Guess Where I Am!

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AGRA March 1st-March 3rd


I didn’t give Agra any more than 1 day, which I think is really unfair to do to a place, but I also felt like I should hurry on to Rajasthan so that I could spend more time in the north.


I arrived late on the 1st, and had these strange unexplained butterflies in my stomach, knowing I was so close to the Taj Mahal but couldn’t see it.
I stayed in Sai Palace in Taj Ganj, named after the South Indian guru Sai Baba. There were large portraits of him, Jesus, and Buddha adorning the colorful walls at the guesthouse. It was a friendly place, and the price was just right. I woke up early to see the sun rise over the Taj but it was well up before they let us in. The price to see this World Heritage sight is pretty steep- I could live off of 750 rupees for like half a week!


Any expense was certainly worth it however, because finally seeing the Taj was pure magic. It really exceeded my expectations- and I could see what all the fuss was about. I think it’s pretty rare that something lives up to the hype. The exceedingly intricate inlay and carvings of flowers were my favorite feature. I couldn’t photograph the inlay work because it was inside the tomb, but I got the flower carvings. Colorful and delicate flowers adorned a finely-carved screen around the two mock tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan. There was really something romantic about the whole place.


It would have been a lovely place to spend the day but I wanted to also take in the fort and anything else I had time for. I found out that they actually prohibit bringing in any books other than guide books, as well as any food. No picnics at the Taj apparently. By sheer chance I ran into Andi there, whom I had met in Varanasi and had planned to meet again in Agra or Rajasthan. We decided to catch up again in Jaipur, as we were both going the same way.


After the Taj and some breakfast with Andi, I headed off to Agra Fort. I didn’t take a guide but just decided to wander alone. For this I was told off a bit by one of the soldiers that trained there, who asked me how I could possibly learn about a place without having a guide. Yeah…he was right, but after busting out 750 for the Taj, I wasn’t inclined to spend any more that day. It was my first fort and it was, how shall I say it…really COOL. It reminded me of Arabian Nights and romantic fairytales. You were free to just wander throughout most of the interconnecting rooms and hallways. There were lots of monkeys plucking flowers, which was amusing. I really liked the “Chain of Justice,” which allegedly hung from the fort walls down to the street below and had been installed by one of the rulers so that the common people could attract his attention to injustices. I also liked Shah Jahan’s quarters, where he was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb but could still see his creation the Taj Mahal.

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Comments

[Christian]

Wow, the Taj Mahal. That's big time. It sure looks spectacular!