The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then waited in our room to hear from Adam and Heather. It took them longer then expected to get to the hotel from the airport so we didn't meet up with them until early afternoon, but it was so nice to see friends. After a quick catch up in the lobby of their hotel, we made our way to find some lunch. We had originally decided to walk back to Connaught Place and grab some food but as we were walking there this gentleman stopped us and told us there was a protest going on and that we should avoid the area. He suggested we go to a street that had a bunch of restaurants on it near India Gate. He even got a tuk tuk for us and made sure the driver knew exactly where to take us. We thought he was so nice and thoughtful looking out for us. It took us a few days to realize but he was actually lying through his teeth and he had a scam going with the tuk tuk driver. We saw the whole thing in action a few days later. Again, someone stopped us and told us their was a protest. By now we didn't believe him so we declined his help and kept on walking. We then saw him get into the tuk tuk that was conveniently waiting by the side of the road and drive off together. But we totally fell for the scam the first time! Anyways, we had lunch at this suggested restaurant and then made our way back to the hotel for a swim in the pool. Once we felt a bit refreshed from our swim we walked back up to Connaught Place for dinner and had an awesome meal at a place recommended in the Lonely Planet, Pind Balluchi.
The Water Temple - one of the sites our tuk tuk driver brought us to
The four of us at the Red Fort
Our day in Agra basically consisted of the Taj Mahal. We hired a car and a tour guide that took us to the Taj Mahal at sunrise. It was spectacular! First of all, it wasn't that busy and it wasn't that hot. But also the Taj is just so beautiful! We spent a few hours there just checking out the grounds and the mausoleum itself. Having the guide was awesome because he could tell us so much about the history behind it. I didn't want to leave - I just wanted to stare at it all day. Unfortunately Agra doesn't have much more to offer than the Taj Mahal so we took it easy the rest of the day and hung out at Adam and Heather's luxury hotel!
Early morning at the Taj Mahal
Steph making some naan with Chef Lokesh overseeing
Us in front of the Spring Peacock Gate
On our last day in Delhi we basically just shopped till we dropped. Adam and Heather needed to get some souvenirs for family and friends and I just like to shop so off we went. We had a lot of time to kill that day because we didn't have to get to the airport until 11pm for our 2am flights. So, we walked around Connaught Place, shopped, had a leisurely lunch and dinner and hung out at the hotel before making our way to the airport. Then it was bye bye India and hello Canada - that is after almost 24 hours in transit. We arrived home in Toronto on July 4, 2014 and were greeted by our parents - they actually clapped and cheered.
It is hard to believe that our travels are over. We have had a year full of the most amazing experiences. We have challenged ourselves and grown so much individually, as well as as a couple. I look back on the experiences
that we have had over the year and I smile. I cannot believe it is over already, but I am excited to see what the future has in store for us in TO. Thank you to everyone who has read and followed along with our blog. It was been a really amazing experience writing it. I can't wait to share even more stories and photos with you all when we see you next.
Thanks for reading
xoxo