The Taj Mahal

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We finally arrived at the 'reason to go to India.' We decided to wait. Our train got in at about 9:30 in the morning and we were exhausted. After the last night's troubles and lack of sleep we decided the first thing we wanted was a shower. We checked into our hostel, unpacked a little and took turns showering and handwashing some clothes (though Trish did most of the washing 😊 ). After that we sat down and made a gameplan for the rest of the day and most of the following day as well. Lunch was our main priority and then we wanted to get out and see some of the city. Since the Taj Mahal costs Rs. 750 (US $19) to get in as a foreigner (Rs. 20/US $.50 if you're Indian) we decided to just go once and a few hours before sunset would probably be the best time. Our first stop would be Agra Fort. It's a giant red fort and the site of a palace over 300 years ago. It hasn't been occupied in 200 years but it's still incredibly well preserved. We walked around and saw the amar singh gate, the halls of public and private audience, the gem palace and mirror mosque, and got an amazing view of the Taj from across the Yamuna River. There was also a tower where the man responsible for the construction of the Taj was imprisoned with another great view of the Taj. After a quick rest and a bottle of water we decided to head over to the Taj while the sun was still high in the sky.

The Taj Mahal, called the most extravagant monument ever bulit for love, or 'the embodiment of all things pure' by Rudyard Kipling. It was absolutely incredible. We came through the gate and stood with hundreds of other tourists at the entrance and took a couple dozen pictures, all of which looked the exact same I'm sure... Unfortunately the fountains were off and the reflecting pool that usually leads up to the Taj was empty (as are most of the pools in the area, due to a recent dry spell we imagine) but the view across the gardens to the main building was still unbelievable. We walked halfway across the garden and up onto a raised platform and stood for a while and took a bunch more pictures, stopping and staring every few seconds. When we finally got to the base of the building we had to remove our shoes and we climbed the stairs up to the main level. We we allowed to walk freely around the entire building and look at it from everyside. The symmetry, down to even the tiniest little detail, was absolutely mindblowing. There were even entire building creating for no other reason than to keep the look balanced. The main part of the building was much more empty than I expected. Very tall ceilings and almost completely empty with the exception of a false tomb of the creature of the Taj, Emperor Shah Jahan. We walked back down and around to the side and saw the huge red sandstone mosque and decided to rest there in the shade for a while. As the sun started down we headed back to the front and sat on the raised platform in the middle of the garden again and waited for sunset. In the hour or so we waited and watched the building change colors we were constantly being photographed. Some people would walk up and ask us to be in pictures with them and others tried to sneak them as they walked by. Since it had been quite a while since lunch, we decided to head back and watch the rest of the sunset from the rooftop restaurant at our hostel. Even with the frequent power failures over the entire block, our meal was still great and ended with chocolate banana pancakes, delicious :D

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Photos

sitting at agra fort
looking across the yamuna river and at the taj mahal