How to spend a day in Agra, India

If you visit India, especially Delhi, you must take at least half a day to see the Taj Mahal.

Personally, though, I recommend going to Agra earlyyyyy in the morning, like 4:00 AM and getting to the Taj Mahal right before sunrise. No one is going to be there, and you will have the whole space to yourself for a good 25 minutes. The Taj is a sight to see this early in the morning. Since the marble used in the Taj Mahal is slightly transparent, the Taj Mahal will appear orange in the rising sun.

However, you can’t see the Taj Mahal without going at sunset, which is why you need to hit the Taj early in the morning, find something to do in Agra, and then come back right before sunset. Again, the transparent marble will appear purple, pink, and orange in the setting sun.

Getting to Agra from Delhi

If you are close enough to go to Agra, you are probably coming from Delhi. Delhi has an established train system that will get you straight to Agra in 2 to 3 hours. Your driver will drop you off as close as possible, and you will have about a 10-minute walk to the train station itself. At the train stations, you will see some of the most authentic people in the Delhi area, lots of local people. Enjoy the views on the train ride and soon enough you will be in Agra. Consider a tour guide in Agra who will pick you up from the train station and take you to the Taj Mahal.

Many recommend taking a car to get to Agra, but that can take up to 5 hours, and you don’t want to waste your time in India driving.

Taj Mahal at sunrise

Going early, you will not have to worry about shoulder-to-shoulder crowds to see the Taj. You can get in fairly quickly through the West entrance and see the Taj Mahal as the sun rises. Don’t lose the token they give you or you may have to pay extra to leave!

After seeing the Taj Mahal at sunrise

After spending a good hour or two at the Taj Mahal, you will need a moment to relax. This is when I suggest having your tour guide take you to a nice local hotel with a restaurant. You can get your lunch in, sit in the lobby for a bit, and then find something fun to do in Agra. My group personally visited a stone engraving shop and bought some goodies. Outside of the Taj Mahal, many tourists struggle finding something to do in Agra. Even the local Indians will say that the Taj Mahal is the economy of Agra, and besides it, the rest of Agra is mostly underdeveloped.

Go back to the Taj at sunset!

This time around at the Taj, you will notice a lot more people. It can be quite busy after morning time. However, once you make it past the entrance, you will have room to move, and you can find some hidden corners to take in the view and snap some pictures.

I personally would not spend the night in Agra. You will most likely have a hotel in Delhi already, and you don’t want to lug all of your belongings on the train and wait for a hotel. Leave Agra after sunset, make your way back to Delhi, and find something to do in Delhi for the rest of your night, whether it's underground shopping, catching a bite to eat, or more!

Is Air India Worth It?

Air India: to fly or not to fly?

The first thing you hear online about Air India is that the planes are dirty and the food is bad. Yes, it is a budget airline, but that does not make it automatically a bad choice. Air India operates in the same way that every other international airline does. 

In total, I have taken four flights through Air India (two of them being over fifteen hours each). I was pleasantly surprised by the airline on all four of my flights. Here, I will dig into the common factors people look at when deciding to fly with Air India:

Timeliness 9/10

Three out of the four flights I took on Air India were on time. The only flight I took with them that was delayed was from Delhi to Chennai, which was only a one-hour delay – not bad at all. The weather conditions were good around all of the flights, so that might explain why we didn’t have many delays, but airlines can’t control the weather to begin with. Air India goes the extra mile to make sure you aren't gonna spend a whole day at the airport.

Cleanliness 7/10

In terms of general cleanliness, Air India gets a 7/10, but in terms of airplane cleanliness Air India would get a 9/10. People always assume Air India is flat-out filthy, and sites like Business Insider have made this claim too. However, Air India is on a par with the other airlines like United. You aren't going to walk on the plane and think "This is dirty," but I would recommend bringing disinfecting wipes as always -- this goes for any airline. I always suggest wiping down your seat, armrests, screen, and any handles thoroughly. The bathrooms get just as dirty as on any other plane, but the flight attendants do clean them frequently.

Customer Service 8/10

The flight attendants on this airline want everything to go smoothly and efficiently. They will help if you are looking for your seat, putting a bag up in the overhead, or need assistance throughout the flight. They are also fast when getting you drinks and they make sure you have snacks and water. I had a little cup of water on my flight from Delhi to Chicago, and I knew that wasn't going to cut it, so I found a flight attendant and she gave me a water bottle bigger than your average Ice Mountain bottle. 

Food 8/10

Airplane food is not the best to begin with, but Air India's food is not bad. They bring out more meals than your average airline, and they have plenty of options. Most people just aren't accustomed to the types of food you see on an Air India flight. Come open and prepared for noodles, potatoes, breads, and lots of spice. The food won't get you sick and the altitude does not change the flavors by much. If you plan on taking trains in India, then you will see a lot of similar food on the trains as you would have on the flights. 

Overall atmosphere 9/10 

As many of Air India's flights are longer than 10 hours, people make the best of the situation. You will see lots of people walking up and down the aisles, and they even recommend doing that so you don't have any medical problems from sitting down for so long and not having your blood moving. Take advantage of the flight to look out the windows (maybe see the Northern Lights), try new food, and meet new people who are on your flight. 

So, don't disregard Air India if you are flying to India or looking for a cheaper flight. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Long Haul Flight Essentials

Flying internationally? If you are taking a longer flight (9 hours +), you are going to

need to come prepared.

Triple-check that you have your passport, visa (if needed), and wallet. You aren’t

going to go anywhere without those three things, literally.

However, you aren’t going to have a fun or bearable flight without the following five

things:

1. Disinfecting wipes

This might seem self-explanatory, but many people do not think to bring these. The last thing you want is to get sick as you are quite frankly starting your vacation. Disinfect the seat, headrest, armrests, table, and screen on your seat. These parts of the plane are never properly cleaned as flight attendants don’t have the time to disinfect them and they also aren’t getting paid when the plane is on the ground. 

2. Neck pouch/wallet

A lot of people suggest a blow-up neck pillow since you can store it easily in your suitcase. However, I don’t find a memory foam neck pillow to take up any space as many of them have button-up straps so you can attach them to your bookbag or even suitcase. TSA is not going to make you fit this pillow in your bag, so there is no need to get one that is compact. Any long flight is not comfortable without a high-quality pillow as you can not get any sleep, and the provided neck pillows on these flights just aren’t thick enough to keep you comfortable.

3. Memory foam neck pillow

A lot of people suggest a blow-up neck pillow since you can store it easily in your suitcase. However, I don’t find a memory foam neck pillow to take up any space as many of them have button-up straps so you can attach them to your bookbag or even suitcase. TSA is not going to make you fit this pillow in your bag, so there is no need to get one that is compact. Any long flight is not comfortable without a high-quality pillow as you can not get any sleep, and the provided neck pillows on these flights just aren’t thick enough to keep you comfortable.

4. Dual charger and headphone jack

If you don’t have Bluetooth earphones or don’t want to risk losing your expensive earphones in a foreign country, then bring a cheap pair of wired earbuds. Doing this, though, you will have to plug it into your charger port if you have an iPhone or similar phone. Eventually, your phone will die and you will have to decide between charging your phone or using your earbuds, but not both. An adaptor like this is compact and allows you to do both. Trust me, you will go crazy without some type of sound on the plane.

5. American snacks

Lastly, airplane food is not always good, especially if you are on a budget airline. Food tastes different at such a high elevation, and it can mess with your taste buds and stomach. The smell of the food on my flights is what made me not want to eat it. It probably would have smelled okay on the ground, but those noodles or whatever United Airlines cooked were not going in my body without puking because of what it smelled like. Yes, I had to plug my nose. However, I had some snacks from home that never let me down and were processed enough that they could not smell much different at this elevation – I am talking about you Pringles, Reeses, and Welches. Just remember to bring a variety of snacks because chocolate, for example, during a 15-hour flight is not very good either.

Roaming out of Rome

Get out of Rome

If you are staying in Rome for more than 3 days, then I would highly recommend taking a day trip outside of the city. I don't mean going to another large city like Florence for a day -- I mean going to a more quaint town or village. You will see more locals and have a more relaxing time. Some of the popular, small places to visit include:

- Ostia Antica

- Orvieto

- Gaeta 

Where I went:

I went to all of these cities, but today I am going to focus on Gaeta. From my experience, most people do not pick Gaeta, but I had the most authentic experience there in comparison to any other place I went to in or outside of Rome. 

Getting to Gaeta

Taking a bus or a Taxi to Roma Termini is going to be your best bet. My friends and I took a bus because it was cheaper and you aren't going to get scammed by the bus driver. However, I never fully learned how the busses worked there, and I relied on my friends to pick the right busses (we only got lost a few times on buses in Rome). 

Once you get to Roma Termini, try to print out your ticket at one of the machines, but if that doesn't work don't freak out. Just casually walk to your train and get on (you will still have your ticket online and they only check for tickets half of the time). 

The train ride is a little over an hour from Roma Terminia to Formia-Gaeta, the train station in Gaeta. During this ride, I recommend learning how to ask for directions in Italian because you aren't going to find many more English speakers in Gaeta. 

Once in Gaeta, you will have to take the shuttle from the train station to the bus stop. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a bus to come, but we finally found one and got off at Palm Beach. Make sure you actually pay for the bus ticket here because they do check for tickets on buses in these local cities (someone got escorted off by a police officer for riding without a ticket). 

Palm Beach

If you get to Gaeta early enough, then I suggest getting off at the last train stop which is at Castello Angioino. Pay the $40 to get in and see the views or find a boat excursion on Trip Advisor for cheap -- you can also go swimming off the boats. 

However, if you are on a time crunch, then just stop at Palm Beach, eat some lunch, walk up the beach, and relax. You will know you are in the right place if there is an abandoned boat on shore. 

It even rained while we were on this beach, but that just made us say "Oh well" and full-on swim while we were here. Yes, you will be wet, but just bring a pair of clothes and you will be fine. 

Gaeta was so empty even compared to the beaches at Ostia Antica. The public beach in Ostia Antica was a square the size of about Planet Fitness, and the sand was dark gray. However, Palm Beach is also public, spans for quite a bit, and has pretty sand and water. 

P.S. Don't be the "cool" history experts in your group who plan to go to Pompei and not tell anyone else because you don't want train tickets to sell out. You will have more fun at a beach and meet more local people. And besides, you will go on enough tours in Rome, so why spend your day trip with another guided tour.