Taj fantastic
Trip Start
Feb 24, 2007
1
13
14
Trip End
Mar 09, 2007
Agra,
India
Thursday, March 8, 2007
This is the second time I have been fortunate to visit this wonder of the world, and yet I still watched in awe as the sun rose and bathed the white marble in brilliant light, which flickered in the sun. Having been assured by our guide that all the stories about killing the architect's wife or chopping off the hands of the masons, were all untrue, went spent a couple of hours marveling at the beauty and romance of the place.
It is truly a remarkable place and even more magical than i remembered. It was especially nice to share the experience with such an amazing group of people, that I've become so close too. 100 photos later (only a few of which are attached :) ) we left to visit the Agra fort
"Taj"
. Quickly dropping a very poorly Princess Sarah back at the hotel, to keep an equally poorly Rian company, we arrived at the red sandstone palace on the opposite river bank. We spent a hour or so learning about the beautiful structure, although I was very concerned about the guides interest in the symbolic fertility of the architecture! We even had a little time to shop before boarding the "panikers" bus, eating lunch in the revolving hotel restaurant (still not sure how we missed the Taj last night!) and boarding the bus for the 6 hour journey back to Delhi. For me the journey was very mixed, one minute laughing amazed at Dan and Vinny's ability to create an entire language from the Decan Air logo; and crying the next. Today has felt like a day of holiday, (probably a deserved one at the end of the two weeks) but also a real reminder that tomorrow I am going back to my life in England and leaving behind what I have seen. We have seen first hand the differences that WaterAid (with their hugely dedicated and professional staff) can make to peoples lives. The challenge for me is now to return to Leeds and find the right words to explain what we have seen and paint pictures for people who will never see the real India.
Tonight we had a last meal in Delhi, and i finally got to wear my Sari (thank you Vinny) which was a gift from Maria and the West office team. Although I needed Chetna to help dress me, getting in a rickshaw to have a last drink in Delhi was definitely a once in a life time experience!
Comments
Your Taj Mahal visit
Thanks for your visit to Taj Mahal city of Agra.I think you are very lucky to see Taj Mahal twice.I live in Agra and saw Taj a hundred times and still like going there whenever a chance comes.I hope if you comes third time ,you will get a much improved agra city.
I am a resident of Agra city and runs a website(http://www.bizagra.com) for the promotion of tourism in historical city of Taj mahal.