March 31, 2013 - Agra, India
We took the morning train from Delhi to Agra. A 4 hour haul. We were served breakfast on the way and enjoyed the scenery of the Indian countryside. Lots of wheat fields and goats.
After the train we drove to the Agra Fort. A huge red sandstone fort 25% of which is open to the public. The other 75% is either closed or still used by the Indian military.
At one point the fort was used as a prison by a man who had his father imprisoned so he could take over power. The detainee was also the man that had the Taj Mahal constructed. He gazed upon the palace everyday until his death.
We took a guided tour of the fort. See all the fab pics below.
The group went to lunch together at a local restaurant. It was close enough to walk so we played frogger with traffic and walked around cows to get to the restaurant. Mom, however, forgot to dodge one obstacle, the sidewalk! She was walking directly in front of me and I saw everything happen. It was like a slow motion film but there was nothing I could do. I saw her stumble, then try to regain balance by grabbing onto Bonnie and then without success crash to the ground. She did manage to recover quickly and with a little bit of dusting off and some disinfectant she was almost as good as new. Though I think she was a bit sore for the day. LOVE you mom!
After a lil snooze to wait out the heat of the day we headed to the Taj Mahal. The place was packed with tourists.
The Taj Mahal meaning "Crown Palace" is every bit as beautiful as all the descriptions say. It is made of white marble and it almost glows in the sun light. The building itself has 4 minarets at the corners, worship temple on one side, and to keep the symmetry a matching building on the other side. **Every centimeter of the Taj Mahal is symmetric. ** The building and the surrounding grounds as well. The ONLY thing that is not symmetric is the tomb of the man that built the Taj Mahal. His wife was already buried dead center (no pun intended) thus his tomb is off center next to her tomb.
We had a short guided tour about the grounds and then wandered around and through the tomb area. After we walked down to the river. Polluted water aside, seeing the sun reflect off the river next to the Taj Mahal was a magic moment. You know those moments that make you happy inside and out?!
What I learned:
The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb for the Kings wife. He loved her so much he wanted the entire world to know.
We took the morning train from Delhi to Agra. A 4 hour haul. We were served breakfast on the way and enjoyed the scenery of the Indian countryside. Lots of wheat fields and goats.
After the train we drove to the Agra Fort. A huge red sandstone fort 25% of which is open to the public. The other 75% is either closed or still used by the Indian military.
At one point the fort was used as a prison by a man who had his father imprisoned so he could take over power. The detainee was also the man that had the Taj Mahal constructed. He gazed upon the palace everyday until his death.
We took a guided tour of the fort. See all the fab pics below.
Thats the Taj Mahal in the background in this one!
The group went to lunch together at a local restaurant. It was close enough to walk so we played frogger with traffic and walked around cows to get to the restaurant. Mom, however, forgot to dodge one obstacle, the sidewalk! She was walking directly in front of me and I saw everything happen. It was like a slow motion film but there was nothing I could do. I saw her stumble, then try to regain balance by grabbing onto Bonnie and then without success crash to the ground. She did manage to recover quickly and with a little bit of dusting off and some disinfectant she was almost as good as new. Though I think she was a bit sore for the day. LOVE you mom!
After a lil snooze to wait out the heat of the day we headed to the Taj Mahal. The place was packed with tourists.
The Taj Mahal meaning "Crown Palace" is every bit as beautiful as all the descriptions say. It is made of white marble and it almost glows in the sun light. The building itself has 4 minarets at the corners, worship temple on one side, and to keep the symmetry a matching building on the other side. **Every centimeter of the Taj Mahal is symmetric. ** The building and the surrounding grounds as well. The ONLY thing that is not symmetric is the tomb of the man that built the Taj Mahal. His wife was already buried dead center (no pun intended) thus his tomb is off center next to her tomb.
We had a short guided tour about the grounds and then wandered around and through the tomb area. After we walked down to the river. Polluted water aside, seeing the sun reflect off the river next to the Taj Mahal was a magic moment. You know those moments that make you happy inside and out?!
What I learned:
The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb for the Kings wife. He loved her so much he wanted the entire world to know.
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