The Taj

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Well, after spending a few unnoteworthy days in Jaipur, which mostly existed of shopping for fancy Indian dresses for Mona, some excitement with a sadhu (Hindu holy man) who has now learned from Brian not to grab white girls, and general anger and envy at discovering that one can get a fantastic basil, mozzerella, and tomato pannini in Jaipur on our last night there. We moved on to Agra on the 6:10 a.m. train early Tuesday morning, which arrived in Agra around 10 a.m. We then played tourists vs. rickshaw drivers for a while before overpaying for a rickshaw to a cheap hotel that I'm glad only our bags had to spend time in. After depositing our tons of crap (turns out my bag weighs 49.5 lbs), we headed for the Taj.

The Taj is a hassle. And it is expensive. And it is crowded. And it is aboslutely stunning.

Let's start with the hassle. I paid for my ticket, and got in line, where I was seriously patted down, and told I could not take any of my power cords, camera battery chargers, cell phones, car keys, USB cords, or playing cards into the Taj. Fine, they government provides lockers, I'll just put my stuff in there. But the guy there announces that arbitrarily I have to have a bag to put all my stuff in. I was going to take my camera bag in to the Taj, but instead I had to unload it completely, stuff it with USB cords (really, what harm could my iPod charger possibly do), and hand it over.

That wouldn't have really mattered though if the price hadn't put Brian off so much he did a little sulking the whole time we were in the Taj. I have to say, it really upsets me when Brian and Mona can pay a few cents to get into a sight, but I have to pay a couple of dollars, because they're brown and I'm not, so at least at the Taj they go by actually nationality instead of by skin color. But Indian nationals pay Rs 20 while FOREIGNERS PAY RS 750!!!!! It's outrageous. It's really frustrating, too. They first sold Brian an Indian national ticket, but going through security, they stopped him and made him pay for the foreigner ticket. Rs 750 is like three nights in a decent hotel. It would be like asking you to pay US$150 to see the Washington Monument. I think it was worth it, but the jury's still out. Anyway, after swallowing one's pride, and seeing the Taj (which is much better from the outside...the inside's boring), we had lunch and grabbed a train into Delhi (only three hours).

After more tourist vs. rickshaw wallah (Round 2), we found a decent and dirt cheap hotel in Paharganj, the same slightly seedy neighborhood we stayed in our first night in Delhi. Except that this time, it wasn't seedy at all. It was vibrant, with plenty of tourists (but still decidedly Indian, unlike McLeod Ganj), tons of shops, and lots of restaurants. I had a great time shopping and eating and getting my eyebrows threaded in the short 24 hours that I was there. It's got a good vibe, and Delhi is surprisingly Western and changing by the minute. I'd love to see more (Jodhpur and Jaisalmer are also on my must-see-more-of list).

The culmination to my trip to India was a cab ride in true Delhi style, which started with the cab guy showing up 20 minutes late, only to turn out not to be the cab guy, but a tout who will find us a cab (which takes another 15 minutes) and me missing the check in time and having the beg the woman to still let me on the plane. It was so rushed I didn't get to say goodby to Brian the way I wanted to, since in India you can't even go in the doors of the airport if you're not flying out within three hours (as I discovered last year). Anyway, it just seemed fitting. It embodies the hassle of India that are omnipresent and neverending.

Well, I've got to get on my flight to Austin (last leg of the trip. yay!), but I'll post another blog from home with some reflections, ect. about India. Ok, gotta run!

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Photos

The Quintessential Taj
'Nuff Said.

South Gate
What many don't realize is there are lots of other buildings in the Taj complex, which would be noteworthy themselves if they weren't next door to The Big One.

South Gate Detail
Both the South Gate and the Taj itself are decorated with Koranic scripture in marble inlay. Remember, the Taj is a Muslim shrine!

Taj Wide Shot
Apparently they keep the fountains turned off in the gardens so that photographers can catch the reflection of the Taj as well.

Close-up Taj
Just another spectacular view.

Another Taj Shot
Nice sky, huh?

Brian and I at the Taj
Not my best work, but the sun was bright. What can I say?

Mosque at the Taj
There's an identical building on the other side for symmetrical purposes.

The Yamuna River
The Taj is riverside-this is the view from the back.

Taj with Minaret
It's just so photogenic.

Main Entrance into the Taj
The marble inlay is all done in semi-precious stones.

Me looking at the Guidebook
In front of the Taj, and here I am with my nose in a book. This was a fairly common sight on our trip....that guidebook was my lifeline. (P.S. Photo Credit: Brian).

Another Outlier
This is the mirror of the Mosque.

Brian
In the cheesy, "Look, I'm holding up the Taj" shot.

Comments

[Aunt Sandy]

Strong Man
I didn't know Brian was so strong, and with just a touch of his fingers too.

[Abby]

i'm in denali national park and am i looking at wilderness? no, i'm on the computer because i've discovered that there is wireless in the lobby! anyway, i'm all caught up on your entries and they are incredible. so are the pictures, as always. i'm glad you had a great time in india (for the most part), and i can't wait to see you whenever you come to houston!