Mathura

I had spoken to Soni earlier that morning that I wanted to go to Mathura. He was already making hints and trying to convince me since yesterday that I didn't need to go after being able to do darshan over at the Banke Bihari temple in Jaipur, but of course an actual visit to the birthplace of Krishna and one of the Sapta Puri cannot ever replace that. So I told him I still wanted to go and that was that. Vrindavan, however, I had to concede.

We first went to Chand Baori, probably the most impressive stepwell I have ever seen. It blows Jaipur's out of the water. Pun intended. The scale and geometry here were simply massive which made for a dazzling display.

From there, it was a long drive to Mathura. Soni got me a guy he knew to be my guide and get me inside. They were quite strict and were not allowing Muslims in. They asked my religion and I just told them Hindu/Buddhist and after a while I was in. The guide showed me the birthplace of Sri Krishna, inside the prison cell. Got to also do some darshan around some special idols with distinct properties and characteristics.

The final drive into Agra. The city was hella polluted that was for sure, people were burning stuff and garbage to keep warm in the cold and it tainted the entire atmosphere. I opted to have dinner indoors and got to my hotel to hang my clothes which were actually still wet as they weren't able to fully dry them that morning in Jaipur. Had to sleep with the air-condition on despite how cold it already was here.Read more