We reaffirmed the value of a private guide while in India. For us, with our sons, a private guide provides two important benefits – the ability to dialogue with the family, explaining what we are seeing and flexibility.

Flexibility would be key as we constantly changed our itinerary as we travelled. It also meant that we could ask to get off the beaten path. We did not want a tour filled with all of the monster sites, we wanted to get into the side streets – to see the real India.

A great example of this was our first ‘side trip’ to Agrasen Ki Baoli (Or Ugrasen Ki Bali according to the plaque at the entrance), a step well in the city. Hidden down a side street and easily accessible as it was the dry season. It is a marvel to see.

From Wikipedia:

Agrasen ki Baoli (also known as Agar Sain ki Baoli or Ugrasen ki Baoli), designated a protected monument by theArcheological Survey of India (ASI) under the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, is a 60-meter long and 15-meter wide historical step well on Hailey Road near Connaught Place, a short walk from Jantar Mantar inNew Delhi, India.^[1] Although there are no known historical records to prove who built Agrasen ki Baoli, it is believed that it was originally built by the legendary king Agrasen^[2] during the Mahabharat epic era^[3][4][5] and rebuilt in the 14th century by the Agrawal community which traces its origin to Maharaja Agrasen.

Our guide was unbelievable and if you are in India – I cannot recommend him highly enough. A lifelong learner with great pride in his craft, Anu had 3 degrees and is studying to become a judge, with this work funding his studies. His insight into each place, attentiveness to our family, never ending knowledge and willingness to engage on every aspect of Indian history, politics and culture made it an extra special experience. To say that his the best tour guide we have ever had would be an understatement. I offer up his email to fellow travellers – anuragmisra@rediffmail.com – if you are lucky enough to get him.

Inside the well.

At the bottom you climb through a small hole and can look up a huge cylinder .. dry for now.

Remarkable to see how well their architecture has stood the test of time.

We would see one more step well on our tour. One much larger.