Taj Mahal

We flew into New Delhi on Friday. The night before was harrowing for Karen and we were drained. The room at the Hyatt was lovely, so we slept soundly until dinner. We had room service. We are thoroughly enjoying the amenities of the hotel. Our car to the Taj Mahal was leaving at 7:00 in the morning to miss the worst heat of the day. I can't imagine what heat we missed.

The road to Agra (town of the Taj Mahal) is supposed to be tough going. We veterns of the road to Ooty and beyond were amazed at that. This was a multilane superhighway. But it was filled with amazing things. My favorite is what I called the diaper wagons. The growing season is over for the year, it is too hot and no water. So the farmers are taking their straw to New Delhi to sell to the cow owners. They load their little buckboard wagons beyond full. They have cloth that they pull around the straw and tie up. You can see a moderately full wagon to the right here. Some were drooping on all sides and the back because they were so full of straw. They reminded me of the old cloth diapers after the child had pooped in them. A little draggy around the bottom.

All manner of mechanisms pulled the diaper wagons. You can see one method above, a tractor. There were also camels pulling the wagons. Although camels are tough, we actually saw one one the ground in agony as it was pulling the wagon over a bridge. Our driver said it was just too hot, even for a camel. The roadway gets so hot that it starts to buckle.

This elephant was also on the road. I think he was there to amuse the tourists. In other words, he wasn't working as hard as the rest of the animals we saw that day. There were elephant tenders walking in front and as tourist stopped to take pictures, they were there asking for money. We were reluctant to take pictures of many things because people would ask for money. We saw a snake charmer and a dancing monkey. But you can't even look because you will be asked for money.

We picked up an excellent English speaking guide before we got to the Taj. I have his name and number. If you are ever going to this place, I can heartily recommend him. It was hotter than Hades there. We heard it was 108 in New Delhi that day. I think it was even hotter in Agra. Note water in our hands. We know how I don't do well in heat. This was going to be a test of my desire to keep Karen company and to see this world famous site. The thought had crossed my mind to see it from this vantage point and call it a day, but I joined KJ and the guide on the trek to the Taj. There is a shadier walk to the right that you can't see. I did pretty well walking up to the building.

We had to put booties over our shoes when we entered the Taj. Aren't they chic? I was about losing it at this point. The guide wanted us to see the beautiful inlayed stones. He also talked a lot about the inner and outer dome. This was done to keep the inner chamber cool. I was taken by the similarity with the Duomo in Florence. Brunelleschi created a dome about 200 years before the Taj Mahal was built that had the inner and outer dome. It was revolutionary at the time it was built. I'd heard they brought some Italian artisans to help build the Taj in just 22 years (or so, the guide told us so many times, I should remember.) The inlaid stone reminded be of the Pietra Dura that you see in Florence. I suppose that there was a lot of cross-pollination of ideas and art forms throughout the east and Europeat this time.

However it came to be, this is one beautiful building. The stonework is stunning, the use of perspective in the work is amazing. Shah Jahan was a mogul or Muslim. There is a lot of writing from the Koran in the building. The letters are smaller at the bottom and get larger as you view them closer to the ceiling. The idea is to have them all look the same height and they do. They created marble grills around the duplicate tombs of the Shah and his wife. Each grill is different from the next, each intricately carved.

You can tell I have no pride left when you see this picture. What a horrible view of me. But the guide was so wonderful with this failing elderly person. I have been a little upset lately because when things happen to people over 50, the newspapers write that "3 elderly school teachers were killed in a traffic accident" (for example.) Then you read further and find out that the elderly teachers were 54, 56 and 60. I resent being called elderly, but by the time this picture was taken, I was almost crawling. Once we walked through this gate, we needed to walk through the courtyard and then down the street to the bus that would take us to the car. By some miracle a bus got closer to the Taj than it should have and it took us to the car without having to walk down the blistering asphalt.

Sunday was KJ's birthday. We had appointments at the hotel for facials, leg massage and pedicures. Absolutely decadent. The facial was a gift from Karen's friends in Orlando - Sophie, DeeDee and Karen. Yes, another Karen. That's how KJ came to be known as KJ.

We thoroughly enjoyed the pampering. The foot guy was brutal when giving the calf massage. Karen felt the same way. I thought it was just me and my ill-used legs, but peppy Karen wanted to scream just like me. But it was all worth it.

In fact, it was all worth it. I don't think I would recommend going to see the Taj Mahal in the hot season. If you are going, go in February orOctober. That appears to be the prime months for travel in India. But if you have to go during the hottest months and you have the desire to see an amazing building, don't miss the chance. Just be sure to pamper yourself the next day.