Taj Mahal Day! We left the hotel at 8:30 and arrived at the Taj Mahal by 8:45. The bus dropped us off and then we boarded a golf cart which took us to the entry. Walking through the towers to see the Taj Mahal was incredible. The energy was high and full of joy and love.
The local women wore their brightest and prettiest sari. The array of color from the saris brighten the whole place. We stood at the end of the water way that led to the Taj Mahal for a while just to take in the sight. The tour group hired a photographer to take a group photo and then he took individual pictures.
We walked down the water way and then up into the Taj Mahal. Inside reminded me a bit of the Sistene Chapel in Rome. You had to keep moving although not all did. It was crowded and hot and only one way out. I didn’t think the inside was as impressive as the outside. You weren’t allowed to take photos inside. I was so focused on the people around me that I am not sure I took in the inside of the building. There was a lot of pushing and shoving and I struggle in that type of space.
We wondered around the upper level of the outside for a bit taking photos. It was a beautiful clear day and the bright blue sky contrasted beautifully against the white marble. At times the sun would catch the inlay and sparkle.
We walked back to the entrance and met up with our group. Everyone’s energy was sky high.
Our guide kept telling me that there weren’t many people there today. He said by afternoon it would take over an hour just to get in and pictures were hard to take due to the huge crowd. I thought there were way too many people while we were there. By the time we left it was getting crowded.
We then went to a marble company. The families that work at this marble place doing inlay are descendants of the families that built the Taj Mahal. The guy that showed us how the inlay is made said they are starting to struggle to get the young ones these days interested in coming into the family business and they are having to go outside the families to find people to train.
The pieces they had on display were amazing. They gave us the hard sell again but we both resisted buying anything. One of the ladies on the tour bought a table that will be shipped to her.
After that we went for lunch at a place that had a wide variety of food. I found something that wasn’t too spicy.
After lunch they dropped me off at the hotel and Nicole and the rest of the group went on an optional tour. Nicole said it was really crowded at one of the stops they made. I was glad I had stayed behind to recharge.
I stayed in my hotel room all afternoon and read and rested. My laundry got delivered which was a relief. Now I have clean clothes for the rest of the trip.
Tonight we went to a surprise dinner. It wasn’t on the original agenda. They had two young ladies come dance for us. The restaurant provided a large array of food. I didn’t find much to eat as most of it was too spicy for me. I found enough though and came home full. After dinner the girls danced again. Then a henna artist came and applied henna to all that wanted it. I chose not to but Nicole got her hand painted.
When we left the restaurant to go home they had a small fireworks display for us.
Traffic was heavy again coming home but we weren’t too far away. It was good to get back to our room.
We will need to pack up again as we are going back to Delhi tomorrow. It is a five hour bus ride tomorrow. We are making a stop at a temple on the way. This temple serves 20,000 free meals a day as a community service. We will also stop for lunch somewhere.
I think we have the afternoon and evening free. We will fly to Nepal Monday morning. Security is tight right now as there was a suicide bomber in Delhi earlier this week. I have a feeling we will be standing in line for a bit and sitting a lot Monday with the flight.
We will spend three nights in Nepal and then start the long journey home.
Of the three wonders of the world I have seen, I would rank Macho Picchu as my number one, the Taj Mahal a close second and the Colosseum in Rome third.
We are heading into the tail end of this trip. So many wonderful memories have already been made and I am looking forward to Nepal and what it has in store for us. We are taking a plane ride around Mount Everest and I am looking forward to that.
Not sure I would come back to India but am grateful I came. It is a colorful, vibrant country. For the most part the people have been friendly and welcoming. I am not a good tourist I don’t think. I prefer having an experience of some sort rather than just sight seeing. I am not a history person and our guide is a history major and loved sharing history. He did a great job but it just isn’t my thing. I am grateful I came with Nicole or I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much.
Grateful I was able to have some down time this afternoon, grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Taj Mahal, and grateful for my quiet life at home.