Taj Mahal

The main square before entering the
Taj Mahal grounds.

Us in front of South Gate.

The morning after arriving to Agra we were to visit the Taj Mahal. It was high on Mark's todo list and he had been anticipating it since we made plans to come to India. I, on the other hand, was not terribly excited. I did not want to avoid it rather I just was as excited as Mark. For this trip Lala Gulaba got us a tour guide.

A squirrel - Jacob

Mark had to hand over his video
camera to authorities.

Who he found for us was a student on summer holidays from school, much like us, and who did tours of the Taj Mahal for tips that would hopefully pay for his education. He was an excellent guide, knowing where the best angle were of the Taj Mahal and also informative on the history of the great mausoleum. 

Famous picture spot for
 the Taj Mahal reflection.

A good shot of the Taj Mahal
through South Gate.

The Taj Mahal almost in Connie's eye.

As it turns out the Taj Mahal was built by a kind for his queen who gave him 14 babies, only 8 of which lived. He had planned to build a black Taj Mahal on the opposite side of the river which passed near the Taj Mahal. He would have lived there next to his dead queen.

Mark and Raj. It was like
50C that day.

Me in my footies.

One of the King's sons realized his father's plan to build the second black version and immediately imprisoned him at the Red Agra Fort, some ten kilometers away. This red fort was more of a grand palace and it had a splendid view of the Taj Mahal. The reason his son did this was to save the kingdom's resources. The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build and drained much of the kingdoms resources, and perhaps spirit. Who would live beneath a king who spent 22 years building a grave for his long dead queen? In the end the King died, I think around the age 70. 

I can see why the Taj Mahal is considered a wonder of the world. It is symmetrical no matter which way you cut it (at least vertically). It is made of marble and gems and stones from all over the world. Back then this would have been a costly feat to accomplish. The grounds are pretty too and are maintained by 200 workers every Friday.

A fully formal Indian Family on their
best behavior.

Pink shirt is our tour guide. His name
 was Raj.

It was surprising to see how few foreigners were there. Most of the people who I saw were natives who were in just as much wonder and us. I wonder what attracted them so to the massive building. I suppose in Canada we are drawn to our most beautiful features too. The Rockie mountains for instance. Is this any different?

A funny picture in theory.

Taj Mahal in Mark's eye.

We each took funny pictures that involved the Taj Mahal in some way. Like I said, our guide knew the best angle well. In the end I think we under tipped him. I think this was partly because we were so frustrated that we had been cheated in Delhi into this trip. Looking back it was an adventure I'm glad I didn't pass up.

Mark at the base of a tower.

Taj Mahal in my eye.

After the Taj Mahal we were taken to one of those pre-destined shops. It was a shop that claimed they were the family, 14 generations old, who did all the gemstone engravings on the Taj Mahal. There they showed us the factory, the process of embedding gem stones, and finally pushed their wares upon us. This was the standard procedure. Show "rich" travellers the hard work you do and beautiful wares they have and try to make you buy something. It's kind of laughable, clearly they have never heard of in-debt-student-travelling-on-a-tiny-budget. Connie and Mark got really awkward and out of their comfort zone. I encouraged them to show me their best. I love looking at beautiful things.

Marble work on Taj Mahal. Each colour
is a different stone form a different place.

Shoe covers for walking in the
mausoleum.

We left there in a rush and our adventure in Agra was at an end. Short though it was, I think we gained something from it. Emotional hardiness?

A sweet tree - For Jacob I guess.