the journey continues…

I had seen TajMahal 10 years back when I was kid..I still remember it was so hot when we went there and I was just looking out for some shades there!!. TajMahal didn’t mean anything to me in that age. It was just another monument.
But as I started travelling more, I realized that whereever you go, that place should give you a nice feeler to you.Then that memories will be there in your heart forever and you will cherish them lifelong.When Logu told, we will plan for TajMahal, I started searching in the internet for all possible options so that I can make this trip a nice remembrance.
I was not disappointed and I got this info about the Moonlight view of TajMahal. Seeing Taj in moonlight!!..Wow…that’s amazing!!
Every month on full moon days the Agra Tourism Board arranges for this moon light view of Taj [except in the month of Ramzan].Tickets are priced at 500 per head and you must buy the tickets 1 day in advance.
So after finalizing all these, we flied to Delhi, then to Agra by taxi. Delhi to Agra journey was cool. As we started early we didn’t get much traffic also. You can find a lot of dhabhas along the way from Delhi to Agra and food is really not a problem.
Taj opens at early morning 6 30.To avoid the crowd, we were there by 7 30.Its a pleasure to see this magnificent monument when morning sun rays fall on it. When we entered the premises, crowd was less and weather was also pretty good. You should sit on the front marble seat to get the full and marvelous view of the TajMahal. Mumtaz’s & Shahajahan’s tombs are inside the building.
Backside of the taj gives a beautiful view of Yamuna River.Whole structure has been carved in parsian style and engraved with precious stones in colors of red,green,blue and yellow.
Basically there are 2 amazing things you should know about TajMahal.
One is the entire structure has a wooden base!!.The wood, which is of a special kind becomes stronger and stronger as it comes in contact with water.Since Taj was built beside Yamuna River this was absolutely required.
Secondly there is a small unspotted hole on the top, from which water droplets will fall on the tombs of Mumtaz and Shahajahan during rainy season.Truly it deserves to be one among the wonders of the world.
I was also fascinated by the pool in front which gives the complete reflection of the Taj.

Taj with Reflections

After taking pics from different angle we were exhausted for the day and head back to hotel.Also we had tickets for the Moonlight view of the Taj at 12 for which I wanted to take some rest and be fresh.
Night we started around 10PM towards the west gate of the TajMahal for the MoonLight View. Video cams and Mobiles are not allowed and security would be very high.They will allow people to go in slots of 50 for a duration of half an hour. I have attached some pics of the moonlight view.I enjoyed the view so much and it is really something special .

Taj in MoonLight

Except the taj there is nothing to feel good about Agra. We booked Yamuna View Hotel which was rated 4-star but the service and the accommodation was very bad. I wanted to buy small replica of Taj for home,but the guide as well as driver took us to various shops which were all highly priced. Somehow I got the feeler that there would be commissions for everyone if we do the shopping there!.Bad business!!There would be long queues for getting the tickets as well as for the security checks while entering Taj which eats most of the time.