The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra and opens at 6am so because the trip takes about 4.5 hours we left after work on Friday, it was actually early Saturday morning around 1am.
We hired a guide and picked him up right before we got to the gates and then purchased our tickets as the Taj was opening. The guide was a young guy about 23 years old and he had a horrible lisp, so couple that with the thick Indian accent and it was nearly impossible to know what he was saying. Overall, he did know his stuff and we got a lot of great information but it was painful.

This is one of three gates as you enter the Taj, we came through the East gate.

Here are pictures of the entrance and as you walk into the Taj Mahal.

The amount of detail that was put into making the Taj is unreal, from the outside decorated white marble with flowers and vines to the inside with additional marble mosaic works and walls adorned with intricate patterns of inlaid precious stones. It truly was breathtaking.

The garden was amazing, however unfortunately the water channel dividing the garden was not filled but the site was still glorious.

It was really neat that we got there when the sun was rising because its marble surfaces changing hue as the sun crosses the sky.

Exiting the Taj Mahal we faced the most extreme, desperate, sales people ever - mostly kids doing the harassing. We went to a few markets after and then to the Agra Fort.

Here is a view of the Taj from Agra fort.

Here is a picture of my boss and I at a local hotel called ITC with their doormen. I love their outfits and think their Aladdin shoes are groovy but my doorman at the hotel I am staying could kick their butts, I’ll make sure to get a picture with him as well and post it soon.

Overall, it was an awesome trip. We made it back to Gurgaon around 4pm and we were invited to a company party that we went to around 8pm. It was very interesting, there was so much music and dancing. The music is a lot like techno but they have multiple different versions like Punjab, Hindi and songs from movies, all of which are played VERY loud. There was so much energy, they did not stop dancing!!! After the party we went to watch the USA vs. England game a local bar, at 12am IST. It was a long day, we were up a total of 38 hours so needless to say we did not do any sightseeing on Sunday. We did go bowling, there is a bowling alley in the mall next door. Here is a picture, of course the bowling alley looks and feels like a techno dance club too!

That's it for now, until next trip or adventure. Love, Carrie