Chand Baori is simply the most amazing piece of architecture I've seen while traveling in India. It is an ancient stepwell built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village, located more precisely between Jaipur and Agra. One of the largest stepwells in the world and also one of the most beautiful.
The goal after leaving Jaipur in direction to Agra was of course to visit the famous Taj Mahal like many others. Agra is an unappealing city itself and only because of Taj Mahal millions of people go there. I must confess that I didn't want to loose my time and money with the visit, which for tourists costs 1000 rs (around 12 EUR). It was quite expensive for Indian and European standards, and at the end I got the feeling it was actually not worth the money. As a tourist you can only buy the ticket reserved for foreigners, called the high value ticket. This gives you access to the site without waiting lines, which is the opposite from the locals, that have to wait for hours at the entrance of Taj Mahal and also outside its grounds. You’re seen like a VIP guest and will be treated that way. Before entering the Taj Mahal building you're requested to put some kind of socks in your shoes so that the monument stays clean. The problem was, not speaking badly about the Indians, but they have a natural capacity for throwing everything on the floor, including the used socks.
During our time in Rajasthan we met with a silver manufacturer, a textile expert - The Gandhi, Textile Cottage Factory - a stone expert, a spice connoisseur - Royal Spices and Tea - and in Agra we went to see how the ivory-white marble and its floral designs - Marble Handicrafts Shivnath & Company - like the ones in Taj Mahal, are produced.
Next Stop: Varanasi, India
For more information:
http://www.india.com/travel/agra
http://www.india.com/travel/agra
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