The Taj Mahal

Agra, India, 24 August 2008
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At the time of it's building the large gates at the front of the Taj Mahal were designed in such a way that anyone coming to see this global icon would only be able to see it in all it's glory once they had passed through the large arch to the other side. With that in mind we felt a little like cheats as we sat on the rooftop cafe and had a birds eye view of the Taj Mahal. We were some distance off though so still very much relished the prospect of getting up close and personal the next day.

As it was still only mid afternoon we decided to hire a couple of rickshaws (cyclos in SE Asia) to take us to Agra's other big draw: The Red Fort. Akbar's magnificent fort dominates the centre of the city - the fortifications tower above the 9 metre wide, 10 metre deep moat. There is an outer wall on the riverside and an imposing 22 metre high inner main wall giving a feeling of great defensive power. We enjoyed wandering the various courtyards and the view across the Yamuna River to the Taj. On our return the cyclo drivers asked us if they could take us to the market where we could see how Persian rugs are made and the crafting of silver jewellery. We had become used to this in SE Asia, needless to say they get commission from the vendors who are hoping for a sale after their demonstration. As the guys told us up front that they get 20 Rupees each (30 cent) for taking us to the carpet shop... we agreed and they were happy. What we hadn't realised was just how far they would have to cycle before arriving at the destination. Was all this effort really worth an extra 20 rupees? It's at times like that that you get an idea of just how low the average income in India is. We tipped them with a further 20 rupee. The carpets were nice.
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The Red Fort

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Before retiring for the night we deliberated long and hard over whether or not to "do sunrise" at the Taj. Given our track record for under performing sunrises we decided to get a good nights sleep and hit the Taj at 9am instead. We started teh day with cornflakes & milk at a local cafe - highly recommended by our guidebook might I add. After a few mouth fulls Claire pointed out what she suspected to be dirt particles floating in the cereal bowl the proprietor assured us this was not the case! Claire was believing none of it, I finished my breakfast and we headed to the Taj. If there was one thing in India we both felt we had to visit this was it.

Entering through the huge gates at the side of the Taj Mahal was truly breathtaking. Our recommendation would be to enjoy the views from the rooftop cafes after your visit and let your entry through the gates be your first view of this marbled wonder.

We spent the next couple of hours visiting the interior and wandering the gardens that surround the Taj, viewing it from every angle. The day was a real scorcher though so we needed to hop from one shady spot to the next. The grounds were busy with Indian Tourists who were more interested in asking us to pose with them for photos than they were of photographing the Taj. For some reason our guidebook stated that you should allow 1 hour for a visit, 5 hours later we walked back outside those imposing gates.
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It feels surreal now to look at the picture of me relaxing on a bench with the Taj Mahal reflected in my sunglasses. That's me! I was there!

And with that we commenced train journey # 2 from Agra to Jaipur.






Impossible to resist!

Dave in the rickshaw