Family Road Trip — Varanasi — Agra — Varanasi

“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.”

The 2022 Holi break, it’s the time of the year to go and meet parents, eat delicacies, and enjoy family time.
It’s been a long since my parents took a break from their monotonous life and go for a short trip, so I had a chat with my wife, and brother to reach a consensus that let’s go on a Road Trip to Agra, as 3 out of 5 people haven’t seen Taj Mahal :P

Holi Conclave

I, my wife and brother have come together from Bengaluru to Varanasi to celebrate Holi with the family.
Holi is very close to me as it’s one of the three biggest festivals we celebrate in our culture.
It’s pretty much amped up with Thandai (drink), colors, and throwing water balloons, with people celebrating all around the ghats. It’s a colorful time in Varanasi that people should experience once in their lifetime.

Family Road Trip Commence

We’ve already told my parents on the day we came to Varanasi, that we will be heading to Agra the day after the Holi festival.
As usual, we started our journey early morning at 5 am, the road was free of traffic and we were gunning our way to Agra.
The route we took was as follows Varanasi-Handia-Raebareli-Lucknow-Agra, from Lucknow we took Agra-Lucknow Expressway. This was the first time I was driving on an expressway and I was very excited. (Spoiler Alert —According to me expressways are pretty boring after the first few hours of driving).
In the entire 650 km of drive, we took one break, on the expressway as there was a junction at the halfway point, with refreshments and tank refilling services. The drive was worth it, for me it was a personal achievement that got unlocked :P

Day 1 : Taj Mahal | Agra Fort | Fatehpur Sikri

It was a new day, woke up early in the morning pulled the curtain and there it was, the Taj Mahal visible from the window of the hotel room.

We got ready quickly, had breakfast, and went to the Taj Mahal. Since we were staying close to the monument it took us 15 minutes to reach. We had a guide who was telling us about the architecture, cost of labor, and other intricate details about the monuments which were very informative and fascinating to know.

After completing the Taj Mahal tour we went to Agra Fort, which was the main residence of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638 when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. The fort was huge with a lot of architectural marvels, only disappointing thing was that people haven't taken care of the monuments as they should've done because there are a lot of engravings all over which was sad.

After the tour of Agra Fort, we went for lunch and headed straight to Fatehpur Sikri to see Buland Darwaza, it was built by Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujrat. It was an architectural marvel which shows sophistication and the height of technology during that era.

Day 2: Mathura | Vrindavan

Finally, the day arrive for which my parents and wife were eagerly waiting, the mandir darshan.
Since, we went all the way to Agra, my parents, and wife told me that Mathura and Vrindavan are pretty close, let’s add that to the itinerary and we went for it.

Mathura is known as the birthplace of Lord Krishna and Vrindavan is considered to be the place where Lord Krishna spent part of his childhood.
We went to a lot of temples which include Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple, Banke Bihari Temple, ISCKON, Nidhivan Temple, etc.

Homecoming

It was the end of the tour and today we were heading back.
The trip was great fun, it helped my parents also to get relax from their day-to-day routine and helped me to connect with family and experience a different culture of a new city.
I would always cherish the memory of this trip, it holds a special place.

Conclusion

Things to note:-
=> Reach the Taj Mahal as early as possible in the morning, the lesser number of people the better the view and it will be easier to walk around the monuments and can get great pictures as well.
=> Most of the tickets you can get online from the ASI (Archeological Survey of India) website, which would save you a ton of time as you don’t need to stand in a queue for the ticket.
=> Do carry a cap, sunscreen, and water bottle with you at all times if you’re going in summer or at the start of the summertime, as it’s extremely hot.
=> Don’t wear spectacles and keep checking your phone while walking in Mathura and Vrindavan because monkeys will come out of nowhere and snatch the belonging and then you’ve to bribe your way out by giving a Frooti (Mango Drink) in exchange for your belonging.