The Taj, Take Two

We were supposed to leave last night to head to another town but at the last minute we decided to change the plan for two reasons: one, we were just starting to really dig our surroundings in Agra after discovering "our" bazaar yesterday and, two, we both shared the feeling that we didn't have enough time at the Taj Mahal the first time so we decided to go back. When we made the decision to stay and go back to see it again, we were sitting at a rooftop restaurant overlooking it and we figured that since we were SO close, and who knows when we will ever be back here again, it would be a true shame to leave with even a tiny bit of regret about not spending as much time there as wanted.

So this morning we got ourselves up, had a long, leisurely breakfast overlooking the Taj Mahal and then headed off to the Agra Fort that we had missed yesterday. It was where the royal family lived for centuries, including Shah Jahan who went on to build the Taj Mahal for his wife.

Interestingly, much of the ceilings and walls used to be covered in pure gold and real gemstones but through the years it has nearly all been looted. In some spots you can actually see the spaces where the gemstones were set in the walls, now glaringly empty. There was also a section where the Shah was imprisoned by his son; his son kindly built it on the side of the fort that overlooked the Taj Mahal so that at least his father could look out at it while being locked up there. Wasn't that nice of him? Although, I have to say, as "prisons" go, this one wasn't too shabby. I didn't get the sense that the Shah was suffering too much while in there.

And then we went back to the Taj Mahal. And we just soaked it up. That was really our plan this time; we didn't want to do the tour, we didn't need to see the mosques again, we didn't feel it necessary to even go up to it or inside of it again. We just wanted to sit with it and look at it and soak it in. And so we did. We started at a bench far out from it and gradually, over the next couple of hours, worked our way closer and closer. It was cool to see it in totally different light, literally, as we went in the morning the first time and the afternoon this time. We just sat and looked at it, as lame as that sounds. It was awesome and worth every single rupee to have gone back. It was the perfect way to spend our day.

Oh, and we also took pictures with people. Lots of pictures. Not pictures OF people, but pictures WITH people. All through the trip there have been people blatantly taking our pictures as we were walking down the street or anywhere out in public. But for some reason starting the first time we went to the Taj Mahal a couple days ago, it has moved on to people asking to take pictures WITH us. And not just one or two, but countless people. Sarah (and Fen, when she was with us) generally beg off but I usually give in and go with it, taking it in stride and enjoying it for what it is while it lasts. I also figure that I'm taking lots of pictures of them, so why shouldn't I let them take pictures of me? At the Fort this morning, I was standing by myself looking at something, and a group of 5 or 6 men came up to me and asked to take pictures with me. I figured it would be a quick group shot but, no no, each one wanted an individual picture and, for some reason, they wanted us to be shaking hands in the picture. Their guide that was with them (who was taking the pictures and who would surely charge the men for them later) thanked me afterwards and told me I was good for his business. Pretty funny stuff.

Tonight we took a bus from Agra to Mathera and what a bus it was. It was a hard-core Indian bus. This was not a coach type of bus but kind of like a huge, tinny school bus type of bus. A filthy (filthy as in the white shirt I was wearing is now ruined just from rubbing against the seat), crowded, loud, rumbling, fume-spewing, vibrating, shock-less, bouncing bus. It was actually a cool experience.