Day 15 - Agra continued
TAJ MAHAL DAY!!!!
Which meant up and out the door at 5:00. Our guide wanted us to be in early and watch the sunrise over the tomb. It really was a case of hurry up and wait as doors didn't open until 6:30. In we burst and after the history of the Taj from a local guide, we were free to explore. To my great relief, it was nowhere near as crowded as we had seen it the day before, which happened to be a couple religious holidays converging.
Okay, let me just say that the Taj Mahal is spectacular. It is larger and even more elegant than I had imagined. We easily spent nearly 3 hours wandering the gardens, the perimeter, the tomb and also the parallel mosque and guest houses. It is symmetrical within millimetres and the whole is encrusted with semi-precious stones and carved translucent marble. The colours warmed and sparkled in the morning light and little green parakeets flitted from tower to tower. The gardens were cool and fragrant and well maintained. A caretaker was watering the lawn and watching over egrets playing in the water and hunting frogs. I can't imagine how extraordinary it would have been back in 1653, freshly completed and glistening.
There were two things that damped my experience: the smoke/smog interfered with the photos, casting a white haze across the scene, and again we were bothered for photos or simply photographed without permission at every turn. I finally hit a creepy photo wall and Jill and I made the drastic decision to photobomb every paparazzi-style shot we noticed. There are photos of us making various awesome faces and antics. I made a growling lion face, a wassup face, a donkey face, and a puffy fat face. You are welcome random Indian people's Facebook.
Back to the hotel for a quick nap and to pack our bags. We had the full day in Agra, but we were taking the 11:30 night train to Varanasi so everything had to be out of the rooms by noon. This did not dissuade us from a shopping spree in the local market. This market, Kinari, was unlike any other we had seen in India yet. It was a very local market with very few tourists. They were sari fabrics, embroidery stands, kids clothes, bangles, shoes and home wears lining both sides of a narrow alley. It was packed with thousands of people shopping and the five girls adventurously perusing the stalls were at the mercy of the crushing crowd. These tiny elderly ladies seemed to have the upper body strength of professional linebackers and no mercy if you are in the way. It was hilarious!
I did manage to buy an adorable outfit for a certain niece, two beautiful pieces of silk fabric, and a few bangles that I stupidly didn't try on and are too small.
It was a crazy busy day do the afternoon was spent mostly having a long lunch and socializing with the rest of the tour group. Staying up until midnight is tough to do when you always wake up at 4:45 in the morning. I hope to get some sleep on the train but the man in the bunk below me has black lung or something equally serious I suspect as the noises coming from his person are practically inhuman.
Which meant up and out the door at 5:00. Our guide wanted us to be in early and watch the sunrise over the tomb. It really was a case of hurry up and wait as doors didn't open until 6:30. In we burst and after the history of the Taj from a local guide, we were free to explore. To my great relief, it was nowhere near as crowded as we had seen it the day before, which happened to be a couple religious holidays converging.
Okay, let me just say that the Taj Mahal is spectacular. It is larger and even more elegant than I had imagined. We easily spent nearly 3 hours wandering the gardens, the perimeter, the tomb and also the parallel mosque and guest houses. It is symmetrical within millimetres and the whole is encrusted with semi-precious stones and carved translucent marble. The colours warmed and sparkled in the morning light and little green parakeets flitted from tower to tower. The gardens were cool and fragrant and well maintained. A caretaker was watering the lawn and watching over egrets playing in the water and hunting frogs. I can't imagine how extraordinary it would have been back in 1653, freshly completed and glistening.
There were two things that damped my experience: the smoke/smog interfered with the photos, casting a white haze across the scene, and again we were bothered for photos or simply photographed without permission at every turn. I finally hit a creepy photo wall and Jill and I made the drastic decision to photobomb every paparazzi-style shot we noticed. There are photos of us making various awesome faces and antics. I made a growling lion face, a wassup face, a donkey face, and a puffy fat face. You are welcome random Indian people's Facebook.
Back to the hotel for a quick nap and to pack our bags. We had the full day in Agra, but we were taking the 11:30 night train to Varanasi so everything had to be out of the rooms by noon. This did not dissuade us from a shopping spree in the local market. This market, Kinari, was unlike any other we had seen in India yet. It was a very local market with very few tourists. They were sari fabrics, embroidery stands, kids clothes, bangles, shoes and home wears lining both sides of a narrow alley. It was packed with thousands of people shopping and the five girls adventurously perusing the stalls were at the mercy of the crushing crowd. These tiny elderly ladies seemed to have the upper body strength of professional linebackers and no mercy if you are in the way. It was hilarious!
I did manage to buy an adorable outfit for a certain niece, two beautiful pieces of silk fabric, and a few bangles that I stupidly didn't try on and are too small.
It was a crazy busy day do the afternoon was spent mostly having a long lunch and socializing with the rest of the tour group. Staying up until midnight is tough to do when you always wake up at 4:45 in the morning. I hope to get some sleep on the train but the man in the bunk below me has black lung or something equally serious I suspect as the noises coming from his person are practically inhuman.
[…] properties in more than 167 countries to check out. Besides some of the better known sites like the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, Macchu Pichu and Petra which I have been fortunate enough to visit, there are amazing […]
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