The Taj Mahal - Totally worth the nightmare outside to get to the inside!

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Our new driver's name was Hersh and we were a bit worried about communicating with him as his English was not so great. But he understood us and we understood him if we stuck to the bare minimum. He picked us up at 8:00AM after we'd settled our hotel bill. The beer and wine weren't on the bill and we almost forgot about it, but the guys at the desk called the man who had bought it for us and we left the money for him as well as a tip, so I hope it got to the right person.

Hersh was right on time and we were on the road to Agra, non-stop. There is one site to see between Jaipur and Agra, but because we only had this evening to see the Taj, we said we wanted to go straight to Agra. It took four hours. We only stopped once to use the bathroom, but it wasn't a midway and some guy tried to charge us 100Rs for a snack that should have cost 15Rs, so we didn't buy anything. Coming into Agra, the rubbish on the streets was really appalling and the air pollution was stifling. We couldn't even see very far because of it. Around the Taj Mahal there is a no traffic zone for 500m so hopefully the air pollution would decrease the closer we got. Hersh couldn't drive us all the way to the hotel because, supposedly, only non-polluting vehicles were allowed. So he dropped us off about a 1/2km away and we got in a pedal rickshaw. He wasn't allowed in either! He took us about 100m and was told he couldn't enter! It was a bicycle! Clearly he didn't know the right people and was not allowed in. Waste of money. Our hotel wasn't as far as they said anyway and we could easily have walked it all with our bags, but we didn't know that until we reached what we thought was our hotel.

We had a reservation at Hotel Sheela Inn, but when we got almost to the East Gate of the Taj, we saw only Hotel Sheela. Same owner, so we went in. He said Hotel Sheela Inn was 1km away, where we had just come from in the car! But we hadn't seen it, so we asked if they had any rooms and he said yes, but only for 1000Rs a night. $20. The property was beautiful, the room was nice and clean, but freezing, so we just stayed here. And we were glad we did. We checked in, had a wonderful lunch and relaxed a bit in the sun, and then we walked around to the South Gate to enter the Taj Mahal. We went around to the South Gate because the Lonely Planet said the East and West Gates were typically for tour groups. But the line at the South Gate, while it wasn't crazy long, was divided into men and women, as are many lines in India. We had to fight our way through the lines to buy our ticket, where there was no one waiting, and then we went back to the end of the line which was a lot longer now! Where were those people a minute ago and where did they get their tickets??

We waited in line several minutes and then someone told us that as foreigners we didn't have to wait because we had paid so much money to get in. So Annette went to investigate and sure enough, we could just cut to the front of the line. So we did. Annette got in without a problem, but then the guy taking the tickets just ignored me. After he took my ticket, I stepped in the security line and the woman behind me said, 'Oh, don't get in front of me' to which I responded, 'The people in the line back there told me to come to the front, so I did.' She said, 'Okay, okay.' We were the next two people in line anyway. Then the woman behind her says, 'You should be nice' to which I responded, 'Indians have been cutting in front of me everywhere I've been in this country and that doesn't seem very nice.' She said, 'Why don't you go back to your country?' to which I responded, 'I am. Not fast enough!' India had been a great experience, but I was discovering that 16 days was perhaps too long for this weary traveler. And we still had three more days to go after today. We were counting them down.

So once I got through the metal detector, I was asked to put my bag down to be searched. No problem, except the place where I was supposed to put my bag was literally covered in what looked like several days worth of rubbish. I said, 'I'm not putting my bag down in a pile of rubbish.' She said, 'Ma'am is there a problem?' I said, 'Yes, you've asked me to put my bag down in a pile of rubbish. Can you not see it?' I mean, it was a pretty big pile of rubbish! Her response was to sweep it aside with her arm to make a space for my bag.

Really? Seriously? At the entrance to the Taj Mahal, one of the greatest monuments ever built?

Finally, I was in and Annette was waiting. We were anxious to get that famous shot in front of the reflecting pool and the Taj Mahal. But when we entered, our first glimpse of the Taj was through an arch. It was magnificent. I can't think of another way to describe it. It was like the first time I saw Notre Dame in Paris. I couldn't believe I was actually here. It was crowded, so we knew getting our picture taken would be a bit of a challenge, but it turned out to be completely ridiculous. Some people had hired professional photographers! I took Annette's picture without much of a problem, but when it was my turn, some guy came and put a small boy in front of me and told me to hurry up! I told him to move! We had a colorful exchange of words, although not as colorful as I would have liked, and I made sure that Annette took time taking my picture. In fact, I made sure to take my time getting ready for this monumental shot. Afterwards we started walking by the reflecting pool towards the Taj. We took a couple more pictures of ourselves when we got closer, which was also a challenge. Then we had to remove our shoes before actually walking around the Taj as it is a holy site.

Many people say the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful building in the world. While I haven't seen every building in the world, I could still agree with that. I love its simplicity and symmetry. It isn't overdone or gaudy or too ornate. Its symmetry is perfect. Even the calligraphy around the doors is larger at the top than at the bottom so as to look the same size all the way up. It was cleaned in 2003 and still looks white. While it is larger than I imagined, it is not too large. It is the perfect combination of simple and ornate. I loved it. It was totally worth the crowds and the line and the rubbish outside to get to see this amazing monument.

We stayed for at least two hours, probably longer. This monument held my attention a lot longer than any of the forts or palaces, yet there was actually less to see. But it was crowded and as with all crowds, I have my limits before I get antsy to be away from them. We watched the sunset, got our shoes, and walked out. I saw the Taj Mahal. Finally. But if given the opportunity, I'd go see it again.

We went back to the hotel for a bit since it was so close and then walked back around to the south side of the Taj to go to the rooftop restaurant at Saniya Hotel in hopes of seeing the Taj in the last light of the sun. But we missed it. We got sidetracked by a man in the lobby when we stopped to look at a wall hanging and he said they had more in their workshop. Turns out the owner of the Saniya Hotel is also a wholesaler. We went to his small office where there was a small display of items they make there. There were some gorgeous Christmas ornaments and he sold Annette and me a couple at wholesale prices! He said he has many customers in the US, one especially from Los Angeles that he does a lot of business with. He said she owns a shop there called Pier 1! He had no idea what Pier 1 is or how huge it is. We didn't tell him. Too funny.

We finally made it to the roof after dark and had a couple of beers and some soup to warm us up. Service was excellent and we liked the atmosphere, but we were getting tired. We made the short walk back to Hotel Sheela (1000Rs/per night/2 people) and went to bed because the room was absolutely freezing!

Tomorrow we drive back to Delhi and fly to Varanasi for two nights. I'm ready to see the ghats.

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Photos

East Gate to Taj Mahal
Our hotel was very close to this gate.

First Thing You See
when you finally get through security at the Taj Mahal.