The Taj Mahal

At about eleven we stumbled into this hotel near the Taj were we got a double bedroom for the three of us. With the thoughts to get up again at about half past 5 for sunrise at the monument, we got there at about eleven a.m.

The first impression from the outer complex is good, but I guess that having seen so many pics of the place and it being such a famous building, you expect more. And with this, I'm not saying it's a shitty thing, by no means, it's incredible.

It's white marble shinning under the midday sun is an impressive view from the distance as it is on a closer look. Its walls are all decorated with flowers and random intentioned lines and figures. A river runs at the back side providing an interesting view, and it is said to be very nice to see the Taj at the other riverbank.

Once inside though, it doesn't seem that big, but mainly because what's opened to the public is a very little space. Nevertheless, the beauty of its inner walls are comparable to the ones outside. Being such a touristic destination, you can find Indians as foreigners. The saris of Indian women make a perfect complement to the white structure.

However, so much tourism can be annoying for foreigners who constantly have to deal with locals wanting to be photographed with them. I said Dan would be useful, and as he drew all the attention, I did not have to be a tourist attraction. It feels strange to be a tourist attraction within one. We should get paid to get inside, instead of having to pay the huge amount of taxes. Getting into the Taj costs 750 Rs. Within this amount, 500 are taxes.

After tons of pictures of the Taj in all possible angles, we decided to head to Agra's Red Fort, which is supposed to be much nicer than the one in Delhi. And I have no idea if it is or not, as we had payed 750 for the Taj, we weren't happy to pay 300 more for the fort. So we headed back to the busy streets near the Taj letting time consume for catching the train to Jaipur, the Pink City.