DAY 10 (1/3): TRAIN 12627, Agra to Delhi, India, 2018.12.03
After 9 days in the desert state of Rajasthan and historical capital of Agra, it finally came to the last day of our short Indian holiday, the moment of returning to Delhi to complete the Golden Triangle. For 2372 rupees, we purchased two tickets and seat reservations on the Karnataka Express 12627 through an online agent, leaving Agra Cantonment Railway Station (Agra Cantt) at 6:45am and arriving New Delhi Railway Station at 10:30am, bringing us back to the Indian capital in under four hours. It was a sleeper train and we didn’t bother to pull up the sleeper units back to their original upright positions, but just sat down on the sleeper unit for the journey.
As a premium tourist destination in the country, Agra Cantt Station looked rather simple and chaotic.
During the four hour train ride, we passed by a number of shanty towns along the railway tracks.
People were everywhere. Often, the railway tracks served as a gathering place.
At other instances, the tracks had become a pedestrian passageway.
Many houses along the tracks were painted in vivid colours.
Many suburban trains were fully packed with commuters. Most third class train cabins would not limit the number of passengers.
Indian trains are not particular fast in speed. As a result, commuters could stand right next to the door openings.
Our train ride hit the rush hour of a Monday morning when local students and workers headed out for their routine destinations.
Time to go to work.
Simple shelters between train tracks formed a small community for the underprivileged.
Close encounter with the morning commuters.
A final look at our train car before getting off. The front right hand unit was our sleeper unit for the short journey.
After 9 days, we finally returned to New Delhi.
Upon arrival, we found our way out of the station. We had a full day ahead of us in Delhi before our flight back to Hong Kong.
We stepped out of New Delhi Station and found our way over to the Airport Express Station next door.
We decided to left our big backpacks at the storage at the Airport Express Station for the day.
After leaving our bags, we headed over to Khan Market, a well known shopping district in New Delhi. We picked up several souvenirs (local handicrafts) and searched for a place to eat.
For lunch, we selected SodaBottleOpenerWala, an interesting Bombay Iranian style restaurant serving Parsi and Bombay inspired Indian food.
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Posts on 2018 Rajasthan:-
Day 1: Jodhpur
DAY 1.1: IN TRANSIT TO RAJASTHAN
DAY 1.2: PAL HAVELI & THE OMELETTE MAN, Jodhpur
DAY 1.3: SPLENDOR OF THE SUN FORT, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur
DAY 1.4: SUNSET OVER THE BLUE CITY, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur
DAY 1.5: SADAR MARKET AND GHANTA GHAR CLOCKTOWER, Jodhpur
Day 2: Jodhpur, Osian, Jaisalmer
DAY 2.1: MARBLE CENOTAPH JASWANT THADA, Jodhpur
DAY 2.2: MEDIEVAL STEPWELLS, Mahila Bagh Ka Jhalra, Gulab Sagar, & Toorji Ka Jhalra, Jodhpur
DAY 2.3: PILGRIM OASIS IN THAR DESERT, Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian
DAY 2.4: SUNRISE AT THE FIRST GATE OF GOLDEN FORT, Jaisalmer
Day 3: Jaisalmer
DAY 3.1: THE GOLDEN LIVING FORT, Jaisalmer
DAY 3.2: JAIN TEMPLES PART 1, Jaisalmer
DAY 3.3: JAIN TEMPLES PART 2, Jaisalmer
DAY 3.4: FORT PALACE, Jaisalmer
Day 4: Jaisalmer
DAY 4.1: RESERVOIR OF THE GOLDEN CITY, Gadsisar Lake, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.2: ARCHITECTURAL JEWEL OF RAJASTHAN, Patwon Ki Haveli Part 1, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.3: ARCHITECTURAL JEWEL OF RAJASTHAN, Patwon Ki Haveli Part 2, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.4: DESERT HERITAGE, Hotel Nachana Haveli and Thar Heritage Museum, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.5: LAST STROLL IN THE GOLDEN CITY, Jaisalmer
Day 5: Pushkar
DAY 5.1: RANIKHET EXPRESS
DAY 5.2: 52 BATHING GHATS, Pushkar
DAY 5.3: SUNSET OVER SACRED WATER, Pushkar
Day 6: Pushkar & Jaipur
DAY 6.1: SUNRISE OVER PUSHKAR LAKE, Pushkar
DAY 6.2: GRANDEUR OF THE MAHARAJA, City Palace, Jaipur
DAY 6.3: IN SEARCH OF 1860 CARL ZEISS CAMERA, Jaipur
Day 7: Jaipur
DAY 7.1: AMBER FORT, Jaipur
DAY 7.2: JAIGARH FORT, Jaipur
DAY 7.3: MAHARAJA’S ASTRONOMICAL LEGACY, Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
DAY 7.4: PALACE OF WINDS, Hawa Mahal, Jaipur
Day 8: Bhangarh, Abhaneri & Agra
DAY 8.1: ON THR ROAD TO AGRA
DAY 8.2: HAUNTED RUINS, Bhangarh, Rajasthan
DAY 8.3: CHAND BAORI, Abhaneri, Rajasthan
DAY 8.4: THE ABANDONED CAPITAL OF MUGHAL EMPIRE, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 8.5: FRIDAY MOSQUE, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Day 9: Agra
DAY 9.1: CROWN OF THE PALACES, Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 9.2: AGRA FORT, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 9.3: RAWATPARA SPICE MARKET, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 9.4: SUNSET AT MEHTAB BAGH, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Day 10: Delhi
DAY 10.1: TRAIN 12627, Agra to Delhi
DAY 10.2 : HUMAYUN’S TOMB, Delhi
Day 10.3: NIZAMUDDIN BASTI, Delhi
Blue Lapis Road 