We're on the bus right now about half way to Jaipur, a 5 hour trip so I figured no better time to blog. I had a super restful sleep last night which was so needed after what felt like a long day yesterday.
We woke up bright and early at 5:30 am to get to the Taj Mahal before
the crowds. We had prearranged transport there with a Tuk Tuk driver we met last night( he took us to the cafe I blogged from last night).
There was no line and the sun was rising over the horizon just as we walked through the gates. It was a sight I will never forget. The Taj Mahal is one of those sights that deserves all it's hype and more. It stood strong and perfect,built as wide as it is high by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his third wife who bore him 13 children and died delivering the 14th. The Taj was completed in 1653 and is famous as the finest example of Mughal architecture combining Persian, Ottoman and Indian styles.
It is built entirely of impeccably well preserved local marble with intricate floral designs etched into its marble walls. We honestly just stared at its exterior for about an hour gazing at it from different angles and then spending another hour inspecting its detail. Even the lattice windows were made of marble! The tombs of husband and wife were on display in the mausoleum inside though we were told the true tombs were discovered underground and removed.
It was a romantic morning, watching the sunrise at the Taj Mahal I felt as though I was in a film, it was absolutely surreal. I had mentioned during a blog entry in Istanbul that the Aya Sofya was the most beautiful man made structure I had ever laid my eyes on but I don't think I can support that claim anymore. I think the Taj might fiercely nudge the top spot, at the very least agree to a tie. The Aya Sofya is more impressive from the inside where as the Taj from the outside is unbeatable. I feel fortunate to have had
the chance to experience seeing both.
As the Taj was so breathtaking we decided to take up a nice older man on his offer to snap some
photos of us together(for a very fair price)with our camera. He assured us he had 5 years experience doing this for tourists and he didn't disappoint! He was down laying on the ground
for shots and just bouncing us around
for different angles. A zesty guy for 6:30 am!
We also met a nice English fellow named Simon who we spent some time talking to. It was enjoyable to exchange experiences of India as only a fellow traveler understands. He was funny and had us laughing which just added to the already amazing morning. In particular, while asking about our travels he commented pleasantly that we were lucky to be such good travel partners. He offered up the antidote that his ex- girlfriend couldn't stand the smell of feces so that traveling would be tough with her! I joked that he may have to somehow incorporate that issue into a second date question!
It was a nice comment for a stranger to make and I do appreciate every day how fortunate Niki and I are to have found each other. This calibre of traveling has it's fair share of challenges but we just get stronger with every hurdle.
After a little over two hours we headed back to our guesthouse for some breakfast and to pack up and hit the road.
It was a short visit to Agra and the Taj stole the show but it was a friendly little city that I don't think I mentioned is absolutely full of monkeys! (though I think we will likely see them in many other cities to come)
As per usual, many of the streets have their fair share of garbage here and it is the norm in Agra to walk by and see dogs, cows, goats, camels and monkeys all feeding from the same pile and often side by side. It looked like a Disney cartoon!
It was also interesting last night to stand out on our terrace and see the monkeys swinging and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. We went walking last night( trying to find costa coffee but with no street names google maps was hopeless so we rickshawed!) and families of monkeys would just run in front of us often with naan bread in
hand looking like they had found a prize!
It was good visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal, one imprinted forever in my mind. Quote for the day came from the owner of our guest house in Agra, Rajid. He said "everything in India works, just not the way you and I want it to"
Well put Rajid!
We woke up bright and early at 5:30 am to get to the Taj Mahal before
the crowds. We had prearranged transport there with a Tuk Tuk driver we met last night( he took us to the cafe I blogged from last night).
There was no line and the sun was rising over the horizon just as we walked through the gates. It was a sight I will never forget. The Taj Mahal is one of those sights that deserves all it's hype and more. It stood strong and perfect,built as wide as it is high by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his third wife who bore him 13 children and died delivering the 14th. The Taj was completed in 1653 and is famous as the finest example of Mughal architecture combining Persian, Ottoman and Indian styles.
It is built entirely of impeccably well preserved local marble with intricate floral designs etched into its marble walls. We honestly just stared at its exterior for about an hour gazing at it from different angles and then spending another hour inspecting its detail. Even the lattice windows were made of marble! The tombs of husband and wife were on display in the mausoleum inside though we were told the true tombs were discovered underground and removed.
It was a romantic morning, watching the sunrise at the Taj Mahal I felt as though I was in a film, it was absolutely surreal. I had mentioned during a blog entry in Istanbul that the Aya Sofya was the most beautiful man made structure I had ever laid my eyes on but I don't think I can support that claim anymore. I think the Taj might fiercely nudge the top spot, at the very least agree to a tie. The Aya Sofya is more impressive from the inside where as the Taj from the outside is unbeatable. I feel fortunate to have had
the chance to experience seeing both.
As the Taj was so breathtaking we decided to take up a nice older man on his offer to snap some
photos of us together(for a very fair price)with our camera. He assured us he had 5 years experience doing this for tourists and he didn't disappoint! He was down laying on the ground
for shots and just bouncing us around
for different angles. A zesty guy for 6:30 am!
We also met a nice English fellow named Simon who we spent some time talking to. It was enjoyable to exchange experiences of India as only a fellow traveler understands. He was funny and had us laughing which just added to the already amazing morning. In particular, while asking about our travels he commented pleasantly that we were lucky to be such good travel partners. He offered up the antidote that his ex- girlfriend couldn't stand the smell of feces so that traveling would be tough with her! I joked that he may have to somehow incorporate that issue into a second date question!
It was a nice comment for a stranger to make and I do appreciate every day how fortunate Niki and I are to have found each other. This calibre of traveling has it's fair share of challenges but we just get stronger with every hurdle.
After a little over two hours we headed back to our guesthouse for some breakfast and to pack up and hit the road.
It was a short visit to Agra and the Taj stole the show but it was a friendly little city that I don't think I mentioned is absolutely full of monkeys! (though I think we will likely see them in many other cities to come)
As per usual, many of the streets have their fair share of garbage here and it is the norm in Agra to walk by and see dogs, cows, goats, camels and monkeys all feeding from the same pile and often side by side. It looked like a Disney cartoon!
It was also interesting last night to stand out on our terrace and see the monkeys swinging and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. We went walking last night( trying to find costa coffee but with no street names google maps was hopeless so we rickshawed!) and families of monkeys would just run in front of us often with naan bread in
hand looking like they had found a prize!
It was good visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal, one imprinted forever in my mind. Quote for the day came from the owner of our guest house in Agra, Rajid. He said "everything in India works, just not the way you and I want it to"
Well put Rajid!
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