Taj Mahal? Check!
Friday, May 18th, 2007I went to the Taj Mahal yesterday. They gouge foreigners at the ticket counter– 750 rupees! To put that in perspective, consider that my hotel room, complete with luxury items like hot water, air conditioning, and TV, was 300 rupees a night. But it’s totally worth it because it’s the Taj Mahal, the international symbol of India, one of the 7 wonders of the world (at least on some of the many lists I have read), and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
Funny, first point about my experience: my first thought of the morning was “What am I going to wear?” I’m not the type of traveler who takes photos of myself in front of monuments but this was the Taj Mahal and I needed a decent outfit. I knew a girl in DC who had an old black-and-white picture of her grandparents in front of the Taj and I decided upon seeing it that I needed one of my own to pass down to my grandkids… and for people to use in the photo pages of my biography someday. Nothing says global explorer like a photo in front of the Taj. Or the pyramids– and I’ll take care of that photo this fall.
But, unfortunately, being the long-term traveler that I am, all I had were dirty, wrinkled, and stinky clothes. (Thank god you can’t smell photos.) Nonetheless, I did my photo shoot, Matteo did his, and we did the cute couple photos together, and everything turned out great. I now have photographic proof of being an international traveler extraordinaire.
Matteo and I also took photos with several Indian individuals and groups. Which brings me to a random tidbit about traveling in India. When I lived in Ghana, people would stare at you out of curiosity. In India, they stare, but -as citizens of a wealthier nation- they also take photographs of you. All of the time. And they also want you to pose with their children, their entire family, and their tour groups. I don’t mind this, especially since I take Indians’ photographs and think that it’s a fair trade, but I also wish that there was more of an exchange involved apart from the photo. At the Taj, for example, conversations usually went like this:
Indian man: “Hello! From what country?”
Me: “America.”
(Or, Matteo says “Aameerika” like an Indian. Kinda funny.)
Indian man: “You take photo?”
(Man shoves daughter/son/wife/mother/friend towards us, tells individual[s] to put arms around us like we’ve known each other for years. Clicks camera.)
Indian man: “Ok! Bye!”
I usually try to get a few questions in to the embarrassed daughter, or the smiling wife before the camera clicks, but it’s never very satisfying. Oh well.
So, after paying the 750 rupees fee, and taking many, many photos for our own use and others’ photo albums, Matteo and I actually went inside the Taj, and walked around the grounds.
Some fun facts that I discovered during our visit:
· You can travel to the Taj by camel-drawn cart. (I didn’t- I’m just saying you can. There seem to be tons of camels in Agra, but only for the tourists.)
· The Taj has mosques on its east and west sides (which you never seem to see in pictures, but are very nice), but one is a “fake” mosque built only for symmetry.
· After the Taj was built, Emperor Shahjahan (who ordered the Taj built in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal) cut off the hands of the workers to ensure that the monument’s design would not be replicated.
· The gardens in front of the Taj are kept tidy by the coolest cow-pulled lawnmower contraption that I have ever seen (and probably will ever see).
Later in the day, Matteo and I also visited the Agra Fort, which is also pretty cool, but I’ve been at the internet cafe for too long so you’ll just have to Google it. Ha. No, really.
And now, after a night train ride, I’m in Bodhgaya, home to the Bodhi tree and the place of the Buddha’s enlightenment. And so the adventures continue…
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