Train ride from Orcha to Agra. We were on a first class AC cabin. The only thing that worked well was the AC, which kept us freezing cold. The rest shouldn’t have been labeled as first class. It also was a big disappointment for other American and European travelers.
We finally arrived in Agra, the city with the Taj Mahal. The ‘tandoori – BBQ’d’ chicken dinner we had there was the best so far. Their “butter nan” was delicious – prepared like a croissant at this Peshwari Restaurant in ITC Mughal Sheraton.
Taj Mahal – “incredibly” beautiful and breathtaking. The story behind the “Rauza a Bibi Begum Montaj Mahal” (the real name of Taj Mahal) was both romantic and sad. The beautiful queen died giving birth to the 14th child when she was only 39 and the king built this mausoleum to remember her.
Agra Fort – you can barely see the Taj Mahal (due to smog & pollution) from across the river. This room is where Shah Jahan, the king who built the Taj Mahal, spent his last years. He was put under house arrest by his son for many years and he could only see his beloved Taj Mahal from his room.
3 comments:
did you guys actually go inside the taj mahal?
i'm going to set that picture of you two sitting in front of the taj mahal as my desktop background :) i miss you two alot!!
Hi Gene, yes, we went inside. No photography was allowed there but the marble inlay was more delicate and very beautiful. There were two white marble coffin sized tombs inside. The wife's was laid exactly in the middle - in Muslim architecture, the symmetry is super important. Since Shaj Jahan died much later, his tomb is laid next to her's and this is the only asymmetric thing about the whole Taj Mahal complex (other buildings surround it).
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