Taj Mahal

This week has been kind of crazy trying to finish up work and plan our itinerary before we leave for London. I can’t believe that tomorrow is our last day here…a month has flown by. We packed our bags today so we’re not scrambling tomorrow, since we have a dinner reservation at a nice restaurant to celebrate our last night. It’s kind of sad! I’m going to miss it here, but I’m ready to leave at the same time.

Last night I met T and two of his coworkers at a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was interesting because one of the guys just returned from NYC for a few months, he was working in the office over there, and the other guy (who I met at the wedding) worked in New York about a year ago. We were discussing their thoughts on America and also the misconceptions T and I had about India before arriving. They were talking about how a lot of Americans are scared to come to India, yet Hyderabad is actually a much safer city than Philadelphia or NYC; I actually read this before arriving here, but India has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the world. We were telling them how people get murdered almost every day in Philadelphia and their eyes got really wide. The guys were telling us how they were nervous about being in New York because they know some people carry guns and there are frequent murders; it's really rare for someone to get murdered here in Hyd. On the other hand, we don't need to get wanded down every time we enter a building and get checked for bombs back home (although it's probably a good idea), so I guess it's a trade-off.

So back to the Taj Mahal. We made sure to set the alarm on T’s phone AND get a wakeup call from the front desk, just in case. There was no way I was going to oversleep again! The best time to visit the Taj Mahal is at sunrise, so we had to meet our driver downstairs at 6am. I didn’t even mind getting up so early again because I was ridiculously excited to see the Taj. On a random note, the alarm on his phone says (in a strict-sounding female British voice) “It’s time to get up. It’s five o’clock. It’s time to get up. It’s five o’clock.”

Our local guide in Agra, Kishore, met us in the lobby. He was really cool, but Jimmy is still my fave! We stopped at an ATM along the way since the Taj doesn’t take credit cards and we didn’t have enough cash left. It was a quick drive and we got out at a little tourist office. Kishore went in and bought our tickets and then gave us a little gift bag with a water bottle and some type of tissue looking things in a plastic bag. We didn’t know what they were so we threw them out. This proved to be a mistake, which we’ll get to later…

Anyway, they don’t allow vehicles in the area right outside, so the driver left and we waited for a bus. You also could take a horse-drawn carriage, but it was extra $ so we opted for the free bus. The bus had possibly the world’s smallest seats – you could barely fit the two of us on one seat. They dropped us off on the end of the street leading to the Taj Mahal and you have to walk a couple of minutes to get there. The street is lined with a bunch of random stores but none were open yet, so at least we didn’t have people trying to sell us things.

The line to get in the gate was already really long, and it was maybe 6:30am at that point. We watched some monkeys playing on the gate and cows and dogs sitting in the colored Holi powder. Some lady was petting a cow and he was lifting his chin up like a cat – haha.

There were separate security lines for men and women so I had to split up from T and Kishore. I expected the ladies line to go much slower, but it turned out I finished before them because some guy held up the whole line b/c he brought a bag full of iPods and stuff. They don’t let you bring anything in besides a camera and basic items like your wallet, cell phone, hand sanitizer or whatever. You can't bring any food and definitely not gum (the girl in front of me had hers confiscated). We heard this loud crashing sound and realized one of the monkeys had jumped down on the makeshift roof over the metal detectors – it scared the crap out of everyone - then he jumped down into the crowd! We had already gone through security at that point so I’m glad he didn’t jump on us.

Kishore told us some of the history behind the Taj Mahal as we walked toward the entrance. Shah Jahan built it as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while she was eight months pregnant at age 29. She traveled all the way from Agra to Delhi (which even by car today is about a four hour trip) to consult her husband on the battlefield…it took her 30 days to get there and she started to experience bleeding problems. The baby survived but she died. Shah Jahan was devastated and promised her that he’d always remember her and everyone would know her name…so he ordered construction of the Taj Mahal later that year. It’s amazing to think how they built this so long ago and it’s still standing and looks in perfect condition.

We finally got to see the Taj Mahal a few minutes later – you walk through this huge gate with a big archway and you can see it through the arches. I’m going to do a very poor job of describing the experience, because you really can’t understand unless you’ve been there. I saw a few people around us wiping tears away; seeing it for the first time is pretty emotional. Photos don't do it justice and the monument is seriously HUGE! We took a bunch of pictures right away and then continued down to the garden area to sit on a bench with Kishore and learn more about the building.

He told us how it took 22 years to build the Taj and how the marble is inlaid with semi-precious stones like jade, coral, turquoise, mother of pearl and lapis. All of the little flower patterns in the marble are made from these stones. Next we went over to this platform in front and Kishore pointed out that Princess Diana had taken pictures on this particular bench when she visited. Being a big fan of hers and English royalty in general I was super excited to get my photo taken on the bench. Unfortunately when I Googled for the picture later it seemed she was sitting on the bench right behind the water, and not that one. GRRR!!! It’s weird because there are tons of other pictures of people online sitting on the same bench as me, so I wonder if they moved it or something. Either that or all of the tour guides have no idea what they're talking about, because there was a big line of people to take photos on that bench.

Next we went to go inside, and Kishore asked us if we had our booties to cover our shoes. They don’t let you inside without covering your shoes (to protect the marble). We looked at each other with confusion. Booties? Then there was the moment of realization…we threw them out. Shiiiiit!!

Kishore said that it was no problem but we would either have to take our shoes off and walk barefoot (gross) or take used booties and put them over our shoes (also gross). We took the used booties and the germaphobe in me was slightly freaking out. We went inside and Kishore showed us the detail on all of the flowers using a little pen light, since it was pretty dark in there. Some of the flowers were made out of 30 or more little petals of jewels, and some were so tiny that the craftsmen had to use tweezers to inlay the stones. The tombs are in the center of the room, but it turns out they’re fakes. There were some really creepy falling-apart looking steps that were blocked off; Kishore said that’s the way to get down to the real tombs, but it’s currently closed to the public.

He left us to have free time so we walked around and took a ton of pictures and then met him back at the gate to leave. It was definitely an amazing experience. If you have the opportunity to go, don’t pass it up!

We went back to the hotel for the breakfast buffet, packed up, checked out and headed out at 9am to drive to Agra Fort. It was more of a walled city/palace and is where Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal lived, along with their children and many other rulers, concubines and servants. Humayun, whose tomb we saw in Delhi, also lived here. It was in excellent condition, definitely better preserved than Golconda Fort in Hyd. We saw the rooms where Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal lived, and where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son in a tower for eight years. The rooms looked a lot like the Taj Mahal (white marble, inlaid stones) and you could actually see an amazing view of the Taj from the windows.

The fort wasn’t crowded at all, maybe because of Holi. An Indian family came up and asked if we’d take a picture with them, so T and I posed for a shot. Kishore explained that they were tourists from a part of India where it was very uncommon to see white people, so they were excited to take a picture with us and show people at home.

After the fort we headed to a marble factory to see the process of inlaying the stones in marble. Of course they had a store, too, and we went through a similar process as the Dr. Butt carpet store. This guy wasn’t quite as pushy, and he even threw in a free elephant figurine, which was nice. We ended up buying two coasters with lapis and coral and a few other stones shaped into flowers.

We had about two more hours to kill before leaving for Delhi; our flight was not until 8:40 pm and Kishore advised us not to get on the roads until 1pm because of the Holi festival and people being rowdy in the streets. We saw a bunch of people dancing and covering each other in the colored powder. Some guy threw a water balloon at our van and at first I thought it was a rock because that's how hard it hit; it actually made a dent. Then I realized why Jimmy didn't want to take us into Old Delhi.

There weren’t any other things to see in Agra since they were closed for the holiday, and we didn’t want to shop…so we had them drop us off at the hotel and we hung out in the gazebo for a while and took a walk around the grounds. We ended up leaving at noon and I was kind of sad that the weekend was over since we had such a good time.

With the holiday we were told it could take five or six hours to get to Delhi, but the roads weren’t bad at all. In fact we made better time than Saturday and ended up in Delhi at 3:30. That’s right, we got to the airport five hours early.

T and I headed to Café Coffee Day, which is kind of like a Starbucks, and sat down for a while. Delhi’s airport is pretty nice and has some decent stores (Accessorize! My favorite accessory store in London). I bought a couple of Taj Mahal magnets, since we didn’t buy any souvenirs in Agra – the only places to get them were from randoms on the street and everyone tells you not to buy from hawkers.

I read for a while and listened to my iPod and then finally they announced our gate. We were definitely the first people at the gate and then this guy who T met in the bathroom came and talked to us. He was telling us how he was from Agra and works in the postal department, and had come to Delhi for training. He was so excited about his job and telling us all about it, and how the young people want to work and are motivated to do a good job. He was so happy and proud talking about the new services they're offering in the post office here. T was saying how the guy didn’t know how to use the automatic sinks in the bathroom, so I am guessing it might have been the first time he’s been in a big city. It’s funny because if a random came up and talked to us in an airport in the States I’d probably think they were a) crazy b) trying to sell me something or c) trying to steal my purse. People here are so genuinely friendly, it’s refreshing.

The flight back was uneventful and we arrived in Hyderabad around 11:30 p.m. Our driver popped a CD in as we hit the road and I nearly died laughing…out blasts “EVERYBODY GROOVE TO THE MUSIC…EVERYBODY JAM!!!!”

He was listening to the Backstreet Boys! Yesssssssss! The perfect way to end our last weekend in India.