The Taj Mahal is Incredible!

THE TAJ MAHAL
Words cannot summarize what I saw and experienced at the Taj Mahal.  I was struck by its presence and beauty.  Described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love, many have tried to sum up its beauty - 'a teardrop on the face of eternity,' according to an Indian poet. I agree, and I hope these photos can do it a little justice. 

Part of the experience was the difficult trip to New Delhi, and then to Agra, which I definitely want to fill you in on.  It was more than worth it, though, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. That being said...Who wants to come back to India with me someday?? It's a magical country, and I would highly recommend this experience to anyone with a passion for travel and an open mind.

Our tour guide had my camera for a lot of these photos, and he did an amazing job! I also got professional pics which are larger prints already in a photo book. I never want to forget this trip!

Wednesday night, five of us departed Bangalore on Indigo, a budget Indian airline, while other four left on a nicer Indian airline.  Abishek from Ripples had warned my consulting group of excessive fog in New Delhi for the past few weeks, and he told us to be careful.  Not only were planes not landing, there were four train accidents in the past 15 days, and several car pile ups.  I was worried we'd encounter some fog, but I never though we wouldn't land...Luckily, we had a gutsy American pilot (random) who said while en route "I WILL land this plane."  It was probably the longest landing ever. Fog everywhere, no visability, and then finally, we hit the runway with a thud. Success! I still couldn't see out my airplane window, but I was excited we were in Delhi.  I'm pretty sure most American airlines wouldn't have let us land in thoses conditions. We must have landed in a field far away because we probably rode the bus to the terminal for about 15 minutes, or maybe that just had to do with the excessive fog.  For the first time, it was cold in India, about 48 degrees. 

We claimed our baggage and went outside to meet our ride. There were a few men holding signs with our names on them.  They said our friends never landed and were rerouted back to Bangalore! So crappy! Apparently most flights were turning around. We were one of the lucky (or crazy) ones that actually landed.

The next part of our adventure was the ride to our hotel...bad fog and little visability. I was remembering what Abishek had said. He specifically told us not to get in a car in the dark when it is foggy. Well, we weren't about to spend the night in the Delhi airport, so we put our trust in our driver, and made it back to the hotel in one piece. I didn't see New Delhi that night. Even though we didn't get in until 2am, the staff greeted us with friendly faces, flower necklaces and fresh juice.

630am we were up and had breakfast on the rooftop of our really cute hotel. The service was incredible, and the breakfast was tasty, and free. By 730am, the five of us loaded our mini bus to the Taj Mahal! We felt so bad for the others that didn't make it in because we were told we couldn't wait for them if we wanted to see the Taj Mahal. This was a Thursday, and the Taj is closed on Fridays. I knew they had to be devasta.

Even though it was only 200kilometers away, the ride to Agra was supposed to take anywhere from 4-5 hours. The crazy driving and traffic scared me, as usual, but I was in good company and was really excited to see the Taj Mahal!  I finally got to see New Delhi as well because there wasn't as much fog. It is really, really underdeveloped. Definitely the poorest place I've ever been. I didn't realize Bangalore was so "nice" for India. Now I know.  A young girl that works at the hotel (about 16) came with us as our interpreter/connection to the hotel. She was so sweet and shy. It was her first time to the Taj as well. We made a rest stop at McDonald's and let me just say that I was completely impressed that half the menu was vegetarian! I couldn't resist, so I ordered a "McVeg." It was pretty good actually. I love India. They really understand me. :)

Several hours later, we arrived in Agra! The town survives off tourism. In an attempt to preserve the Taj Mahal and reduce pollution, since 1994, they no longer are allowed to have factories or polluting cars near the Taj Mahal. We picked up our tour guide and then took transportation to the entrance.

The first thing you see is a large reddish/brown building and courtyard covering the main event. We took some photos in front of it and hired our professional photographer.

Then, we made our way through the fort, and caught our first glimps of the Taj Mahal! I was starstruck. It was so magical.

Needless to say, everyone was impressed, and we took tons of photos. There were beautiful pictures of the extravagant monument.

There were group photos...

There were individual photos too. Lots of those. I liked posing like a princess!

And there were roommate photos...

This is taken from the Taj Mahal, looking back over the gardens, to the entrance.

Directly inside the Taj Mahal, there are replicas of the tombs.  Visitors are no longer allowed to see the real tombs downstairs, (due to vandalism). The walls are beautifully covered in semi precious stones, and they light up in a beautiful way when they are hit with light. Along with other couples, we found out that Will Smith proposed to his wife there! I just kept thinking, would it be possible for me to rent this out for my wedding? Haha. I wish!

We didn't leave until 6pm because we got caught up shopping in a marble store. I made one large purchase on this trip and bought something that will last a lifetime and always remind me of India! Our ride back took 6 hours, and it was definitely the most intense road trip I've ever taken. The fog visability was dangerously bad, but our driver was confident in his driving abilities. I had to make a rest stop halfway through, and they basically took me to an Indian trucker stop. I was escorted to the woods, basically, to the scariest bathroom of all time. The "room" was a dirt floor covered by a sheet instead of a door. Awesome! The rest of the trip back, we played "would you rather" to entertain ourselves. The game went something like this: Would you rather __________ or live in that bathroom for a day?  It was that bad. Needless to say, we made it back safely and will never forget our trip to the Taj Mahal!!  I definitely want to visit it again one day.  I'm sad to leave India tomorrow, but excited to get back home as well. I could definitely travel for a living.  See you soon!