July 25

We woke up on our last day bright and early at 5am to see the beautiful sunrise over the Taj Mahal. We got on the bus at our hotel in Agra for a short ride where we meet our tour guide for the next two hours. We walked through the maroon gates of the monument with the morning sun in our eyes. Our tour guide showed us all of the good spots to take pictures and told us the story of how India’s most famous monument was built. We took pictures and walked around the Taj Mahal, surrounded by monkeys and other travelers. We then went back to the hotel where we ate breakfast and packed up. We met an incredible group of artisans that descended directly from those who built the Taj Mahal a couple of centuries earlier. They showed us their technique of sanding down precious stones and placing them on marble for marble inlays. From there we got another perspective of the Taj Mahal on the other side of the river where we took more pictures and had a great time in the historic gardens. We proceeded to get on the bus where we drove for six hours to Delhi to catch our flight in the evening. We got there early enough to go to the hotel that was prearranged to relax and freshen up before our flight. We had a few hours and we finished by having our final dinner together before boarding to bus to get to the airport. We had a bit of a fluster at the airport, but made it to our gate with plenty of time to spare and wait for our plane. Everyone said their final goodbyes to Neerav, some of us with tears in our eyes. We look forward to going home and seeing our families, but are all very sad to leave each other and the family we have become.

Thank you Putney Student Travel and thank you India for the magic and the memories!