Happy new year everyone! It has been a challenging year we had. It’s the time to rock and roll with friends and family! Wishing us all joy and happiness in the year ahead!

Can you spot them? The apartment is undergoing a repainting job for a week now. This is the apartment where are living in, a photo I took as I was sun bathing by the pool.

From May to July last year hubby asked if I had seen any elephant around Mumbai streets. I had not when it is an everyday street scene. He said that he’s going to arrange a ride for me. A year and five months later here we head towards the elephant yard the tour guide brought us into (the hotel said the day before that they do not have elephant rides anymore for one time the animal got wild and crushed some tourist, that was heavy scary huh, but the tour guide found us one that still offers for 500 Rupees). I did not dream this ride, but for the sake of experience, I did and gladly I really enjoyed the …

It was a full day for us, and that afternoon we headed to a taste for Taj, viewing it at the back from across the river Yamuna. The Taj is perfectly symmetrical in all four sides so you will have the same view from whatever angle.

Our next stop over was to the Itmud-ud-daula known as Baby Taj. The main gate is made of red sandstone, with a double storied structure which has got inlay work of white marble. Towards it and towards Yamuna, a beautiful Baradary is there, in which below there are some rooms which were provided with curtains of Khas-khas and were used as a cool retreat from the summer heat. The upper chambers were used as bathrooms by the Royal Ladies. The ceiling was decorated with gold and silver, were scrapped away by the Jats during their short occupation of Agra, but were repaired later on by lord Curzon. But many original things in there had been long stolen by the people.

Itmud-ud-daula …