Spirit of India Day 6 Taj Mahal and Red Fort

Spirit of India Day 6

We were up and out of the hotel this morning by 6:00am in order to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Our hotel was very close and the ride was short. Then we had to board an electric van for the ride to the entrance. Sameer was happy and surprised as there was not a lineup to get in. He said that sometimes the line can be a kilometre long, especially in the evening. Sameer is great guide who knows when to give us information, when to let us take pictures and when to give us free time. Very organized.

The entrance to the Taj Mahal is through a huge gate that is worth seeing in its own right. The first glimpse of the Taj Mahal is through the arch of this gate and it is spectacular. The view from the gate to the temple with the reflection pool in the middle is amazing. The whole place lives up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built it as a tomb in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal of 17 years, who presented him with 14 children!, not all of which survived. When his wife died, she asked him to build a monument to her and never to marry again. I asked Sameer if he did, and he answer was “he didn't have to, there were lots of concubines.”

Later in his life the Shah was imprisoned by his third son, who killed off the first two, and seized power to become the new Shah. When the Shah finally died, his tomb was also placed in the Taj Mahal and it is the only thing in the whole complex that upsets the symmetry of the temple, as he lays to one side of the tomb of his wife who is perfectly centred. After the temple was built the Shah had a mosque built on the left side of the property and then realized that upset the balance of symmetry so he built an identical one the right side that didn't really serve any purpose.

When we went into the temple we could see the beautiful intricate semi precious stone inlays in the white marble and the magnificent marble latticed grill that surrounds the tombs.

We stayed for a couple of hours and then returned to our hotel for breakfast before loading up again for the short drive to the Red Fort, or the Agra Fort. This is another massive fortress, like the one in Delhi, only it's in better condition, built my the Moguls to protect India. Only 25% of it is open to the public as the army still uses the rest. Parts of the this fort were built by three different Shahs, including the one who built the Taj Mahal. It also contains the chambers that have an excellent view of the Taj across the river from where the Shah was imprisoned.

Then back to the hotel for a pit stop and then a two hour bus ride for our lunch stop. Again it was in a heritage hotel and the food was great. Then a shorter bus ride to the train station to catch a train to Ranthambhore National Park. We took the train because it is faster than the roads, which are in bad shape, and for the experience of Indian train travel. We sat in the first class air conditioned car and I sat with Josh from Washington DC and we yacked about travel for the whole three hour ride. Finally we got a vehicle that took us to our safari type lodge just outside the park. I am in a cabin here, and they have tents like in the Masa Mari too. We had dinner and then we relaxed in the restaurant and had a few drinks before bed. Great day!