Have been silent too long, but this posting won't be (too long, that is). We're on the road again while Willie is now out on bond and singing "On the tether again" or doing a cover of the Talking Head's "We're on the road to Nowhere". But Deb and I, having met David and Sarah in Delhi, are on the road right now. We're in Agra today, and if it's Agra, it can only be to see. . .the Taj Mahal. As we come to learn, it doesn't necessarily mean only the Taj Mahal. But we went this morning at dawn to see it and it was worth having to get up early and be ready to scoot over to the entrance where we were patted down like every place you go now. I have to say that this is truly one of the few sights that a photograph cannot do justice, no matter how good the photographer. As our guide reminded us, oh, maybe a million times, the British took the gold and diamonds from the Taj, leaving the marble and semi-precious stone structure we see today, but WOW! What a ruin! There are so many aspects of it, that it will take a few postings to get them all in. The photo below was not photoshopped. This is really us in front of the real Taj, really early in the morning.
Here are Sarah, David, and Deb waiting for the our guide and the shuttle. The guide went out earlier to buy the entrance tickets, so that was one less hassle to overcome. Then the shuttle took us to the nearest entrance gate where we had to go through security. TSA could take some lessons.
The Shah that commissioned the Taj had a wall to surround the structure built. This is the East Gate where we entered. There are so many stories that go into the 22 years it took to build that virtually every detail has meaning and myth behind it.
Sarah made the reservation and did she do great! Here's the view from our hotel room. Yeosah!
In the afternoon, we went to the Agra fort where the Shah had his digs. We'll be back with a series of stuff on that.
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