Bucket List item…..Check!

Good Night from Agra India. Well folks today was a big one. A day I have waited for many a year. Before I get to that though,  I will back up a little bit and begin my day. 

It was an early rise in Delhi today. We left the hotel at 6:45 to catch the Indian Railways train to Agra. Luckily traffic was only insane instead of violently offensive. We made it to the train station on time and was boarded and on our way in no time. It was just a two hour trek down to Agra. We were served breakfast and a nice tea along the journey. It was a nice morning riding the rails while watching the Indian countryside go by. 

 We arrived in Agra before our hotel rooms were ready so we headed off to to visit the tomb of Akbar Sikandra. As you can see in my Facebook pictures, or the ones posted below that it was an incredibly impressive monument. I can say one thing, they really know how to celebrate their loved ones back in those days. Why erect a headstone when you can build an entire megastructure? Unfortunately I could not take pics from inside the tomb but I was able to take many from the grounds outside and a couple just inside the entrance. From there, photography wasn’t allowed. We spent some times walking the grounds, getting a lesson on the history of the tomb as well as watching some wild Monkeys play around. 

 From Akbar’s tomb, we headed off to a handmade rug demonstration. This was part of Intrepid tours initiative to support local business. It was quite interesting. The work is painstaking and takes months to finish one rug. One strand at a time! I can see why authentic rugs cost so much. We were actually treated very well there as they brought us Samosa’s, water and a Masala tea. I would have liked to been able to purchase one however they are quite pricey and I’m just backpacking through. The smallest one they had was just a door mat size and was $650 Canadian. It was a nice demonstration though. 

 At this point our rooms were ready and we checked into our hotel, and a very nice hotel I must say. We freshened up and then had a little lunch in the revolving restaurant on top of the hotel. It was here that we caught the first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. I could see just enough of it to make me tremble with anticipation.  After a quick lunch we gathered our things and met in the lobby. It was here the remaining guests on our tour joined us. They had just arrived from Rajasthan. We are a complete tour now. We met, had our introductions and it was off to Taj Mahal. 

 Annddd there it is! The Taj Mahal. Number one on my bucket list now checked! I have waited years to see this and now there it is, right on front of me. There isn’t a word in the English language to describe not only the structure itself, but how I was feeling at that moment. I just felt so accomplished as a traveller and incredibly emotional having it stand before me. As some of you know, The Taj Mahal is also a tomb. Built in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It also holds the tomb of Shah himself who passed later. The word Taj mean crown and the word Mahal means Palace. 

 Although the grounds were incredibly packed with tourists, I barely noticed them. The whole time I spent there I was in complete awe. I took, and had taken, so many pictures. Many of which are on Facebook now and a few below. The good thing with being in a group is that every one takes each others pictures. We all have a goal and its nice to help each other reach those goals. I have been so very lucky when it comes to travelling. I have seen so much beauty, and some pain, in this world. This monument of love before me though was the absolute culmination of my travel goals. Although my bucket list is long, as mentioned, this was number one on it for quite some time. 

 We spent a couple hours walking the grounds and catching how the color of the marble changes with the sun hitting it at different angles. We did go inside to see the tombs however there is no photography allowed inside so unfortunately I can not share that part with you. There is also the famous bench called Diana’s Bench. It is the bench Princess Diana was photographed looking very sad after her divorce from Prince Charles. If memory serves me, she was wearing a bright red coat or dress. 

 I could go on and on about this place however I think you get the point on the importance of today for me. Once it was time to leave, it was one last look over the shoulder and through the gate I went. It was a day to remember. 

 From there we walked to a local coffee shop and enjoyed some delicious beverages before going out for a wonderful dinner. This is where we really had some time to chat with our new friends, share travel stories, laugh and break bread. We all arrived from different locations and many were fascinated that I had just been in Ethiopia so there were many questions about that.  Dinner went on much later than I anticipated so I’ll keep this to a minimum tonight. I had to post my pics and share my day with you all. Now its time to repack my things as I hop on another train in them morning and the relax with a nice cup of tea and read the comments that have been dinging my laptop as I write this. Thank you all for reading and good night from Agra India.