THE TAJ MAHAL!

Ok so on Thursday I went to the TAJ MAHALLLLLLLLL!! I also had the privilege of going to Agra Fort, the capital of the Mughal Empire as long ago as the 12th century, I believe. Both were utterly breathtaking.

I, along with the other 8 Hyderabad students took a tourist van on a 5 hour drive from Delhi to Agra, which was long but exciting the entire way. When the driver pulled over and briefly got out of the car, all of us were excited to see monkeys coming up to our car and doing backflips in front of the window, and when they actually jumped onto the van we started taking pictures. "Yay! It's like Jumanji!" What an awful idea, because that set the monkey's leash-weilders to banging on our windows demanding money. They tried to open the windows upon our refusal, and opened the doors upon our closing the curtains. Well, that's when we all started FREAKING out, screaming, exclaiming things like "where is our driver!" and "What kind of travel agency did we go through?! Is this a scam?!" And that's when the driver came back to the rescue! But we certainly gained a lesson in monkey business, so all was not lost.

When we finally got to the Taj Mahal, I had no idea how huge it was or how much there was to see in one place, So much more than the typical pictures that are out there. Theres a beautiful courtyard and two mosques on either side, which are quite possibly on par with the beauty of the Taj. The surrounding gardens and pools just add to the effect. Regrettably, though, I was quite distracted for much of the time because other visitors were asking me to take pictures with them, and there was a point where someone sat me on a bench and others came and went doing the same. After that I swore off any more photos unless I could hold an adorable newborn, and lo! I got to!!! But I was really astonished that the requests never ceased until I finally left.

Agra Fort was a short distance away, but much larger and with many more interesting parts to explore. The centuries-old stairs led to a rooftop balcony where the throne, which I imagine covered in beautiful luxurious rugs and cushions upon which Shah Jahan sat, overlooked all of Agra and the Taj Mahal. Other tourists were incredibly friendly as they recognized my white skin and vibrant saree from the first site. By the time we left, it had been a very long and blazing hot day which left me very excited to sleep on the bus ride back the YWCA.