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Published: February 26th 2010
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After our day at the bird sanctuary, we caught a train to Agra to spend a few days there and visit one of the most iconic monuments in India, the Taj Mahal. We rickshawed into the thick of it - Taj Ganj ('Taj market') - a bustling two-kilometer stretch which is about two blocks south of the Taj Mahal. We dodged the touts and cowpies and found a place away from the chaos of the main drag to call home (or at least 'hotel') for the next couple of days. We got oriented and went for a walk around the area. The combination of narrow crowded streets and LOUD car/motorbike horns was way too much for my hypersensitive ears, and I took to wearing earplugs while walking on the main strip. The horns were still plenty loud enough to hear - just not quite as ear-splitting. As an added bonus, I discovered that wearing earplugs also makes it easier to ignore the constant barrage of people trying to sell me things or get us into their various modes of transportation, hotels, etc.
I had my first glimpse of the majestic Taj Mahal from the rooftop patio of our hotel at
The Taj Mahal - in all its glory
This was in the early morning, before the multitudes of people arrived, making it impossible to get an uncrowded picture. sunset. I enjoyed a tall, cold Kingfisher and watched the monkeys play on the rooftops all around. Afterwards, we went for another walk, and happened upon a PNE-like fair. There were rides, concerts, and vendors selling everything from cotton candy to wooden furniture. We wandered around the fair and listened to part of a concert before catching a cycle rickshaw back to our hotel and calling it a night.
The next morning, I very uncharacteristically awoke before dawn (5:30am!) in order to see the sun rise at the Taj Mahal. Mel was quite shocked when I actually did spring out of bed at that ungodly hour - and sure enough, we were in line to buy our admission tickets by about 6:00am. Good thing too, because when we walked past the entrance later in the day, the lineup to get in was literally about 500 people long - at least a couple of hours' wait - it was well worth getting up early!
When we walked through the main gate at the Taj Mahal, I was awestruck. The guide book was right - the Taj absolutely lives up to all of its hype. It is stunning. We walked
Taj Mahal main gate
Even the main gate of the Taj Mahal is very impressive! around the site in awe as the sun came up, and marveled at the beauty of the massive monument and its surroundings. We snapped a million pictures (hurray for digital cameras) and spent a good four hours drinking in the spectacular views inside and out from every possible angle and perspective.
Then came the moment of truth - the moment I'd been looking forward to for years, thinking about for months, and planning for weeks. I led Melanie to a park bench with a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal, the ultimate monument to love. I got down on one knee, presented her with a ring, and asked her to marry me. Lucky me, she said 'yes' - so it's official, we're engaged!!
As you can imagine, we were both totally elated, and we still are - it has added a whole new dimension of excitement to our trip -- as if there wasn't enough already!
We rounded out our time in Agra with visit to the Agra Fort which was also very impressive, and some great (though not very traditional) eating spots. We found one place near our hotel that was the Indian equivalent of a
greasy spoon - they had an unbeatable breakfast special: 2 eggs, 4 slices of toast with butter and jam, cornflakes, milk, coffee and a banana - all for 25 rupees (about CDN 50 cents!!). The other favourite food place in Agra was a coffee shop called 'Cafe Coffee Day' - it's an Indian franchise that has REAL coffee! I didn't realize how much I appreciate a good cup of coffee until I'd spent over a month sipping instant coffee - it just doesn't cut it. Once we discovered that delicious rarity, I had at least one double espresso (and some delicious chocolate cake) each of the other two days we were in Agra.
We finished off our time in Agra with a little shopping, then got packed up and headed for our night train to Varanasi, and the next stop on our journey. Agra and the Taj Mahal will always be an especially memorable part of our trip, as it marks the the 'official' beginning (of the beginning) of our life together -- something I am happy and excited about beyond words!!
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Mae Sagar
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Congratulations!!!!
Hey congratulations you two!!! Jeff, you truly are a romantic soul--how great is that...getting engaged at the Taj Mahal!!!!! Excellent! Looking forward to the full slide show on your return!!! Mae