History 101
World's worst trip?
Bad choice of destination? Poor accommodations?
No amenities? Unfriendly people?
Our miserable unwilling traveler had, however, just one good thing.
An enormous stomach for the unexpected.
And so it was, he ended up making the most famous trip in human history.
Agra, Beyond the Taj Mahal
With a population of more than a billion, it’s no wonder that India shows you more of everything.
In the city of Agra, Kohinoor Jewellers is proof that this is so. Welcome to perhaps the best jewelry store in India, better even than the famed Gem Palace in Jaipur. Our favorite “gems” within the shop, however, are the amazing, huge high-relief embroidered pictures by the artist Padma Shri Shams. (One of these hangs in the White House.) The pieces are kept in a vault and are shown under special lighting. In order to view them, make an appointment beforehand with the store manager. Kohinoor Jewellers also has a collection of authentic Mughal jewelry that the manager is happy to show you and let you try on. Though the authentic pieces cannot be sold, Kohinoor does sell quite beautiful reproductions. 41 Mahatma Gandhi Road.
Akbar International, a large store on Agra’s Fatehabad Road, demonstrates how gemstones are inlayed in marble, which is, of course, the technique used on the surfaced of the inimitable Taj Mahal. This is a cottage industry in Agra, and the craftsmen use the same types of tools that were used when Shah Jahan ordered the Taj built in 1632. Little has changed. In Akbar International’s showrooms, tea is served and you are invited to make purchases. The first items you’ll see are large (table tops, statues, and the like), but if you’d rather look at smaller items, ask to see the next room, which is full of them. 289, Fatehabad Road.
Although India does have lots of everything, much of it is handcrafted. If you fall in love with something while shopping, buy it. Those who hesitate, hoping to see the same item again later on in their journey, are likely to be disappointed.