Get ready, I took more pictures today than any other day so far. I'm going to split this day into two parts, otherwise I'll lose my wit and patience by the end and pretty much leave you with untitled pictures with no explanations. Just a "Here's the Taj. Here it is again. And again." And so on.
Less than 9 hours after leaving the Taj Mahal to view the sunset, we were back at 6:00am to see the sunrise, from the inside this time. Except it doesn't open at 6:00, it opens at 7:00am. A bit of a wait. Even the stray dogs seemed surprised to see us so early.
But the good part was that we were First In Line. We'd have the best chance to run inside and get pictures in front of the Taj on the Diana Bench, with no people in the background.
I swear to you, while we were waiting, a little door opened and this dog came out. The Taj Mahal has a doggy door.
Around 6:30 it started getting brighter, and the floods of tourists started lining up. But we were still first!
This is Rajah, who took care of us while we were waiting. Hair perfectly combed, and very charming.
The doors are open, go go go! And stop. Everyone had to be patted down and all the ladies had to get their bags checked, which took more than a few minutes.
First glimpse of the Taj Mahal, not another soul in sight.
And first on the Diana Bench!
Keep in mind that the Taj Mahal is not a palace, but a mausoleum. It was built starting in 1632 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to her fourteenth child. Words written about the Taj by Shah Jahan himself:
Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.
We went around the side to watch the sun rise. It was a beautiful morning.
And here we are again on the way out. It looks a bit dim because of the pollution.
We passed this family on the way back to our bus. India is a land of such extremes - you leave one of the most beautiful places in the world, and then meet up with the poorest of families living on the side of the road.
And take a close look at the mother - she looks about sixteen.
And on that note, we were headed back to our posh hotel to grab a big buffet breakfast and into the second of three changes of clothes for the day.
Yes, I saw the irony.
No comments:
Post a Comment