India Must See #1: The Taj Mahal
Ok, the Number #1 India Must See site really cannot be a surprise to anyone. Of course it's the #1 thing to see in India. But here's the trick with the Taj Mahal. Even if you know it's going to be amazing, it's Still. Amazing. For example, my husband Francis, when I took him to see the Taj Mahal, refused to take any photos, on the grounds that if the best photographers in the world had not managed to convey its beauty to him, then what was the point of him happy snapping all day?
Just know that you can't really grasp the magnitude of the Taj in a photo as you have to be a very long way from it to fit it all in the viewfinder! You must go and my tip would be to avoid Fridays as it's free entry for Indians day and the queues are ridiculously long—when I did this once it was around two hours in the queue and you get separated into men's and women's lines which means that you may then have to wait another half hour like I did for your partner to get through his queue. You might think an ipod would help you get through a tedious wait like that, but don't even think about taking anything electronic, you won't be allowed in with it, so you'd be better off leaving somewhere secure like your hotel safe or whatever. The first time I went to India I had a little calculator in my bag for currency conversion (multiplying and dividing by 28 was never a strong point with me...) I was annoyed at having to give it up to security, it seemed so silly. You have been warned! Oh, on the right is my favourite pic of the side of the Taj Mahal with the moon setting. It's taken about 5am in the winter, so if you go that early, take thick socks or your feet will freeze (shoes aren't allowed so as to keep the marble from wearing)... |
