All
Ben
James
Lavinia
TansyWelcome, guest
Tue 24th February 2009
Taj Mahal - early morning
It was four when we heard the alarm go off. We rose to consciousness then went back to sleep when we realised it wasn't our alarm. Ours was set for 5.30 when we dutifully arose and stumbled into our new clothes which we planned to wear on visiting the Taj Mahal.
We walked down the desterted and gloomy streets to the west entrance where we knew there was a ticket office and made it almost to the front of the toursit queue. At 6.30, half an hour after we thought the office openned and we handed over our one and a half grand (rs!) to get our precious tickets thn took up a new perch outside the gate for the opening which was about half an hour later.
We rushed into the complex through the massive red stone building that shields the Taj from view. The sight was stunning and we managed to get a few clear pictures and do some for te few other tourists who were ahead of the pack. Aproaching the building through the then quiet parks we couldn't help but over photograph the massive building built to houise a couple of corpses.
With our shoes off we wandered round the outside of the building on the marble plithe that it stands and with the cold stones below our feet the sheer size of the building struck us hard, especially stepping into the massive arches that adorn the four sides of the building.
Getting to the front of the building we could see a lot of flashes from the entrance place towards our location but the tourist population directly outside the doors into the Taj were still quite sparse. The light was just starting to spread when we went inside. To begin with, as te sun was low it was very dark inside but our eyes finally ajusted and to what a sight. The intricate latice marble gate was inlayed with precious stones making up delicate flower patterns. The most spectaculare experince inside with few people were the haunting almost musical echoes that reverberated around the dome above us. It was beautiful to imagine our voices and movements adding to this gentle whisper around our heads.
Outside we looked aound the real and large mosque to one side of the Taj Mahal then over to the other side where a fake mosque was build, just to keep up the symetry!
With our shoes back on there was time to sit and absorb in the garden, take a few more photos both us and other couples before heading out even though it was dificult not to keep turning back.
The rest of that day was spent sorting out the trip to Amrisar, our next stop. We had our last general class tip to Delhi then a commuter train to New Delhi. After interneting and going to wait for the train with seemingly plenty of time we discovered that we needed to be at Old Delhi. A quick dash through the metro which I am glad to have had the chance to use and then a few hours agonizing wait for our now late train and we were finally on our sleeper train after some very nice platform curry (Its okay it was piping hot!).
by Ben - get rss
name candia
Wow, i almost feel like i was there Ben, thank you!
name Lavinia
Well done for beating the other tourists to the Taj...when I was there it was swarming! It is an awesome sight but I would have loved to have seen it without thousands of others! Great to hear you are in pakistan...did you find the guides? Much love x
name Dreteomiume
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name Alison NT
Wonderful description and pictures. What a magical experience seeing the Taj at first light. Another memorable moment to add to the others!
