Advertisement
Published: March 31st 2007
Edit Blog Post
From Orchha, we drove to Gwalior and spent one night there. They have a fancy fort and palace (yawn), but we were not in the sightseeing mood, plus Orchha had spoiled us with its abundant supply of them. At Gwalior, I saw the first "mansion" in India, and there were plenty of them with their armed guards at front. I was confused, "Is this India?" Then, duh, I remembered there are many India's in India.
Contemplating whether we wanted to rest one more day there and be lazy (the Orchha effect), we opted for efficiency and left for Agra, the city made famous by the ...drum-roll... Taj Mahal! (I think I have to refer to the Taj in this grandeur way each time).
In total we covered about 170 km. The ride was sameo sameo as before (friendly waves, dust/smog, bug splatter, nice scenery), but there were some differences. For one, with all the kilometers we covered under the hot sun, my farmers tan is really going at it in full-swing. I'm pretty hot right now, looking like I'm wearing light-colored clothes when I'm really naked. Second, from Gwalior to Agra, we drove mainly on a major highway,
which is not the average 405 or 110 fwy b/c the highway is not limited to cars and motorcycles. Instead, we share it with large pickup trucks jam packed with maybe 30+ people; flamboyant Indian trucks that exert possibly the worst pollution and have the loudest horns some which are pleasantly a bit musical (which I believe the driver's tourettes syndrome-like hand is strapped down on); farm tractors that travel like snails; dozens and dozens of cows that completely stop traffic; hand-pushed wheel carts; camels (that was a little cool to see); among other things I can’t seem to remember right now. And then occasionally, the highway changes into a regular pot hole-filled road, where we pass through villages and heavily congested traffic. It's a little bit like those auto racing video games, where the weirdest, unrealistic obstacles pop out of no where. But here, it's all real.
What can I say about Agra? Well, I heard mixed reviews from other travelers, all of whom came to see only the Taj, and maybe the Agra Fort too. Unfortunately for the Taj, it's sort of has the "hyped up movie" curse, where it has such high expectations to meet, so
people expect some sort of life-changing experience from seeing the Taj, or to have the Taj be somehow different from the photos. Well, the structure and the look of the Taj is the same as any photo, as you'll see from mine, but seeing it in person is pretty awesome. I arrived there for the sunrise at 6 a.m., as did the 100s of other camera-wielding tourist. I paid the Rs700 ($16) entrance fee, vs. the Rs20 that Indian tourists pay ::grumble grumble grumble::, and entered the ...drum roll... Taj Ma-HAL!!!
The $70 million mausoleum was built by 20,000 people and 1,000 elephants from 1631~1650ish, under the commission of Mughal Emporer Shah Jahan. He commissioned it after his second wife died during childbirth #14, which left him so devastated and grief-stricken, that his beard turned white overnight, and "at her death was so affected as nearly to follow her to the grave." 😞 :::::
Ok, so I have to admit, I was giddy about seeing one of the most romantic architectural creations on Earth, but a little loner-like seeing many couples take kissing/hugging photo-ops in front of the Taj or asking me, "Do you mind taking a photo
for us?" Oh, but I did ::blush:: get hit on my an Iranian tourist, who I'm happy to say is not anti-American, but maybe that was just a pickup gimmick.
Seeing the Taj in person is really a splendor and it lives up to the hype it has garnered worldwide, and the story behind it adds to the fairytale-like aura it has. Many people over the centuries try to capture the magic of the Taj with words, but none succeed. One I particularly like is by an English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold, "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones." So romantic! 😊
One of the most spectacular things about the Taj is the symmetrical design of it; like a perfect reflection of one side to the other, even in the inside. After Shah Jahan died, his son put his casket him next to his wife, which is the only thing that's unsymmetrical about the Taj. Careful scrutiny of the "Crown Palace" reveals that there are many references to a woman, for example, the river behind it, paired with the rising and setting of the
sun changes the color of the Taj; this represents the different moods of a woman. I spent about 3~4 hours at the Taj, and it really looks different throughout the day as the sun changes position. I was tempted to stay for sunset, but, you know me…not happening.
That night, Elad and I spoiled ourselves and gave into our U.S.-cultivated desires and went to Pizza Hut! Whoohoo! We had seen it on our way into the city, and could NOT stop thinking and talking about eating there. Well, it did not disappoint, and oh my gosh, so cheap! ...compared to $10~20/pizza in US and $20~30/pizza in Korea, it was like $15 for pizza, chicken salad, appetizer, beer
and two desserts. The bruchetta and chocolate cake desserts were A+, although the chicken from the salad grossly resembled rubber or raw chicken, which I (oink oink) still ate, but I would recommend that you pass on anything chicken if you happen to go to Pizza Hut in India. Nonetheless, the overall experience: Yum-my!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.207s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 26; qc: 117; dbt: 0.132s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
joanne
non-member comment
beautiful!
hi love, wow its spectacular!! its not as crowded as i imagined!