This post is definitely of one of my favorite days of my entire year: WE WENT TO THE TAJ MAHAL!!! For our first full day in India, Anuj, Melissa and I woke up at 5:30am in order to drive to the city of Agra (about a 4 hour drive from New Delhi) to see the Taj Mahal! Anuj's family organized for a driver to pick us up and take us there. It was awesome.
The drive itself was fascinating: As we approached the city of Agra, there were cows eating trash on the sides (sometimes middle) of the highway. The traffic (driving, really) was insane...The craziest I have ever seen (and that includes Vietnam!) We crossed a giant bridge and there were herds of cattle fording the river on one side; on the other side there was a dry island-patch where people were drying beautiful colored fabric in the sun. I was in heaven :)
I was also stunned to see that there were wild monkeys everywhere near the city! (I still have a bit of PTSD from Bali, so I kept the window rolled up). There were just so many people! This was the India that I pictured. Like I'd heard so many times before, you haven't really seen anything until you've been to India. It is so stimulating, so inspiring. There is always something to look at. I understand how Steve Jobs came here for 6 months before creating Apple.
I kept my eyes peeled for the Taj Mahal. I saw a look-alike in the distance, but it was a false alarm. I kept scanning the surroundings. BOOM!!! All of the sudden there it was. It was just there. It was looming in the distance, just its outline. It. Was. Magnificent. I can't even describe how incredible it looked in the misty, foggy haze. Our driver dropped us off, and all of the sudden we were surrounded by camels, donkeys, and white horses. Walking up to the Taj Mahal entrance we were followed by people offering guided tours or selling souvenirs. In my opinion, they were less aggressive than in Cambodia at Angkor Wat, but about equally aggressive to the vendors at the Great Wall of China. The Taj Mahal is under constant terrorist-attack threats...from Muslims! (Ironic because it's one of the greatest pieces of Islamic architecture in the world).We also spotted a policeman lightly beating a man, and his rickshaw, with his lathis (basically a beating stick). This would never fly in America. Someone would get sued.
We had to buy our tickets, and all three of us were charged the foreign rate (about $15 instead of 50 cents). Anuj was pissed! Then we were separated from men and women as we went through security- metal detectors and a frisk (my lucky day!) We also got a free (included) guide with our tour. Anuj and Melissa didn't believe he was free at first/ didn't want him, but I insisted that we use him. I firmly looked at him and said, "You understand that we are not paying you anything at the end of this tour." He understood and reiterated that it was included (it turned out to be a great tour, but you always need to be firm at Wonders of the World sites haha). As we entered the main gate, there it was. It was just there, the Taj Mahal, perfectly framed by the entrance gate. Unreal.
The Taj Mahal is 400 years old, and took 22 years to create. Besides the sheer magnitude of the Taj Mahal (Taj meaning "crown" and Mahal meaning "palace"), the work on it when you get close up was absolutely stunning. There were arabic prayers from the Qu'ran carved in black stone and inlaid around the entrance, beautifully carved and inlaid stone flowers, incredible marble carvings that are so intricate if one piece breaks the whole thing will collapse, and archways that were carved to look like diamonds. The hands of the laborers who did the one-of-a-kind craftsmanship were cut off so that they could never repeat the work (yikes). The Taj Mahal is also (surprisingly) floating! It's also built with resin glue. It was spectacular. The Taj Mahal was built by an Islamic king to remember his (favorite) wife. Inside, you can see her tomb; the king's tomb lays right next to hers, even though he wanted to be buried in an adjacent black building (he died before it could be built, and his daughter decided to bury him next to his queen). Hilariously (to me) the king's other two wives lie on the same grounds, in smaller nearby tombs.
India is chaos.
There are also cows with blue painted horns. I don't know why, but cows are holy in India (Hinduism). I also noticed that many women wearing saris are (not) skinny. Some of them have fat tummies peeking out of their saris...totally acceptable and normal (but what would a Thai woman say?!) Shirien, Anuj's cousin, told us that the only reason that Indian women sometimes cover their heads with the shawls from their saris is because, long ago, Muslims invaded India and the Muslim men raped the Indian women. To protect their women, the Indian men started having the women cover up (similar to the headscarves that Muslim women wear). The fashion stuck around.
I stared at the Taj Mahal for an extra long time for my Mom (who asked me to), my students (many of whom want to go but will never have the chance), and for people all over the world who can't be there. Then I smiled at some Indian girls, and before I knew it, Melissa and I were posing in pictures (Thai style) with Indian strangers for a good 15 minutes.
Then some more of Anuj's family met us at the Taj Mahal! It was so great to meet them, and they were so friendly. Our tourguide, Ahman, liked us so much that he just kind of hung out with us haha. We went with Anuj's family to a friend's home, where we ate a delicious meal. At the home, I was approached by two younger girls who wanted to talk with Melissa and me. She told me that I was the first native English speaker she's ever talked to(!!!) That was a really cool feeling, and her English was amazing. She asked questions about America, and I asked questions about India. She told me, "You're so open and free in America!" She then revealed that she is of the "Jain" faith (which I just learned about from my friend Nikhil in Bali). She explained to me that Jainists don't eat any meat of any kind, they don't use animal products, and they don't eat root vegetables (because of germs). She told me that Jainists believe that death should not be feared, and that humans must (struggle) to not be afraid of death because spirits always live on. This girl also taught me that henna is drawn on the bride's hands as a symbol of good luck for her husband. She said that the husband's name is written hidden on one of her hands, and her husband must find it (that seems like a fun game!) In return, I taught her a bit about American culture (I'm good at that by now), and about Judaism traditions. I talked about Jews not eating shrimp, no milk and meat, breaking a glass at a Jewish wedding...this exchange was really fun!
We then went into the kitchen where all of the women (maybe 5 or 6) showed Melissa and I how to make traditional Indian chai tea (served in smaller cups than we use in America). I was in heaven. It was such a special lunch, and day.
Indian snack-stop on the drive to Agra!
"American style" sour cream and onion and "Tomato Tango" chips
...and FROOTI!
Camel right outside the Taj Mahal
Silly camel!
Beautiful structure right before the gate to the Taj Mahal
Melissa, Anuj, and me
Beautiful stone-inlaid carvings
My first glimpse of the Taj Mahal from the park, framed
by a perfectly proportioned gate.
Wow...
Me and Anuj!
Me
Me again
Another one of me
I'm dangling the Taj Mahal in my hand!
We had a beautiful day, as you can tell :)
Action shot!
Probably my favorite picture of the three of us
Me, Anuj, Melissa
Just me and the Taj
Sitting on the famous bench that VIPs always sit on
(aka Bill Clinton and Princess Diana)
Walking closer
So beautiful
Different angle
View from the Taj Mahal looking back at the entrance gate
Everyone, even guards, must wear booties inside
Beautiful carving and stone detailing
View through one of the marble carved gates
View from the back of the Taj Mahal
(a lake that's drying up)
One of my favorite shots
Indians at the Taj Mahal :)
The black birds circling the Taj Mahal added so much
"magic" to the feeling of being there.
Me and our guide, Ahman
Ahman, Melissa, Anuj + booties
Just beautiful detailing
Anuj's family!!!
Walking together haha
First moments after meeting up
Men feeling the detailed stonework on the Taj Mahal
Beautiful tree-lined lane leading back to the entrance
Side view
Melissa, Me, Anuj
So impressive
I swear my guide made me pose like this (I swear)
But hey, I look pretty good, eh?
The beauty!
Goodbye, Taj Mahal
(Looking back)
Looking back one final time...
(Do you see the Taj Mahal?!)
Celebrity time!
Photos with strangers
More photos
Everyone wants a piece of me!
It was fun though :)
Everyone was so happy!
The most beautiful shade of purple on this sari in front
Stone carving demonstration in a shop right outside..Wow!!!
All of the different stones that were used in the Taj Mahal
An artisan (the only son that was taught this
craftsmanship, because it is so rare and difficult!)
Some of the beautiful pieces
The stone work on these pieces was incredible.
Tea candle holders (left) and marble boxes
Anuj, walking back to the car
"Taj Mahal" (second sign from the left)
The bustling streets of downtown Agra
Indian chai tea!!! (Delicious)
After our tea-making lesson :)
My two new friends :)!
Their spice drawer!
Final picture for this post:
My favorite Taj picture :)
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