They actually served a meal on the train consisting of many mystery items. All in all, the train ride was pretty nice and a much better way to go than driving. I believe they have a new highway between Delhi and Agra but the traffic is still bad and it can take many more hours to make the trip by car which means you have less time in Agra.
We were met in Agra by our driver Pappu and guide Farid. We also briefly met the tour company owner Salamat.
First stop on our Agra tour was the Taj Mahal, an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna River. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 42 acre complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. It also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan, the builder. Twenty thousand artisans were employed to build the complex which took 21 years and was completed in 1653.
The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7 to 8 million visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World initiative.
You cannot drive or park a car or bus near the Taj Mahal because they are now trying to protect it from exhaust damage. So we parked about a mile away and Farid, Kathy, me, a driver and our folded transport wheelchair all squeezed in to a three wheel Tuk Tuk which took us to the security check point at the entrance to the Taj Mahal grounds. We got there around 10:30 and it was already getting crowded. The checkpoint was kind of a zoo and again, I don’t know how thorough it was.
Once we got through “security”, several guys trying to make some money offered to push Kathy but I insisted on doing it myself. I do have to give them credit for offering to work as opposed to begging. We were confronted by many beggers in India including mothers holding small children.
We could tell Farid was genuinely passionate about the story and architecture of the Taj Mahal. We paused outside the Royal Gate for some narration before entering through the gate. When we got through the gate, I was totally amazed to see there was absolutely no scaffolding around the Taj Mahal’s main mausoleum or minarets! There was no cleaning going on and from what I could tell, the cleaning was done (except for the dome as they’re trying to figure out how to set up the scaffolding around it). I’m guessing it looked as it must have when it was completed over 450 years ago. The only thing making the view less than perfect was the long pool in front had been drained and was just starting to be refilled. This took away the chance to see the reflection of the Taj Mahal in the pool but I’d rather have that than scaffolding any day.
Regarding travel, I’ve always thought timing is everything, and our timing to see Agra was very good. Besides the cleaning factor, Farid told us just that just 12 days earlier, a freak wind storm with gusts up to 81 mph (130 km/h) hit Agra causing downed trees and considerable damage to the Taj Mahal complex and Agra Fort. At least 42 people were killed in the storm including 23 in Agra. The damage at the Taj Mahal complex included two minarets on the Royal and South gates and some damage to other buildings. One of the minarets was actually toppled and we saw parts of it on the ground. Fortunately, the famous main mausoleum building and its minarets did not appear to be damaged. Farid said he was giving an American family a tour during that storm and they had to stay in the car while it was rocking heavily from the wind.
Nine days after we were there, Agra got hit with a massive dust storm. This one had winds of 82mph (132 km/h) and at least 43 people were killed and 51 injured. When we were there, it was very hot and humid but the sky was clear so we really dodged a bullet (or two)!
Farid took us all around the grounds and then we had to leave the wheelchair with a guy who would keep an eye on it and put on cloth covers over our shoes so we could see the inside of the main mausoleum. Once we got up close to the walls of the mausoleum, Farid pointed out the incredible precious and semi-precious stone inlay work covering the exterior and interior.
The inlays on the walls and floors which depict plants, flowers and verses of the Koran are made with agate, turquoise, lapis- lazuli, coral, onyx, cat’s eye, jade and blood stone. Rare and uncommon stones including goldstone and magnet stone as well as common stones including grey and yellow sandstone, black slate and white marble were also used.
Inside the main mausoleum, we saw finely carved stone lattices which surround the faux tombs of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The real tombs are under the faux tombs and are not viewable by the public.
One other highlight of the Taj Mahal is because of the white marble exterior, its color appears different both during sunrise, sunset and under a full moon. Farid had photos showing us the different effects light has on the Taj.
Farid was definitely an expert on the facts and lore of the Taj. One interesting fact is the four minarets surrounding the main mausoleum actually tilt about an inch (2.5 cm) outward so if they ever fell, they would fall away from the main mausoleum and not damage it. Farid also mentioned that Shah Jahan planned to build a black mausoleum for himself across the river from the Taj.
After we returned home, I read a book that claims many of the facts and lore regarding the Taj have either been embellished over the years or are simply not true. Regardless of that, the Taj Mahal is still an amazing, spectacular, awe-inspiring and unique place to visit.
After seeing the Taj Mahal, we were taken to the Pinch of Spice Restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was air conditioned so we had a good break from the heat and humidity. They brought the food “home style” and it consisted of mostly Indian cuisine including noodles, chicken, cheese, lentils, soup, garlic bread and a variety of spicy sauces. Everything was included except drinks so Kathy and I both ordered a large beer. I don’t care for real spicy Indian food but this was served where you could make it as spicy as you preferred so we enjoyed the meal. We had ice cream for desert and were then ready for the rest of our Agra tour.
Next up was the Agra Fort. The fort is a 94 acre walled city completed in 1573. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. Before capture by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas. The Agra fort is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. There were some long sloping ramps in and out of the fort which made pushing Kathy in the transport wheelchair a good workout but Farid helped a few times and we managed.
From Agra Fort we drove to the I'timād-ud-Daulah. Completed in 1628, this mausoleum is also known as the “Baby Taj” as it’s a scaled down version of the Taj Mahal. It has nice inlay and stone lattice work as well and a garden where Farid pointed out a couple obviously in love. He said they were from different casts, were forbidden to see each other, and this park provided a secluded and safe place for them to meet without being caught. That couple and only a few other people were there – quite a difference from the previous crowds we encountered.
We still had about an hour before we had to catch our train back to Delhi so we had the obligatory stop at a gift shop owned by a friend of Farid or his company no doubt. We are both not big shoppers at all but politely looked around and made one last use of the toilets in the restaurant next door. We knew that when you can find a western style toilet in India, don’t pass up the opportunity.
Before departing for the train station, Salamat joined us in the car and asked how everything went. We told him we were very satisfied with the whole tour and would leave a positive review on Viator’s site as well as Trip Advisor. He mentioned next time, we should book directly through his company, Saniya Tour & Travels and we would save money by not going through Viator.com. I knew this but still prefer to go through a company like Viator where you can see many online reviews.
At the train station, Pappu made sure we got on the right car and then we were on our way back to Delhi. They offered another meal on the train but I think we both passed this time. Kishor met us in the Delhi station and pushed Kathy back to the car. It was very crowded and Kishor wasn’t as polite as me when it came to crowds so it was kind of a wild ride for Kathy. She also had to climb some stairs one last time.
After another wild, horn-honking and harrowing ride through traffic, we arrived back unscathed at our hotel shortly after 8:00 p.m. We were very satisfied and happy that our full and eventful day went off without a hitch!
We didn’t have to be at the airport for our flight heading home the next day until around 9:00 p.m. so we left our last day unplanned. We had the option of taking a guided tour of Delhi, seeing Delhi on our own or just relaxing. The problem with the relaxing option is our hotel check-out time was 1:30 p.m. Since I had toured Delhi years before and we had seen everything we hoped to see on this trip already, Kathy was fine with skipping a tour of Delhi and paying a little extra to stay at the hotel until 5:00 p.m. We just rested in the room and watched a few Indian shows on TV.
It took a little over an hour in the Delhi traffic for our one last horn-infused ride to Indira Gandhi International Airport. While waiting in the checkout line, United Airlines agents seemed overly concerned about Kathy being in a transport wheelchair. Then while going through the security check point, they seemed to not know what Kathy’s corkscrew was, and apparently my 4½ inch (11 cm) tall metal Burj Khalifa souvenir looked like a pointed knife in the x-ray machine. After empting both our carry-on bags for inspection we were cleared to proceed.
We had our “farewell dinner” at an Irish pub in the airport terminal before departing on a United Airlines B-777-200 just before midnight. The flight to Newark, New Jersey took 14 hours. After clearing Customs and Immigration, we had about four more hours before our flight to San Francisco which took a little over five hours.
We took a SuperShuttle van back to Darrin’s house where we left our car. Darrin had planned to pick us up at the airport but he was still recovering from his surgery. After a short visit with Darrin, we drove the final 110 miles (177 km) home arriving at 5:10 p.m. local time (5:40 a.m. India time). I lost count of how many time zone changes we went through on this trip and as usual, it took me several days to readjust to the time change and jet lag.
While not the longest timewise, this was truly our most epic trip. We traveled 27,789 miles (44,722 km) by air, ship, boat, train, bus, car, Tuk Tuk, walking and transport wheelchair.
Between walking on the ship and using the transport wheelchair in Singapore, Agra and at the airports, Kathy endured her pain and survived the trip without further damaging her hip. In fact, we did another trip (a road trip around Texas that we had actually planned before this trip) just a month after this trip. Kathy again managed by having me push her in the transport wheelchair on part of that trip. She had her hip replacement surgery about three months after returning from the Texas trip. She is slowly but surely recovering and hopes to do some hikes on future trips.
After visiting over 100 foreign countries and territories and all seven continents, people often ask me what my favorite trip is. I always tell them it’s too hard to choose one because they have all been so different. Some have included either wildlife viewing, architecture, history, museums, culture, cities, UNESCO world heritage sites, trekking, sailing, geographical scenery or a combination of one or more of these. This trip included all of the above except trekking, and because it allowed me to check off two items on my “Bucket List”, I can say it’s definitely one of my top three all-time favorite trips!
Click or tap here to see an album of 100 photos from this trip: Cruise Photos, then open the first photo. I labeled all photos and if you want to see the caption, click or tap on the orange information button on the lower right. The captions won't show if you use the slideshow mode.
Short videos of scenes from several places visited on this trip:
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