We were so excited about the Taj Mahal because it was The. Taj. Mahal. India’s iconic symbol. The national symbol of everlasting love.
So the story goes that some Mughal (reminds me of Mowgli, from Jungle Book) emperor from the 17th century had a few wives, the third of which most unfortunately died giving birth to their 14th child. Devastated, he built the Taj Mahal as a mega tomb and memorial for his beloved.
First of all, 14th CHILD?! Of course she died. She was about 31 years old. That’s a child after the next from when she was about 15 or 16. Oh my. What a fertile lady. What an…active lover the emperor was.
We woke up at 5am to catch the Taj at sunrise. The ticket office near the east gate was open when we got there by 530am but it is 750m from the actual east gate. There was a queue of foreigners. Gates only opened at 6.10am. I watched the sun rise on the right of the taj mahal. Then it was bright and the gates opened.
Chris’s chicken stuffed toy got confiscated by security! They said it was disrespectful! He had to go out, get it deposited at a nearby shop, then queue and get re-screened! I made some noise like a grumpy crazy woman, and they shoved him to the front of the queue.
After ALL that was over, Tadahhh…
And…. Falling!
Er hmm.
Hey come on… Everyone was posing and taking pictures 😉
Interesting fact: the column of words is built in such a way that it’s narrower at the bottom and broader at the top, such that when it is gazed at from our perspective, the column will appear like a uniform rectangle. Oooh!
Well I found it cool anyway.
There are signs that say no pictures inside. There are also security guards patrolling the area. When no one was looking I took pictures anyway. Many tourists were doing it too. Sneaky are us. BUT out of respect I didn’t photograph the tomb. They put le emperor beside his wife. They are fake tombs though, the actual ones are in the basement.
Nicer outside I think.
That’s the Yamuna river behind the Taj. It’s one of the 3 holy rivers – other 2 are the Ganges and Saraswati river.
That’s the Agra fort in the tiny red distance.
The Taj Mahal was very white, and very pretty. The early morning sun gave it a soft glow. It’s made of marble so wow did it glow. I sat there gazing at it for the longest time while Chris explored the mosques on the compound. The Taj is pretty. It is really very pretty. It is a work of art! But as a symbol of love? An extremely rich and powerful man spent a ton of money and power to order a lot of people to toil and work very hard to design and build the amazing Taj Mahal. That doesn’t seem like a lot of effort on his part. Love is more about effort and consideration rather than throwing money about is it not? Yes I love to be pampered and I know the worth of luxury and I will definitely be swayed by pretty diamonds, but…she’s gone. The Taj Mahal is an incredible work of art but for LOVE? Maybe put all that money into hospitals – provide free hospital care to women with birthing complications. This saves all their husbands from heartache. All their Loves will live, and they have precious new Baby Loves too.
Facts: you can get tickets for the Taj Mahal in Delhi (88 Janpath ONLY. Not any other so called tourist offices.) so you won’t have to queue at the ticket offices when you get here. If not there are tickets sold at South and West gates. East gate ticket booth is 750m away from East gate. A couple of tourist arrived at the east gate and had to walk all the way up (to booth) and back down to enter. Lots of tour guides buy tickets in bulk for their group of foreign tourists. They love to casually plonk themselves in front of you ie cut queue. Don’t let them! Glare and reclaim your place in the queue.
If you go really early the ticket booth man might not have change. Bring exact amount.
You will be given a shoe cover (for inside the taj) and a small water bottle.
Managed to get 100 rs for auto rickshaw from train station to taj mahal. Most will quote 150 rs.
We found a cheap, reliable eating place – Joney’s near the south gate. Banana lassi is cheap and good! Malai Kofta yummy. Reasonably priced.
Out of point: Ok nothing to do with the taj mahal… Don’t you just love all the colour and glamour of probably the most beautiful outfit in the world – the sari!
Fascinating!
🙂
Cherry Red Shoes 