We got up at 5.15am today to make it for the taj mahal gates opening at 6am. We had to line up separately, tourist women, tourist men, Indian women, Indian men. The security is really high, there are metal detectors, they pat every single person down and search all bags.
We walked up through the main gates just as the sun was coming up....I was expecting the sun to come up behind it for some reason but it kind of just appears from in front/to the side. Although it wasnt the effect I expected it still looked beautiful. The building is beautiful, everybody has seen the pictures but its still amazing to see it for real. The work is so impressive, it took 25 years to build and you can see why. The work is very intricate, the art isn't paint work it's all hand carved patterns into the marble with every detail made from precious stones carved into patterns and layer into the stone. It's all very symmetrical and stunning. The pillars on the outside are actually leaning out, it was done on purpose so that if there was an earthquake they wouldn't fall onto the main structure.
No photos allowed inside. The replica tombs of the king and queen are in the centre and the light coming in from the marble carved windows shines in nice patterns. There was a group of Muslims praying in there, which really riled our guide up and he went on this big rant about how it was sacrilege to pray to the emperor because he was just a man. He was so angry about it he was complaining the the guard telling him to get them out!
We had some free time to wander around, we walked around the building and we went to the mosque to the side of it. All very stunning buildings, it must have looked even better when it was built all those years ago!
We then went back to the hotel, there was a buffet breakfast so we STUFFED ourselves to get our money's worth...because lastnight we were disgusted at the prices of the food. We spent about 4 days food budget on one buffet meal and that was the cheapest in there. After a couple of hours we left the hotel (bye bed!:( ) and went to an old stone inlay store where the decendants of the makers of the taj mahal have passed down the skill from son to son and still work. We watched them work, they really are very clever. The marble work is really beautiful, if we wernt backpacking I would have bought something.
We then went to Agra fort. Another wonderful piece of architecture. You really can imagine how it must have looked all those years ago, the remnants of the art work is all still there like shadows on the stone. Everthing was made with precious stones and jewels and gold. There are hooks where curtains spun with silk and gold once hung and many halls and pillars dotted around the complex. You also had a wonderful view of the taj from the top as well as a big arena where they used to put 2 elephants and make them fight for entertainment.
After all of that we travelled back to Delhi. The road we took was nothing like the manic roads before. It was built last year and was like a normal motorway. We went through some new looking areas which is odd to see when we've been seeing so many desperate looking places over the last week. It's a very interesting and odd place, there is so much potential for so much of India to be AMAZING. But for me they seem to have let it all go a bit...as in so many wonderful structures are just not looked after or havnt been looked after. The wonder of it for me wasn't so much what's here now, it's more the memory of what it once was. Not everybody would agree but that's how I've seen it! Its very odd to see the new looking structures placed right next to farm villages or encampments full of poor people. You see people walking around such filthy streets looking all crisp in suits and then you see children being taught how to beg by their parents in the very same spot. It's all happening, all at once.
We're now back at the hotel, eating some snacks we bought cheap from the markets on the way here because we've gone way over budget! We have tea and coffee making facilities in the room and free fruit so we are chilling in the room. Tomorrow we have a free day to go and explore a bit by ourselves and prepare for our onward flight to Nepal on Tuesday :)
