I had been warned by many people, however, that Agra sucks and that I should only spend the hours required to see the Fort and the Taj. And I definitely agree, but I was too stubborn to listen and decided to spend the night, mostly because I wanted to be able to see the Taj at both sunset and sunrise, which I actually think was worth the hassle, the bad food, and the pollution of Agra.
I also think I picked the perfect weekend to be in Agra. As it was September 1st, most European and American tourists had to be at their respective homes because holiday was coming to an end AND most study abroad and gap year students haven't yet arrived (though there were some gap years trickling around). But really--I imagine that this week is one of the lowest in terms of tourist traffic and you could sense it. Even the Taj Mahal was not too crowded and I was delighted.
The main thing to do in Agra is basically to gaze lovingly at the Taj from various angles and in various different lights, so that's exactly what I did for two days straight.
The afternoon that arrived I lucked out and found a very sweet and very toothless rickshaw driver named Lalu who was willing to drive me around all afternoon for the equivalent of $1.80. I gladly accepted and, after lunch at an amazing vegetarian restaurant, went to see Agra Fort.
Agra Fort was really wonderful and I was lucky to be there on a really beautiful day.
While I was there, I also had a very Prince Ali moment because as I was looking out over the Taj Mahal, I live marching band started playing somewhere. It was something straight out of Aladdin and it was awesome.
To see the sunset, I opted to simply have a lassi at a nearby rooftop restaurant. Though the sunset was beautiful, the Taj faces north-south and so it's really impossible to get a view of the monument itself with a pretty sky in the background (I actually have a feeling that the photos that show this are airbrushed, but maybe there are times of the year when you can view it this way). That said, it was nice to get yet another view of the Taj.
It looked a lot closer in person--I'm not entirely sure why I failed to capture that on film
On Tuesday morning, I woke up bright and early to get to the Taj Mahal for sunrise. It was well worth it. Not only was the sky really beautiful (again, not directly behind the Taj, though it gave the stone a subtle pink tone), but there were less crowds than midday and for the most part, I beat the heat.
The Taj Mahal, as I said, is pretty breathtaking.
Built in the 1600s, it is geniusly constructed. The designers set it on a rather tall base so that the only backdrop for the Taj is the sky itself and the minarets that bookend the mausoleum are not perfectly perpendicular to the ground, but lean away from the Taj, so that if they fall, they don't smash the main building in.
The primary structure of the Taj Mahal is the mausoleum and this itself is surprisingly small from the inside, though quite stunning regardless. Actually, compared to what expected, the whole Taj Mahal is pretty small (the base itself is easily less than half the width of a football field).
In order to make it the ultimate monument of love, the story goes that all of the construction workers' hands were chopped off to ensure that a replica would never be built. While this last part isn't my idea of romantic, I cannot deny that, once again, something in India has given be unrealistic expectations about love.
Basking in the prettiness
I love a good sunrise
The gate that leads to the gardens and the Taj Mahal itself
A view from the bench in the Taj gardens on which I spent most of the morning
Ahh! So pretty...
After seeing the Taj, I found a little bit of a haven by going to the Taj Mahal Nature Walk. Filled with butterflies and pretty birds, it was really nice to get away from the main city and take a walk around. In India, it's rare to find peace and quiet outside of one's bedroom, and I basked in it for as long as it lasted.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long. I found this little gazebo thing and sat down to read. Within an hour, a young Indian came to canoodle in the gazebo and a group of Indian teenagers sat down nearby to watch me read.
Oh well...I had a half hour or so of peace and quiet, and I suppose that, until the U.S., that is all I'm going to get...
Okay, it just needed to be shown. My hotel room was perfectly clean (for 8 bucks a night), except for this horrendously dirty shag couch
And because I had to end a pretty note, another view (this time from the gazebo that I found to read in)
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