By now I have four days left before I leave for Singapore-Davao. My vacation and travels so far are really worth it. I have seen many beautiful and unforgettable places and people. And what is important is that we enjoyed our time together, hubby and I. I am not yet done though, seeing the Taj Mahal, Baby Taj, and the Agra Fort, and riding a camel and elephant were almost enough. Tomorrow and the next day I will be touring around the city of 20 million people, Mumbai, with hubby’s driver as tour guide also. See you around.
Category: Travels
the places we’re going to, and the places where we’ve been
Trip to the Taj Mahal
le 21 décembre 2007
The advantage of having a tour guide was that, there are many advantages, Ha; he knows the goings and way through the place, so we head off to the Taj Mahal so early in the very cold morning before seven, for him, so that we will avoid the crowd, which he also always said for us to be aware of pickpockets.
There are entrances leading to the main gate to the Taj. The Southern Gate faces the old Mumtazabad (Modern Taj Ganj). It is meant for pedestrians or the pedlars only. On the right side of the gate is a tomb of red stone which is surrounded by court Yards and crowned with a dome, said to have a grave of one lady companion of Mymtaj Mahal, and due to this reason, the building is called the tomb of a Maid of Honour.
Eastern gate faces towards Fatehabad. There is a domed tomb erected on the elevated platform near this gate, built in the memory of another wife of Shah Jahan called Sirhindi Begum, and so the gate is known as “Sirhi Darwaza”. The main building is eight sided, having twenty four arches, a big hall and a veranda.
The western gate is the main entrance of the Taj Mahal, facing towards Agra cantonment and Agra city. There is a red sand stone edifice erected on a beautiful terrace outside this gate which is known as Fatehpuri Begum, another wife of Shah Jahan. There we entered through the west gate. There were guards on the entrance, and no matter how they seemed to be very old and outdated, the guns would still prevent troublemakers. Upon buying the tickets, which is 750 rupees each, (now they only accept rupees, dollars are not accepted since it is devaluating) there is a complementary bottled water, great. There are lines for men and women to enter where each one is inspected and all bags opened. Food are not allowed, and if you have one in your bag, it will be confiscated and thrown for the monkeys to catch. There were just so few people there that we made it through easily and fast through the gate and the be in the Fore Court leading to the main gate of the Taj Mahal, where photographers were selling their services. Though we have our cameras, I asked hubby to hire one of those photographers for you know, they are professionals, and just great, along with the album it also comes with the film.
Elephant ride
From May to July last year hubby asked if I had seen any elephant around Mumbai streets. I had not when it is an everyday street scene. He said that he’s going to arrange a ride for me. A year and five months later here we head towards the elephant yard the tour guide brought us into (the hotel said the day before that they do not have elephant rides anymore for one time the animal got wild and crushed some tourist, that was heavy scary huh, but the tour guide found us one that still offers for 500 Rupees). I did not dream this ride, but for the sake of experience, I did and gladly I really enjoyed the smooth ride on the eary beast (hanoy xa, lol).
The Taj from across the river
It was a full day for us, and that afternoon we headed to a taste for Taj, viewing it at the back from across the river Yamuna. The Taj is perfectly symmetrical in all four sides so you will have the same view from whatever angle.
Way to baby Taj
Our next stop over was to the Itmud-ud-daula known as Baby Taj. The main gate is made of red sandstone, with a double storied structure which has got inlay work of white marble. Towards it and towards Yamuna, a beautiful Baradary is there, in which below there are some rooms which were provided with curtains of Khas-khas and were used as a cool retreat from the summer heat. The upper chambers were used as bathrooms by the Royal Ladies. The ceiling was decorated with gold and silver, were scrapped away by the Jats during their short occupation of Agra, but were repaired later on by lord Curzon. But many original things in there had been long stolen by the people.
Itmud-ud-daula was built by Empress Noor Jahan in the memory of her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg. It is basically a tomb, which is of very peculiar interest as it was the fore-runner of of the Taj and of the many designs of it were made in the Taj. It is the first Mughal Architecture before the existence of Taj, which was made of white marble. It was the first Mughal building, totally constructed of marble and is the first building in which extensive use of “Pietra Dura” has been made, which is characteristic of the Taj. The marble walls are decorated with inscriptions from the holy Quran, cypress tress, wine flasks and jugs carved on marble, are very beautiful. In the center of the hall are the cenotaphs of Itmud-ud-Daula and his wife Asmat-Ul-Nisa. The rectangular shaped tomb of white marble is enclosed by a beautiful garden fenced by high walls on three sides and the fourth side opens towards river Yamuna, which gives a beautiful view of the city.
Social classes in India
Our tour guide has been very nice and informative, a real tour guide who knows them all a tourist will ask. The hotel driver that drives for us was also a quiet guy who drives good. (In India vehicles are right-hand driven; and “horn please, OK”.) Anyway. It was already passed noon so we have to eat at some Pizza Hut place and get a good lunch. I wanted us four to eat together, hubby and me, the tour guide and the driver, and I kept asking for the driver but he did not get inside. Right, hubby later told me that the tour guide, might have not wanted the driver to join us, as there is still in this place awareness and sensitivity of social status.
Demonstration of inlays
At Oswald Emporium we stopped by after the tour to the Agra Red Fort to see the demonstration of inlays. It is not an ordinary work their expertise in shaping those delicate semi-precious stones are obtained by years f experience, and they actually come the families or descendants of those who who build the Taj Mahal and the Fort. See they still used some conventional method that had been used by the 13th century builders for there is no equivalent apparatus in today’s technology that can do the same precision and ease of the equipment. See how wise the old age is. Below is a close-up of one side of the octagon showing how the small stones were inlaid.
This is a finished product of marble cut octagonally to depict the pattern used in Taj Mahal with thousands of very small semi-precious stones inlaid to create the final design.
