Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Taj Mahal
There are some things in life that are worth getting up early for. Going to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise is definately one of them. We arrived in Agra late one evening as our changeover in Delhi from Dharamsala didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped. When we reached Old Delhi train station no one seemed to know anything about getting a train to Agra. When we went to the ticket office they told us to come back in an hour. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Instead, Chris ran off to an Internet café and bought some tickets online. It's ridiculous that it would be easier to buy tickets online than at the actual train station! Anyway the only tickets available were for a 4pm train so we had several hours waiting around. Our train would be leaving from New Delhi train station and getting there was a complete nightmare as every rickshaw driver we spoke to wanted to rip us off. We decided to take the Metro which was built for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. This actually turned out quite well although you have to go through several security checks before you can get on it!
When we reached Agra the plan was to find a hotel, have some dinner and get to sleep as soon as possible as we wanted to be up at 4.30am to avoid the crowds at the Taj Mahal. The ticket office opens at 6.15am and we were queuing by 5.45am. Keen! Whilst queuing we were approached by several "official guides" wanting to take us around the Taj Mahal but I wasn't in the mood for rushing around. I wanted to take it at my own pace! By the time we made it in, the sun was just beginning to rise over the mighty Taj Mahal which made it look spectacular. The lake on the other side of the building was misty and atmospheric with just one fishing boat slowly rowing upstream. I'm rarely awake for sunrise so excuse my enthusiasm! I've seen pictures of the Taj Mahal my whole life but seeing it up close really blew me away. It's absolutely enormous. We stayed at the Taj Mahal all morning to take pictures and explore the beautiful grounds.
After lunch we went to visit Agra Fort. With the Taj overshadowing it I'd been completely ignorant as to the existence of this spectacular Mughal fort. In fact there are many amazing things to see in Agra but because everyone focuses on the Taj, unless you give yourself a couple of days, you can't see them all. In our case we only had one day in Agra so Agra Fort was the only other thing we saw. It's wonderful and there are glorious views over to the Taj Mahal - do you see what I mean! It always comes back to the Taj. Anyway, the Fort was built as a military structure but Shah Jahan turned it into a palace where he was later imprisoned for 8 years by his son Aurangzeb after he seized power in 1658. A few hours after looking around this Fort we headed over to the north bank of the Yamuna River, in front of Mehtab Bagh to see the Taj Mahal at sunset (this is apparently Agra's worst kept secret!) Our rickshaw driver told us he'd wait for us outside the gate and take us back to our hotel but when we came out he'd disappeared. The other rickshaws pounced and tried to overcharge us but we called their bluff and started walking. We met 2 Americans and a girl from Switzerland on the way and when a rickshaw stopped and said he'd take all 5 of us for 20 rupees each we jumped at the chance. I'm not sure how we all squeezed in there but we managed. When we reached our hotel we had just enough time to grab our bags, get back in the rickshaw and head to the train station for our train to Jaipur.
The mystery surrounding this beautiful monument intrigues me. Legend has it (this is what Dad told me anyway) that on completion of the Taj the Emperor Shah Jahan ordered that the hands of the project's craftsmen be chopped off to prevent them from ever recreating anything so beautiful. It is even thought that he had their eyes gouged out. Apparently no historical evidence supports this but what a wicked tale! To be honest I'd not been that bothered about seeing the Taj Mahal originally. I thought it would probably be overrated and a bit of a bore but it's anything but! I say believe the hype about the Taj Mahal because it truly deserves its place as one of the Wonders of the World.
- comments
Girija C K Balan Beautiful pics and nice write-up.
Daz I remember saying about the eye gouging to prevent replication elsewhere. The hands part wouldn't surprise me either. I'm vaguely aware of other tales too plus a few conspiracy stories! Either way it's great to hear your personal account of the best way to visit the Taj Mahal to see it in all it's glory. Great anecdotes for the travel guides too.