One of 7 wonders, Ayurveda round 2, and Dancing in the Rain

As our alarm went off this morning at 4:30 am, I quickly hit snooze...3 times. Oh crap, we need to get up Kelsey its 4:45. A mutual "ugh" sound was made and we remembered we had to be on the bus by 5:30. We look out the window bummed to see that the sun was already up (later we found out the Taj faces north anyway. It’s just nicer weather and less people in the early morning). Somehow we made it to the bus by 5:31...dang we're good. We rode as far as they allow buses to go, and then purchased our tickets and jumped on an auto to the entrance of the Taj Mahal. There are 4 gates each facing north, east, south, or west all built with the same red sandstone as Fatehpur Sikri. We entered the east gate into the courtyard and them the north gate which leads to the Taj. I wish there was a non-cliche way to describe the Taj Mahal but it literally is breathtaking. It’s so much more beautiful than in pictures and there's swarms of birds flying across and over it all the time. Once you walk through the red north gate it’s nothing but enormous stark white pillars and a sparkling pool down the center with green gardens all around. I remember thinking it almost looked like it was glittering in some parts. (We later learned there are small precious stones inlaid all over the outside of the building). Luckily since we arrived so early there weren't very many people there and since it's off season (due to the extreme heat) very few tourists were around also. We spent a good 45 minutes taking pictures at every possible angle and of each other and then finally when I thought our tour guide might quit on us because we were taking so long, he lead us down the gardens to tour the inside.

As we walked we learned some history. The 5th Mogul emperor built the Taj in memory of his wife who died during childbirth of their 14th child at the age of 38 in 1630. Construction began in 1631. It took 22 years, 16,000 craftsmen, and the equivalent in rupees of 1 million US dollars. It is the last example of Mogul architecture in India. The king had meant to build a second Taj in black stone directly opposite the river to the white Taj, but instead he was imprisoned on house arrest by his son, the 6th Mogul emperor. His son knew India could not afford another expensive project like that and so he forced his father to live in the palace (called Red Fort) where he could see the white Taj in the distance. His father died 8 years later.

We're pretty sure he must have had some OCD issues because every single aspect of the Taj Mahal is symmetrical, down to the very center where his wife's tomb is located. There are tiny jeweled lotus flowers surrounding her tomb with 64 separate pieces required to create each one. The whole time we were there I kept wondering how they could have possibly had the technology to make such an enormous place. They even thought to make the 4 pillars surrounding the main building to lean at a 96 degree angle outward so that if there were an earthquake they would land inward to crush the big dome. Many people think the Taj Mahal is a palace but its real only purpose is to be a tomb for the queen. Nobody has ever lived there. When the King died, he had always planned to be buried in his own replica black Taj Mahal but since that never happened he was buried off-kilter next to his wife as the only non-symmetrical part of the entire building. Hmm, I wonder how his OCD is affecting him in the afterlife as he stares down at his tomb all off to the side and out of place. Hehe.

We got back to our hotel for breakfast around 9:00 and had time to rest until our checkout at 2:00. There just haaaappened to be an Ayurveda Spa right inside our hotel so for 750 INR (about $15) each we got to experience first hand what this Ayurveda oil massage was all about. And it actually was just as nice as getting a Swedish massage in the US, although they are not at all concerned with keeping privacy for you which was quite uncomfortable. Rather than the kneading and pressing downward motion of a Swedish massage it was more of a sliding and pushing upward like they were trying to improve circulation or something. It was incredibly relaxing and a great way to kill some time since Agra has very little going on besides the Taj and Red Fort.

At 2 pm we checked out of the hotel and went for lunch and a walk through the local "mall" which had about 4 stores and a movie theater all with movies in Hindi. At 4 we took our bus over to Red Fort, the palace built by the 3rd mogul emperor. It took 90 years to build it but once it was finished and for over 60 years following Agra was the capital of India. We had to hike up a long and steep ramp entryway which was built as such so that stones could be rolled down it to stop enemies and also to make it a more difficult trek and to slow down the enemy elephants. Side note: our tour guide informs us, if you're ever being charged by an elephant simply change directions quickly for the elephant cannot do that. Just in case.

Now the heat of the day was beating down on us and it was beating down hard. As we walked through the fort trying desperately to seem as interested as possible, all we really wanted was some AC and a cool drink. We were all dying in the heat and slowly enjoying the tour less and less which as you can guess induces crankiness and whining and grumpy behavior...greeeeeat. Even the funny stories of the king playing hide and go seek with his hundreds of mistresses in the courtyard elicited few laughs.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, monsoon season hits Agra!! There were some flashes of lightning followed by an immediate downpour of rain. I don't think anything could have made us happier. As all the tourists and locals ran for cover under the fort all us girls ran out into the middle of the courtyard letting the rain soak completely through our hot sweaty clothes and get our hair sopping wet. Kelsey started belting out that raindrop song about lemondrops and gumdrops and oh what a life that would be and pretty soon we were all singing along and dancing around and spinning in circles. I have a feeling if you were watching you would agree that that's what pure happiness looks like. Even though the other foreigners and locals especially probably thought we were just another bunch of crazy Americans we were literally loving life right there in the middle of India in the town of one of the seven wonders of the world. Needless to say it raised our spirits immensely which was a good thing because it was only 6 pm and our train for Varanassi didn't depart until 11:30 that night. We had 5 hours to kill and we had already seen every major and minor attraction in Agra. We finally convinced our guide, Surrendra to take us to the local markets. This turned out to be a really great experience also. There were people everywhere walking, on bikes, autos, cars, camels, horses, cows, everything. They were selling foods and fruits and clothes and everything you can imagine. It was so nice to actually walk through a real local market instead of driving like we usually do and it provided a lot of photo opportunities. There was a lot more poverty in Agra than we had seen in Jaipur. There were kids nearly naked running up to us putting their hands out and then to their mouths begging for food. There were mothers doing the same thing only they were clutching tiny babies in their arms too. Another thing that was pretty sad was they would point to our cameras and tell us we could take pictures of them if we gave them money. Although it was sad it was still a good experience for us to see what India really is like outside the tourist area and Dr. Blenner warned us it would be similar if not worse in Calcutta and Varanassi. After I thought we had walked for hours it was only 7:30 so we all decided to hit up a restaurant for dinner. One thing I don't think I've talked much about are the frequent power outages in India. Think of it like putting way too many surge protectors and extension cords together in the dorms, it’s like blowing the fuse for the whole street. I think we were eating in absolute darkness at least 3 times at dinner. After dinner we killed some more time by sitting on the bus and then fiiiiiinally after what seemed like the longest day of our lives we arrived at the train station...which requires a completely separate blog altogether let me tell you... So goodnight for now and more to come soon!