The Taj Mahal, from a distance?

Question: How many people can you fit on a rickshaw?
This is the land of Shiva.
A smile is the International language!
Even stopping for gas can be a real adventure! Lynne poses with these guys waiting behind us at the gas station. Look, same head dress!
Fruit is always available when you are on the road.
We stop at a Chai Shop(hehehe) along the side of the road. Our driver spoke absolutely no English. But somehow, we all enjoyed a Chai tea together!

We had a choice; either fly or take a 9 hour cab ride to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. While gathering details about the car trip in a local internet/travel agency, I meet a lovely woman that I noticed on the street earlier in the day. Her name is Shanta and she is an American living here for the past few years. I noticed her earlier because she was wearing bright orange robes with matching orange Crocs. I thought it was cute and she was beautiful. Whenever I see someone that looks western I always try to start up a conversation and maybe get some inside information about our travels. She was on the computer checking her email when I asked her where she was from. She told me originally Washington but now she lives here. She said that she used to follow a certain guru with her husband but now lives alone somewhere between Hardwar and Rishikesh. She hears that I am considering taking a cab to Agra and asks why I want to be on a bumpy road for such a long trip. Priscilla and I want to see the land and decide to take the car despite her advise. Big mistake! The trip ended up being 12 hours, not nine. And to call the road bumpy was an understatement. At one point we actually almost come to a complete stop because the potholes are so large we might fall right in. We arrive in Agra around 10pm, weary and bruised. We should have listened to Shanta!

We find an incredible hotel after checking out several places and have the porters bring in our luggage. We get our keys and ask for a wakeup call. We tell the four people standing behind the desk our plans to have a quick breakfast then off to see the Taj. They smile and say, "The Taj is closed on tomorrow". We look at each other and back at them. We actually believe they're kidding. "You are joking, right?", we ask. "No, I'm sorry. Friday is a holy day in the Muslim religion so it is always closed on Fridays." OMG! You should have seen our faces. We decide to make the best of it and get as close as possible in morning, take a few pics, and be on our way to Delhi to shop and begin our journey home.

After the best nights sleep I've had in a long time, we decide to try to see the Taj from the rooftop of our hotel. The view is cloudy but we definitely get a glimpe of it at a distance. We have breakfast in the cafe downstairs and have our bags brought back down by the porters. The poor man we've hired to drive us seems to have slept in the car all night, something that upsets Priscilla. She has been feeding him her leftovers from restaurants and giving him fruit she bought on the street since the ride began. We were warned that the street vendors and tour guides here can be quite aggressive, and this morning we see it's true. When we walk out to the car, sharks(as I call them) are swarming. They are selling tour books, asking if we need a guide, there's even a lady holding a small baby pointing to her mouth asking for food. She really wants money. There is a young man there, too, speaking almost perfect English. Hmmmm.... Can he be trusted? We end up hiring him to take us to "the best view of the Taj", he says, "even better than from the inside". When we get in the car he begins educating us. His voice changes and he asks us every once in a while if we understand. Funny. He told us earlier that it is his day off today and that he doesn't expect money. Whatever! He knows a lot about this place; names of the different kings and queens who lived here, dates when the building of this huge marble structure took place. He reminds us that back then there wasn't any machinery to lift these gigantic pieces of stone, it was all done by hand. Hard to believe. He says the king lost one of his many wives to childbirth and he was so distraught that he built the Taj as an everlasting symbol of his love for her. Priscilla brings up a good point; weren't the other wives kind of jealous? hehehe! After it's completion he decided to built another one, only black this time, where he will live out the rest of his life. The two are meant to signify white for female and black for male. His son,a bit more reasonable than the king, insists that he not waste the tax payers money on such a frivolous thing. The king refuses and the son has him arrested and thrown in jail. The Fort of Agra, which we drove past on our way to the Taj, seems to go on and on. It literally looks like a huge castle except really long instead of tall going on for several blocks. The king is said to have been kept here in a cell where he could see the Taj through his window. He died here after close to a decade.

We arrive in a parking lot filled with cars. The temple is open for Muslims to worship but not the Taj itself. There are beautiful gardens with a fountain at one side. We walk down a long brick sidewalk along the sides of the garden then through iron gates into a huge desert-like area. We look up and there it is, towering high into the clear blue sky. It is magnificent. Doesn't look white though. Our guide tells us that the stone has a certain quality that allows it to change color according to the time of day. Morning is supposed to be the best time to view it. As we walk closer there are children selling all sorts of souvenirs; books, key chains, maps. A small Indian man walks up with a camel. Yes, a really big camel. He asks if we want a ride. I'm like, heck yeah! Priscilla's like, hell no! I climb on and the camel lifts his butt, yikes, hold on tight. Then he lifts his front half, Whoa Nelly! I love it. Here I am riding on a camel with the Taj Mahal behind me. (video soon) Life is Good! Later on I talk Priscilla into petting, then sitting on the camel, but definitely not riding it!

We leave for Delhi around 1 pm with plenty of time to shop and make our 1:40am flight. The traffic in Delhi is so horrendous that we decide to skip shopping and go straight to the airport, even if it means a three hour wait till we can even get into the airport. So we lug our things into the waiting room cafe across from the airport and start eating. The food is actually really good, but we are tired. The guys running the restaurant try to kick us out of the comfy seats and move us the the airport seats on the other side of the room if we are done ordering. No way, we'll just keep buying coffee! Our flights were fine, only a three hour layover in Amsterdam. We arrive home around 2pm on Sat. Back to reality. It's Tuesday though, and I'm still not fully here in the good old USA. Give me time and I'll land eventually. I did miss the modern conveniences of this country. But feel drawn back again and again to the constant sound of Ommmmm that moves through the air, the mountains and rivers of India. The feeling of spirit is everywhere there. That I will miss! Till next time. Namaste~
p.s. Please check back as I will be posting video from the trip soon. Thanks for joining me.