23rd – The gravestone

Today was a full day free of plans according to schedule, so we were free to do what we wanted. Most of us decided it would be a good idea to spend the day in Agra to see the Taj Mahal, including me, despite it meant that we had to get up early (again).

We were picked up at the hotel and walked to the local train station a couple of minutes away. At 0600 the train departed on schedule and two hours later we arrived in Agra where we were greeted and brought to a small café where we met up with our guide for the day.

After a short coffee break we drove the few km out to Taj Mahal. Tickets were bought and we entered what I realized was a huge complex where the Taj Mahal (which is “only” a mausoleum built by the mogul emperor Shah Jahan for his third wife who died giving birth to their 14^th (!) child) is the center of attention. The area is riddled with huge gates in all four directions where one of them leads to the Taj Mahal, guest houses (“houses” is used liberally, “small palaces” would be more accurate), mosques and other various buildings.

While the Taj Mahal looks amazing on photos I don’t think they measure up to reality. This is a beautiful building with a lot of details you won’t see until you get up close. It’s a huge marble building with lots of carvings, engravings and an impressive amount of inlays. The inlays deserve special mention; the skill required to carve the marble and mount the many small different pieces of gemstones so they fit perfectly, while the end result looks fluid and organic, must be insanely high. It’s an impressive – albeit a quite narrow – skill to possess, and the result is stunning.

We had a walk around in the area, taking the obligatory shots and saw the inside of the main chamber where the wife and emperor were buried. She was buried exactly in the center, he next to her. This is the only non-symmetrical part of the entire complex and very intentional. Symmetry is perfection, and as only Allah is perfect they had to add some amount of asymmetry somewhere, and that was how they did it. We also managed a quick look of the nearby mosque and generally just taking in the views in the park. It was overall very pleasant.

I could have spent the entire day out there (as could others in the group) walking around and photographing the beautiful buildings, but unfortunately we were scheduled to leave for lunch. For lunch we visited a restaurant in a rundown part of the town, but the food was absolutely amazing. As the last real meal we have together in India this was not a bad place to finish it off.

After lunch we continued on to Agra Fort, a large fortification where 75% is still closed to the public as it is used by the military. The remaining 25% didn't make it feel small, though, on the contrary. The place was huge! Double moats and walls, large gardens and intricate craftsmanship appearing in all the buildings to name just a few features seen in the few hours we were there. It was also here Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his 3^rd son for ruining the economy by building the Taj Mahal (he even had planned a similar building in black marble). The “cell” he was confined in was a corner of the fort, beautifully decorated like the Taj Mahal itself and with a straight view to it.

Afterwards we had a small walk in the city center, which wasn't really overly inspiring. Back at the coffee shop we said our goodbyes to one of the group members who would continue on his own around in India for the next couple of weeks before going to Nepal. We returned to the train station to grab a train back to Delhi. This time it was a different train and it took us 3 hours to get back. While waiting for the slightly delayed train we were introduced to the various wildlife on the station; baboons, dogs and rats. Fun times were had!

We were back at the hotel a bit past 2200. Because we hadn't had a meal on the train despite it has said so some of us had a small dinner at the hotel’s rooftop café before retiring. To our joyous surprised they were fast at making it, and it was as usual absolutely delicious.

Tomorrow we are flying back home. We will be picked up at hell o’clock as we need to check in at almost-hell o’clock as we are flying out at way-too-early o’clock. The flight departs at 0600 and we need to be there 3 hours before, so, yeah… But it means that we will be back in Denmark already in the evening so that’s not too bad.

And back at the office Friday. Yay….

One of the entrance gates.

Taj Mahal.

The mosque to the left of Taj Mahal.

Another shot of Taj Mahal, this time from the left.

All this is carved from one piece of marble. It isn't pieces glued onto a block - it is one whole block.

The inlays. Lots and lots of this kind all over the place.

The writing is also inlays. Fun detail; the higher the writing, the bigger it is, so that when you look at it from the ground the size looks the same all the way up.

Taj Mahal as seen from Agra Fort.

The holding cell for Shah Jahan.

One of the many gardens at the fort.

Prison in foreground, Taj Mahal in the background.