[All the Raige] Taj Mahal

By Raige on Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Our take on the ever popular

The Hype

The Taj Mahal is one of the world’s most well-known and iconic architectural masterpieces. It’s also the world’s greatest symbol of love, built in memory of Shah Jahan’s (favorite) wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Reality

We met our main guide for the trip, Nirmal, and took the Gatimaan Express Train to Agra, the quickest route between the two cities (less than 2 hours). We immediately hit it off and Nirmal and I laughed at Ben as he nervously smelled, poked, and nibbled on the breakfast provided by the train.

After arriving in Agra, we hit the city’s second most visited site, the Agra Fort. Serving as the main residence of the Mughals for a period of time, the fort was built by Akbar in 1573, then later expanded to its current state by his grandson, Shah Jahan. The interior white marble palace was home to himself, his wives, his children, and his multitude of lady friends… We had our first sighting of the Taj through the palace windows. Even from 2.5 kilometers away, we were taken aback by its unbelievable beauty and sheer size. Fun fact: the Taj plays tricks on you! As you get closer, it shrinks in size. #opticalillusion

Tired from the journey, I went back to the ITC Mughal (SPG, duh) to nap, but Ben went with Nirmal and our driver, Dimple, to Mehtab Bagh or “The Moonlight Garden” for sunset. Mehtab Bagh was originally set as the location for Shah Jahan’s tomb; however, he never got a chance to build it (his son was a jackass and imprisoned him). Today, it’s a beautiful garden that offers an unobstructed (and less busy!) sight line to the Taj.

The next morning, Nirmal and Dimple picked us up from the hotel at 5:50 AM, hoping to beat the crowds (an average of ~30,000 visit each day) and arrive before opening. People online say you can bribe your way to the front of the line, but I’m not sure that works because there are different lines for locals and foreigners. Even if you get another tourist to stand in line for you, you risk getting sent back.

After entering the grounds shortly after sunrise, we approached the massive, red sandstone gate. I will never forget my first glimpse of the Taj, framed perfectly by the arched gateway. The Taj looked like a dreamy mirage in the morning mist. There is also no bad view of the Taj as the entire complex and structure are perfectly symmetrical. By getting there early, we were lucky enough to get a few shots without masses of people. I even coaxed Ben into taking the classic tourist photo, much to his dismay. The closeup view of the Taj, with its intricate stone inlays and marble carvings, was equally as amazing. To this day, descendants of the original stone inlay craftsmen continue to do the restoration work.

It’s interesting to note that the complex wasn’t always so pristine. For nearly 250 years, the Taj was basically abandoned by the residents of Agra. It literally became the town dump. However, under British rule, Viceroy Lord Curzon undertook the restoration of the Taj for the Queen of England’s planned visit to India (she never actually came). Since all trash was biodegradable at the time, he ordered the 11 foot high pile of trash to be flattened and built the present day gardens on top of the trash. If only India could do that all over the country now. 🙁

The Verdict

It’s all the raige!

Simply put, the Taj Mahal exceeded our incredibly high expectations. While Agra is kind of a dump and we may have spent a bit too much time there, we really loved all of the sites we visited beyond the Taj Mahal. The Agra fort, “Baby Taj,” and Fatehpur Sikri are all great architectural feats and display the building prowess of the Mughal Empire. I’d suggest planning for a “go go go” 36 hours, hitting all the sites and basking in the Taj’s glory.

Pro Tip: Buy your ticket online the day before. With this, you only need to wait in the security line rather than the security and ticket line.