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Published: January 12th 2008
Tyler, stretch-armstrong
pickin the best gypsy babyAs one not so often has the chance to explore india, and as one would generally do everything in one's power to get the hell out of delhi and never be there again, we decided it important that Lex get to see the mighty Taj Mahal. The same driver who'd picked us up from the airport, Shambu, ended up being our escort for this day. We got up fairly early and so when we finally arrived in Agra some 5 hours after we'd left, we were famished and in need of sustainance. Yet our driver was absolutely determined to show us every monument, temple and historical site he'd ever heard of, and was quite distraught when we told him we simply wanted food, and to see the Taj.
Amazingly, the place he took us to eat turned out to be more than we'd dreamed~ a rooftop restaurant with Muhgal-style floor seating and enshrouded amongst a variety of plants and under a tree canope. The food was also fantastic.
After we ate, we decided to check out the Taj Nature walk back a long convoluted drive behind the monument itself. This was actually a very short path, dotted with a few people
Lex and gypos
from the Taj Nature Walk, behind and cows and leading to the vast open bed of the Yamuna River. From here, we could see the back of the Taj, on the opposite side of the river. As we walked around, a small swarm of gypsy kids slowly came over greeting and communicating with us, asking for money, chocolate, pens. We instead played with them, taking some great pictures with them and their goats~
A bit before sunset we headed back around to the Taj, and as the Indian gov't has forbidden carboniferous traffic within some half a mile of the monument to keep its marble white, we took a camel-drawn cart the last few steps of the way to the West gate. There we were surprised to find a relatively massive line- and had to slip $10 baksheesh to some young boys to get us to the front of the line! We got in just in time to glimpse the beauty of the ubiquitous icon glowing in the last long rays of daylight. Although it was actually my 3rd time to visit what Rabanath Tangore described as a "teardrop on the face of Eternity", I found its beauty so much more effecting with the warm, sensual
Tyler pickin children
Taj Nature walk, Tyler gets a workout glow that was reflected in the final moments of dusk...
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sascha
non-member comment
wonderful
Tyler, Your trips always sound absolutly fantastic and make me go crazy thinking of how to get out again and do some exploring myself! Keep it up, bro. Your words are invigorating.