The Taj Mahal is . . .
Majestic!
Magnificent!
Extraordinary!
Transcendental!
Grandiose!
Yes. I had to pull out the thesaurus to help me try to convey just our incredible this monument is.
Before I get into more detail, let me set the scene.
I boarded the plane in Dubai at midnight Tuesday/Wednesday morning. Yes. Another redeye.
I have never been able to sleep while flying until I bought one of those neck pillows. Thank God, now I can.
The plane was full. About 300 folks. I was in an aisle seat in the back, sitting by a pleasant couple. I went to sleep immediately, but kept waking myself up with the jerk of my head when it fell forward. So the rhythm was sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk.
No problem. The flight was only three hours. I knew very soon after landing, I'm be in bed.
Note to self. Read the itinerary carefully in the future.
Side note - The airport in New Delhi is beautiful! There is a striking display that greets you that is some kind of sign language. It's simply gorgeous! Slumdog Millionaire must have been a serious exaggeration by the folks in Hollywood because so far, India is beautiful.
I got through customs, the passport check, and met the man who would be driving me to the hotel. As an aside, just making conversation, I asked how long the drive would be. He said four, YES, f-o-u-r hours!
OK. No problem, I was so tired, I'd sleep the whole way.
No so.
The driver was fierce! This dude could be driving for any racing organization. He was weaving in and out of traffic at full throttle, only to brake real hard when he got to speed bumps, which occurred about every two miles.
So he was driving like a bat out of hell, then braking hard, on bumpy, uneven pavement. Driving, braking. Driving, braking. And blowing the horn incessantly. We slowed down in traffic and it looked and sounded like this.
I loved this guy.
Side note 2 - I've never been car sick, but came very close during this trek.
The slums started to appear as we were leaving New Delhi, and they continued off and on for the next three hours.
We stopped about halfway to eat at a place that called itself a hotel/restaurant. It was larger than a whole in the wall, but it had that rustic, dusty look and feel about it. There were three or four other tourists eating, so I figured it was OK. I was hungry and needed the coffee for my (pounding because of a lack of sleep) headache.
At this point, my expectations for the hotel I'd be staying in dropped way down. It was supposed to be a 5-star, but I'm thinking stars don't necessarily mean the same worldwide.
Then, after driving forever, we turned the corner and I see this . . .
It was unbelievably beautiful!
What a treat!
My tour guide met me at the hotel. I explained that I'm exhausted and I had to get some sleep, so we arrange to see that afternoon Taj Mahal at sunset.
The complex sits about a mile from the road, and we could hire a tuk yuk or walk. We decide to walk. There were some merchants along the way, but you can't take any of that stuff inside, so it was a great excuse not to partake.
The area is enclosed and is entered through huge gates. Below is a shot of the main gate as seen from the Taj Mahal.
It was incredible!
I'll leave you with a video of some of the festival festivities going on in the street, followed by one showing some of the fruits and vegetables and the way they are sold.
Majestic!
Magnificent!
Extraordinary!
Transcendental!
Grandiose!
Yes. I had to pull out the thesaurus to help me try to convey just our incredible this monument is.
Before I get into more detail, let me set the scene.
I boarded the plane in Dubai at midnight Tuesday/Wednesday morning. Yes. Another redeye.
I have never been able to sleep while flying until I bought one of those neck pillows. Thank God, now I can.
The plane was full. About 300 folks. I was in an aisle seat in the back, sitting by a pleasant couple. I went to sleep immediately, but kept waking myself up with the jerk of my head when it fell forward. So the rhythm was sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk.
No problem. The flight was only three hours. I knew very soon after landing, I'm be in bed.
Note to self. Read the itinerary carefully in the future.
Side note - The airport in New Delhi is beautiful! There is a striking display that greets you that is some kind of sign language. It's simply gorgeous! Slumdog Millionaire must have been a serious exaggeration by the folks in Hollywood because so far, India is beautiful.
 |
| Although you can't tell, this display is huge. The explanation of the symbols can be found in this link: http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/DIALmudras.pdf |
I got through customs, the passport check, and met the man who would be driving me to the hotel. As an aside, just making conversation, I asked how long the drive would be. He said four, YES, f-o-u-r hours!
OK. No problem, I was so tired, I'd sleep the whole way.
No so.
The driver was fierce! This dude could be driving for any racing organization. He was weaving in and out of traffic at full throttle, only to brake real hard when he got to speed bumps, which occurred about every two miles.
So he was driving like a bat out of hell, then braking hard, on bumpy, uneven pavement. Driving, braking. Driving, braking. And blowing the horn incessantly. We slowed down in traffic and it looked and sounded like this.
I loved this guy.
Side note 2 - I've never been car sick, but came very close during this trek.
The slums started to appear as we were leaving New Delhi, and they continued off and on for the next three hours.
We stopped about halfway to eat at a place that called itself a hotel/restaurant. It was larger than a whole in the wall, but it had that rustic, dusty look and feel about it. There were three or four other tourists eating, so I figured it was OK. I was hungry and needed the coffee for my (pounding because of a lack of sleep) headache.
At this point, my expectations for the hotel I'd be staying in dropped way down. It was supposed to be a 5-star, but I'm thinking stars don't necessarily mean the same worldwide.
Then, after driving forever, we turned the corner and I see this . . .
 |
| Wyndham Grand Agra - Photo from online |
It was unbelievably beautiful!
 |
| Photo I took |
My tour guide met me at the hotel. I explained that I'm exhausted and I had to get some sleep, so we arrange to see that afternoon Taj Mahal at sunset.
The complex sits about a mile from the road, and we could hire a tuk yuk or walk. We decide to walk. There were some merchants along the way, but you can't take any of that stuff inside, so it was a great excuse not to partake.
The area is enclosed and is entered through huge gates. Below is a shot of the main gate as seen from the Taj Mahal.
 |
| My back is to the Taj. |
 |
| I'm in one of the garden areas. |
 |
| There were thousands of people waiting to see the Taj. Most were Indians because it was a national holiday. |
 |
| A closeup of the Taj |
It was incredible!
I'll leave you with a video of some of the festival festivities going on in the street, followed by one showing some of the fruits and vegetables and the way they are sold.
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