The 12 hour train trip actually took us 17.5 hours. I was awake at 6am as that was supposed to be our arrival time, but we are on Indian time and things like schedules etc are not really followed. Abhijeet, Ebrihem and I were the only ones up so we went to the end of the carriage to hang out the train. The air was cool and it was very misty, but at least it was fresh air. Later Charlene and I went to hang out the train carriage and we asked an Indian traveller to take our photo. He kept asking us to hang out further and further for the photo, the pics are actually really good, lucky we held on tight. You have to make sure not to look at the train tracks because they are really gross, something to do with the toilet waste...ewwwwww
Finally we arrive in Agra and we have a new large bus and it is off to our hotel. We travelled past the Red Agra Fort which is massive. Our hotel is in the middle of a developing area and is quite new. The rooms are furnished majestically and are really clean. The toilet has a strange plastic tube from the wall to the bowl, looks like an iv drip, maybe the toilet was unwell, who knows...haha. Quick lunch and back on the bus to go to the Taj Mahal.
Buses must park a km from the Taj, so we travelled the final distance by horse and cart. It was amazing to view the Taj peaking out above the tree line as we approached. As with all security points in India, men have one line and women have a separate line and you have same sex security pat downs (actually while I think of it we have a security pat down score based on how friendly the pat down is. At one temple the security lady went straight for a breast examination first, so she has scored the highest on security friendliness to date - I suggested that we should all pass back thru the temple security a few more times - haha).
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| The Taj Mahal just peaking out above the trees. |
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| Hattan in front of the entry gate to the Taj. |
It is very busy here with tourists and Indians but it flows really quickly and the area is just so huge there is so much space. The gates to enter the Taj are made from red sandstone and are very beautiful. The east and west gates were built for Shah Jahan's two wives and the south gate is his VIP entrance. Of course the Taj itself was built for the third wife Mumtaj Mahal who he loved the most. She died when she was 39 after giving birth to her 14th child.
You walk through the large gate which is unlit and you can see the Taj Mahal ahead, it is simply breathtaking.
#Fact: Taj means crown in Hindi and Mahal means palace. Taj Mahal = Crown Palace
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| Amazing feeling walking through here with the Taj appearing before you. |
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| And closer.. |
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| And there it is....amazing. |
We stop along the royal pathway to take typical tourist shots, group photos and holding the tip of the Taj etc. Indians continue to stop and ask to have their photos taken with us (just the females) and other Indian mens are trying to sneak pics of us, they are really not that subtle. I will be appearing on about 5000 different facebook profiles unknowingly.
In our group we try to photo bom each others photos so there are some interesting pics along with the nice touristy shots. Chantal and I stopped to have our photo taken on Princess Diana's bench (it is wear she was photographed), we posed in a quite regal manner then of course the more natural pinky pose, which Ebrihem then photo bombed. Haha
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| My new family. |
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| Got this pic first take - pretty cool. |
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| Yes - yes, very touristy, but we had to do it. |
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| Four of us was very difficult. |
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| Trying to appear all regal on Princess Diana's seat - but Ebrihem photo bombed us...lol |
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| The sport of photo bombing. |
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| Busted. |
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| Pinky posing. |
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| The boys. |
Our group has been provided with fabric shoe covers that look like we are wearing clouds on our feet. This is to protect the white marble floor of the Taj. As you approach the Taj Mahal you realize exactly how large it is. Up close you can see the workmanship and detail engraved in the marble. You can enter the Taj but not allowed to take pictures inside the dark room, it is Mumtaj Mahal's tomb. The breeze is blowing thru the etched marble windows and it is really cool inside. It is beautiful.
The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build and construction begun December 1631. Mum tag Mahal died in June 1631. It is made from white marble with precious stones used to create patterns and decorations. The White marble is from Rajastan India.
We return to the large open area at the Taj level and look across the river. On the opposite bank is the site that the Shah Jahan had planned to build a black marble Taj. The son put a stop to this as he thought his father had gone mad with love and was spending the countries wealth and resources on this craziness. He then imprisoned his father (house arrest) for 8 years at the Red Agra Fort. He died before being set free.
I have a friend at home who loves India and I know she would love to visit the Taj. So I sent her a picture of it. She asked me to say a prayer for her, her mum and mums mother and throw water from the Taj ponds in the air. Chantal and I found a perfect location and proceeded to fulfill this beautiful request. As I did this, tourists crowded around to watch and take more photos, so this prayer will be seen all over the world.
It was time to leave the Taj but just one more cultural opportunity. The Taj toilets, still not as bad as the university but worse than the train. One western toilet for the entire Taj Mahal. Did Princess Di use this? :-)
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| The Taj Mahal tower. |
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| The West gate. |
Off to the Agra Red Fort before it closes. This structure is amazing. Most of the area is closed off as the military is still based here, but you can tour through the Old Royal area, harem complex and where Shah Jahan was imprisoned. There are monkeys all over the place and they are all heading past us towards the exit (maybe they knew it was closing).
The fort is huge. We toured through a large part of it including beautiful gardens intricately designed and well maintained. The harem lodgings are conveniently located near to where Shah Jahan was placed under house arrest (that would of kept him busy). There is a beautiful mosque upstairs for the royal families private use again constructed in beautiful white marble and jewels. There is a cannon ball hole in the front of the mosque where the British has fired a warning shot.
The view from this level looks across the river towards the Taj Mahal. The sun is beginning to drop and and I get a nice shot of the moon rising behind the Taj.
Guards have been calling out for a while that they are closed and now they are starting to get serious, so it's time to wander back out. We pass all the monkeys who are now lodged in the entrance gate area and just catch a bit of monkey love as we leave. :-)
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| Agra Fort |
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| Looking out to the Taj Mahal, if you look closely you can see it through the mist (that is what they call smog here). |
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| The harem complex...lot's of rooms. |
For dinner we head out to a brightly decorated Indian restaurant and again have an awesome meal, plus a few G&T's (Bombay Saphire is very traditional Indian cuisine). After dinner we stay to watch an Indian magic act, which of course we then have the opportunity to purchase the tricks (there's always money to be made here at every opportunity).
Then there is a puppet show with beautifully crafted puppets to an Indian story and music. I am asked to go on stage and to help with the performance. I have to pull the string on the female puppet, I keep pulling and pulling, and the narrator keeps saying faster faster, then the next thing I know they have thrown a Cobra in my lap. I scream and jump back to realize it's just a puppet...real funny, I'm the one that pulls pranks...haha
The final act for the night is a musician playing an Indian string instrument with his gorgeous son (approximate 10) dancing Indian head bobble style. We all have a turn dancing with him and imitating him as he requested, it was so much fun.
This day was amazing....
Alvida...
