Taj Mahal

Seeing the Taj Mahal was #1 on my list of things to do in India. I told Brian I was going to see it with or without him- luckily he took off a day of work to go see it with me!

I am not a history buff and know nothing about geography, so all I knew before making this trip was that the Taj Mahal was somewhere in India and someone put it on a list of the seven wonders of the world. After seeing the Taj in person, it is very clear why. Its beauty cannot be captured in pictures or conveyed in words. You really have to see it to believe it.

We had an awesome tour guide who accompanied us to the Taj. I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" so I was ready to have my shoes stolen and see bunches of little boys trying to work scams at the Taj. The movie was actually pretty accurate. They changed the entrance to the Taj just a few days before we visited so that the ticket counter is about 500 meters from the entrance. They also do not make you remove your shoes anymore; instead, they give you little hospital booties to cover your shoes. There were lots of kids trying to sell us stuff at the entrance- postcards, fans, books, marble carvings, etc. Our guide told us not to buy anything because everything they sold was fake. The little marble carvings they were selling were actually made of soap!

Security is tight at the Taj and we were told to take nothing but our camera, money, water and prescription medications. We entered through the East Gate and waited in separate ladies and gents lines to be scanned by the metal detectors and frisked. Once inside, we were surrounded by the red sandstone walls of the entry court and saw the main gate to the Taj. The main gate was huge and so impressive that anywhere else it would have been an attraction on its own!

Once we crossed the the gate, we got our first view of the Taj. We visited the Taj at sunrise to beat the heat and crowds, so it was nice because there weren't tons of other people there, so we could get some pretty good photos. Our guide gave us some time to take photos and then went to a little shady spot with a great view of the Taj so he could tell us the story of how this wonder came to be.

After telling us about the Taj Mahal being a love story between Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, our guide took us inside the Taj to see their tombs and see the beautiful building close up. The Taj took over 20 years and over 20,000 laborers to build, and after seeing it up close I can tell why! I was so amazed by the detail on the building- the semiprecious stone inlays, the carved floral design marble slabs, the marble and onyx floor, everything!

From close up and far away, we were mesmerized by the Taj. Even when we were leaving, we had to keep looking back for just one more glimpse. I'm not sure if we'll ever make it back there, but we will surely remember this visit forever!