Bollywood and the Taj

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The next day we headed to Agra - home of the Taj Mahal. Seeing the Taj is what initially motivated me to visit India so I was really excited to get there. I had been refusing to look at any images of the Taj for the past few months, which was sometimes difficult, considering that it is on the cover of the Lonely Planet. I wanted to be blown away when I finally saw it in person.

We arrived in Agra in time for dinner and went to a little restaurant across from our hotel run by a large family. The father escorted us in and six of the seven children took our orders, brought our drinks, delivered our food and cleared our plates. They even served us the "Special Tea", which is beer served in a tea pot (alcohol is highly frowned upon in Agra). After dinner the middle son, who was about 15, started chatting to us in English. He told us all about his school, his exams and about how he wanted to be an engineer when he grew up - a VERY respected profession in India. As the conversation went on he offered to have his little five-year-old sister show us some Bollywood dance moves. Obviously, we said we’d love to watch and so the show began! They threw some Bollywood hits onto the CD player and the little girl, coached by her older brother on every move, danced her heart out. As the music played, more and more family members came out and joined in the dance party - even Chris and I got up for a lesson! We danced and talked and laughed to the music of Bollywood for the remainder of the night. It was one of those magical times you get while traveling and definitely an “I Love India” moment.

The next morning we woke up at 4:30 am so that we could view the Taj at sunrise. Neither of us are early risers and I’m always a bit bitter about having to get out of bed at such a ridiculous hour unless absolutely necessary... but this time it was so worth while. We were among the first through the gates that morning and we were able to take in the beauty of this wonder of the world without the crowds. I don’t really know what to say about it, other than it was spectacular! It definitely blew us away!

We were so impressed with the Taj that we decided to stay in Agra for an extra day, which is saying a lot because Agra is not a very nice town (its second most popular attraction would have to be the hideously mangy and mangled dogs that roam the streets). For the remainder of our time in Agra we ate our meals in rooftop restaurants enjoying our mediocre budget Indian food and soaking up the beautiful views of the nearby Taj Mahal.

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Photos

Lifting the Taj
For some reason this is something people seem to do at the Taj....so we did it!