Admittedly, we booked onto G Adventures trip of India’s Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra & Jaipur), primarily to see the Taj Mahal – one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
However, we’ve also experienced from a unique perspective what the life of a child is like growing up in India; a cafe run by female victims of acid attacks, as well as seeing the ‘Baby Taj’ (the Tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah) and Agra Fort.
Salaam Baalak Trust – Delhi
G Adventures is partnered with Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) – an Indian non-profit and non-governmental trust, which helps vulnerable children, giving them a secure place to sleep, as well as education, food and most importantly, love.
On Monday, we were given a tour of the back streets of a small town in New Delhi by Devraj – a 20-year-old male boy from Nepal.
We soon learned about his background of how he was forced to beg and steal after family complications in his home town of Mumbai led to him making the move to New Delhi.
However, after coming to the Trust in 2014, and becoming a tour guide on (SBT)’s City Walk Programme, which was through the narrow streets he showed us down, he admitted that his “life had changed forever.”
After changing his life around and studying hard, he now has the aspiration of one day becoming a dance choreographer – Everyone should dream big.
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib – Delhi
Without realising, Emily and I had visited this same Sikh temple just two days prior, but we revisited it as part of the G Adventures tour.
You can read more about our experience here.
Baby Taj – Agra
On our way to our hotel in Agra, we made a short stop at the Tomb of I’timād-ud-Daulah – more commonly known as the Baby Taj. You should be able to understand why from the photos.
Taj Mahal – Agra
There are not many things in the world that you can say are stunning (other than your partner) that also take your breath away, but this was one of those moments.
We got a wakeup call at 5:00 AM sharp, in order to get to the Taj Mahal in time for sunrise and it was definitely worth it!
I’ll let the pictures do the talking…
Sheroes’ Hangout – Agra
After having breakfast and some downtime at our hotel, we then went to get a light lunch at a nearby cafe.
This cafe was different, as it is run solely by female victims of acid attacks, of which there are <250 each year in India.
G Adventures helps small projects like this and the SBT trust, so we decided to give a small donation at both.
Agra Fort – Agra
After what was a long and tiring day we then visited the Agra Fort – the main residence of the Muslim emperors until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to New Delhi.
Safe to say the pictures were pretty impressive too.
Emily is also a fan with the locals (because of her ginger locks)…
The next part of our tour of The Golden Triangle will see us take a 6-hour coach journey from Agra to Jaipur.