Taj Mahal

We got up early Tuesday morning to see the Taj at sunrise. It’s also less busy then. With the ticket, you get a pair of shoe covers and a water. I hate that I’ve had to use so many plastic bottles this trip, but we’ve not seen many refill stations, none in hotels. With a little more planning, I could have used fewer and refilled around town.

This is the main entry gate to the Taj Mahal below.

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum made of white marble. Each of the 4 sides is symmetrical. A mosque made of sandstone stands to either side of it. The shot below is taken from the western mosque. No photography is allowed inside the mausoleum.

A river borders the north side of the Taj. It is not the prettiest river, nor the cleanest. Though most visitors aren’t paying attention to this side when they come to the Taj Mahal.

I had to be patient to get this photo–everyone fills in to get their photos–finally asking multiple times to wait and move. Still, the lady in red couldn’t help but be in it. I’ll remove her in post-processing.

After seeing the Taj, we went back to the hotel for breakfast and to relax until checkout time. We spent an hour or so in the afternoon walking through the Taj nature park. This was a nice walk with views of the Taj.

We had a few hours before our train, so we relaxed at the pool. It was very nice. One of the cleaner days we had, blue sky even!

I was intrigued with Indian construction practices. Right now, most machinery is stopped in Delhi due to the poor air quality. Whether companies followed this is questionable. For good and bad, it’s the culture to buck the system, ignore laws and rules. They have a saying, TII, This Is India.

This guy stalled traffic while they did a u turn and joined traffic.

They use bamboo scaffolding and ladders. I’m surprised the wood is strong enough to hold weight and doesn’t splinter.

I saw many building material supply stores like this around Agra. Materials were just in loose piles around the building. Like a Ferguson pipe supply without a security fence.

This is a photo of tame traffic. Everyone makes their own lane, the one rule everyone follows is don’t hit anything. Organized chaos is the best way to describe it.

Cows are sacred in India. They do what they want, go where they want.