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Published: June 27th 2009
We got an overnight train from Varanasi to Agra. Arriving in Agra, we were immediately impressed with its cleanliness. It's ready-made for a quick sight seeing tour, and doesn't feel the same as the rest of India. There's lots of big roads, shopping malls and fancy hotels.
Our hotel was close to the Taj Mahal, in a place called Taj Ganj - an area established by the people working on the Taj Mahal.
On the first day, we went to the Red Fort - a beautiful Fort constructed hundreds of years ago. It became the Palace of Emperor Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal). In the late 1600's, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the Red Fort by his power hungry son. He spent 8 years there, with his room facing the Taj Mahal, before sadly dying there. He was buried in the Taj Mahal, with his wife.
The next day we wanted to wake up early, so that we could see the Taj Mahal at sunrise! We set the alarm clock for 5am..!!! But, as you can imagine......slept in!! So instead of seeing culture and history, we headed for McDonalds!
The next day we managed
to wake up for 5am, and walked to the Taj Mahal. The admission price for Indians is 20 rupees, and 750 for tourists!! We begrudgingly paid, and walked through the main entrance, in time for the sunrise. We walked through a huge arch, and caught our first glimpe of the Taj Mahal - it was breathtaking!! Absolutely stunning!! Emperor Shah Jahan started building the Taj Mahal in 1631 as a mausoleum for his wife, who died giving birth to their 14th child. 20,000 people worked on its construction, and it was finished in 1653. From a distance, it looks like just white marble, but up close you notice that it's engraved with semi-precious stones. It's a huge building, with water leading up to it, and gardens surrounding it. It's beautiful.
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Tejal
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It feels good seeing India in pics
Hi Dave n Coz, Nice informative blog about The Taj Mahal. You made me feel nostalgic about my country (currently I am in US) keep the ball rolling. pour in with more photos :)