Web Resources

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

OBEROI AMARVILAS
Natalie and I were only supposed to have a tour and lunch at the nearby Oberoi Amarvilas but when we walked in, we were blown away. I knew the five star hotel has won all kinds of awards (ranked the eighth best hotel in the world by Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2008 and ranked the sixth best hotel in the world by Travel + Leisure, World's Best Awards Readers' Poll 2008). But I had no idea how incredible it was going to be. First of all, The Oberoi Amarvilas is the only hotel with a view of the Taj Mahal. The service, as you might imagine, is insane and all the staff are dressed in traditional Indian attire.

CANCEL THE REST OF THE TOUR
The hotel was so nice we asked if they had a room available for the day. When we were told that one was available, we told Warren that we were all done for the day and blew off the last sights on the tour; they were over an hour's drive away. Instead, we decided to just relax, have lunch and sit by the pool for the next seven hours before boarding the Shatabadi Express return train to Delhi at 8pm.

THE HOTEL
It turns out that The Oberoi Amarvilas is located just 600 meters (656 yards) from the Taj Mahal. The hotel is built in an inspired Moorish- and Mughal-style architecture and all of the rooms (109), lobby, bar and lounge have breathtaking views of the monument.



THE ROOM
The rooms are a standard size but are luxurious. There's a flat screen TV with satellite, working desk with free wired and wireless Internet, a walk-in closet, mini-bar and a marble, well-appointed bathroom with Ayurvedic toiletries. This should give you an idea how good the service is: Natalie didn't have any contact solution so she called down to ask if they sold any. They didn't but offered to go out and buy some for $3 extra. Within 15 minutes, they had brought her what she needed and it was the same price as at home. The maids also turned down the bed within minutes of us asking for pillows for an afternoon nap. The windows were solid and I didn't hear any beeping horns from the street, nor could I even see the street. All I saw was the lush green lawns, the beautiful terraces, fountains, and swimming pools. Walking around the grounds (they have a pet monkey), makes you feel like you've stepped back in time. That's how nice it is.

DINING
The resort has two restaurants, both offering fine international cuisine and Indian food. We ate lunch at Bellevue restaurant, which is the main restaurant and where they serve breakfast. I had the chicken curry and Natalie had the risotto. They both hit the spot and if it weren't for the loud, obnoxious couple from L.A. sitting next to us, we would have had dessert at the table. Instead, we asked to have it served in our room, which was not a problem and turned out to be a better choice since we had a wonderful view of the Taj in the near distance.

NAP TIME
The bed was dreamy and the two-hour nap was perfect to recharge our batteries. Around 6pm, when the sun went down, the tiki torches were lit all around the property. FYI: You can't see the Taj at night; there are no lights illuminating it. Out by the incredible pool they had dancers and live music but I was too tired to get up close and I didn't feel like fending off the mosquitoes. Unfortunately, we weren't able to spend a whole night here but can you imagine waking up and the first sight you see when you open your eyes is of the glorious Taj Mahal?

SECURITY
FYI: Security at the Oberoi Amarvilas has been intensified. Amongst the measures, armed guards from Agra police have been deployed at the hotel, the strength of security personnel in and around the hotel has been increased and periphery patrolling has been enhanced. The hotel continues to operate normally.

AGRA TRAIN STATION
The train back to Delhi was 20 minutes late. It was tough waiting on the platform because we were constantly being approached by little children, some with polio, begging for money. It was heart wrenching. Supposedly polio is now being treated – the last six years, the government has stepped in and I was told that everyone is now getting shots for polio. It's wrong to give these kids money but I bought them some snacks from a concession stand, though what they wanted was money.

TRAIN BACK TO DELHI
The train ride home was similar to the way down but it was much filthier – there were garbage wrappers all around from previous passengers, and many of the locals around us all had loud cell phone rings and tended to cough without covering their mouths (a pet peeve of mine). They served dinner and the dahl was good, if a bit spicy. I didn't touch the salad (hot pepper, radish ...), but I had the naan bread. Natalie and I each got another bottle of water (we were hoarding it, since we couldn't drink or brush our teeth with the tap water) and the service was fast; food was served within 10 minutes of boarding the train.

VIDEO
Here's a Johnny Jet video of my trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal. It's on YouTube so it only takes a second to load and we have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on their servers.

NEXT WEEK
Next week, we go on safari to look for tigers deep in the Indian jungle!

1 | 2 | <<< PREVIOUS PAGE | 4

*PLEASE tell us what you think of this week's newsletter!





Copyright 2009 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.