The "Taj"

Well, this post has been about two months coming. Back at the beginning of February Jose Luis and I decided that we better get our trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal out of the way early. After going to the wrong railway station at 7 a.m. and racing across the city on a rickshaw to the correct station, we arrived at our train precisely at its departure time: 7:15 a.m.

While the train was quite crowded, we were lucky to have seats for the four hour journey. It wasn't too hot on the train, but we could tell they were already prepared for the hot months to come.

Once in Agra, we found a restaurant with dining on the roof and some Australian and German friends to share lunch with. The view from the roof was a perfect teaser before we set off to explore "The Taj" as it is called by locals and tourists alike.

The classic "Taj" photo. Although you can't see it, there are probably 20 similar photos going on at the exact time just to the right and left of us.

I'm actually quite proud of myself for spotting this photo opportunity: all types of tourists, foreigners and Indians alike, taking photos from a variety of angles in front of "The Taj".

Construction of "The Taj" began in 1630, courtesy of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan who had it build for his wife, Arjumand Jehal. Agra was the capital of the Mughal emperor between the 16th-19th centuries. It is also symmetrical on all sides and while it is an amazing monument in terms of size and beauty from the outside, the inside is much smaller than I thought and the wear of thousands of tourists on the inside shows. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal

This photo is taken from Agra Fort. Taj Mahal actually seems a lot closer than it looks in this photo, but my stupid camera always makes things in the background look further away.

Kirani Market is a crazy place in Agra. There are probably 200 (no joke) sari shops adjacent to each other and somehow they all seem to make a living. A great day trip though. We were back in Delhi by 11 p.m., in time to have some drinks and go dancing with friends.

Yes, it was a long, but incredibly fun day :)