Day 30: Agra

Of course last night there was a wedding going on right next to our hotel, which went on until 2am. Luckily I was able to get some rest before our 6am departure for the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal was worth it all. The wedding, the rain, and the early wake up. Luckily I was able to get in there and snap some photos before the masses made it in. Not much to say, except that it is breath taking. The history behind the structure is amazing as well. It was built by Shah Jahan as a grave for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Jahan was a young ruler who enjoyed his drink as much as his women before his third wife. When Mahal was on her death bed she asked for three things: never marry again, love all 14 of their children equally, and build something in remembrance of me that people from all over the world will see. He hired architects from all over the world and spent 22 years building the structure. I thought that Jahan had all the builders hands cut off so that one like it could not be constructed elsewhere, but that is not true, he just paid them a sizable pension. Everything in the area is perfectly symmetrical; the buildings, the buildings layout, and the gardens. It's pretty amazing to see everything lined up with something else. Mahal is buried right in the center of the Taj Mahal. Jahan wanted to be buried next to his wife, because of this, his grave was unable to be symmetrical with anything else. An understandable flaw.

When we returned back to the hotel, I spent most of my time trying to upload my photos to Picasa as to clean up some room on my iPad. I got about 12 photos uploaded, so the internet is pretty crummy.

Then we made our way out for an afternoon adventure, in the pouring rain. We first stopped by the Agra Fort. This fort is where Jahan lived during his reign in the 16th century. The fort stands right off the Yamuna river and provides an amazing view of the Taj Mahal. Listening to our tour guide, I was able to imagine this fort in action. All of the elaborate outdoor carpets and curtains that provided the much needed shade outside, I have this picture of a truly amazing time in India. My how times have changed.

From the Agra Fort, we visited Baby Taj. Baby Taj sits off the left side of the Yamuna river and was constructed before the Taj Mahal between 1622 - 1628. It is said to have been a basis for the plans for the Taj Mahal. Like the Taj Mahal, it is a mausoleum and is made of white marble. It really is just a smaller version of the Taj Mahal.

Got to see some amazing this today, two of which were UNSECO World Heritage Sites; just another day in the life of Darnall Bailey.

As you can tell I am a day behind. I am about to leave Orchha and head to Alipura. It is a small town, so I hope that I can get caught up with my blogs. Namaste