The Taj.

One of the most recognizable features of India is The Taj Mahal. I had the opportunity to visit this fabulous place the other day and absolutely loved it, even though getting there was not so fabulous. We decided to go to Agra by car, so we had to leave around 6 am to arrive by 10:30. That doesn't sound like a terrible car ride, but in order to pass from Delhi to Agra you have to go through Faridabad. Not only Faridabad, but Faridabad during winter.  Though it may be the home to Aston Martin, BMW, and Rolls Royce dealers, the rest of it is basically dirty slums and smoke. (What ever you do, don't open your window! Ever!) Beyond Faridabad you basically drive through more slums, haze, and the occasional rice farm.

When I finally arrived into Agra, I realized that basically The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort are the only things in Agra. Besides that, there are some really nice hotels; though, all of them were dedicated to pushing tourists see those two sites. We didn't even go see Agra Fort, since apparently it is just like Red Fort in Delhi (fabulous, but not worth seeing twice) and nothing compares to The Taj afterward.

After picking up our tour guide (which I strongly suggest anyone does), since even though I took a semester of Indian Studies, you just need someone to explain the complexity of it to you, we dropped off our car. In order to avoid pollution near The Taj, which stains the marble, the government has mandated that no gas or diesel vehicles can enter a certain vicinity to the complex. So, after leaving our car with our driver we took a battery powered auto rickshaw. Even the battery powered auto rickshaw wasn't allowed to take us all the way and we had to walk the last stretch of land.

Then there's the security that everyone has to go through before entering the complex, and as our tour guide said "rules in India are meant to be broken", so everyone went through the "high profile visitor" line even though we were clearly not "high profile visitors". However, even that was unable to dampen my spirits since once you walk through the security line you finally feel relaxed. There is greenery everywhere, a welcome change from Agra, and massive gates surround the beautiful palace that barely peaks out above the fences.

Once your through the gates, everything becomes ethereal. The Taj is so beautifully sculpted and in pristine white marble that it seems impossible to be a real structure. Of course everyone is crowded around to take that post card picture, and few actually seem interested in the history. Upon finishing those photos, you slip on those shoe covers and voila you don't have to take off your shoes! It's absolutely nothing like Slumdog Millionaire with children stealing the tourists footwear.

With the booties your allowed to traverse the palace and see the fake tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, since the real ones are underground. Inside it's pretty small, but outside its amazing and you get a great view of the Yamuna river from that high up. The whole no cars thing actually does help the smog quite a bit and my breathing wasn't impaired that much.

Overall I enjoyed my trip to The Taj Mahal, even though Agra isn't the greatest city in the world.

I enjoyed going there, especially since I know I will probably never have the chance again to go see The Taj again. I  strongly encourage anyone to go visit The Taj Mahal since it is truly a breathtaking structure - just go by train.

The Taj - in all its greatness

Side view!

The relaxing banks of the Yamuna