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Wonders of the World - The Taj on a foggy winter morning

    I visited Agra in January of 2009. The only thing on our to-do list was to visit the Taj Mahal, but we drove down from Jaipur and reached Agra after 5PM, and by that time the Taj premises were closed. So we settled for a quick visit of Agra fort. Interestingly, from the ramparts of this fort, the Taj can be seen across the dry bed of the Yamuna river. So my first ever view of the Taj was from Agra fort's Diwan'e'khaas!


    The next morning, I was off to see the Taj. Apparently, you cannot just drive in, park your car and see the Taj. The UP Govt. has made sure that tourists have a tough time, while the local transportation business can fleece us. The car park is about 3 kms from the Taj gates, and you have the option of riding a horse drawn "tonga" or a auto-rickshaw down to the gate. Whichever mode of transport you choose, you will land up paying a ridiculously high amount to the tonga or auto driver! Then you are greeted with a long queue, with an impatient hawildar trying to manage the queue. Only after passing through these ordeals are you deemed worthy of a glimpse of the Taj. And here is what the first glimpse is... a kind of little "Buland Darwaza" leading to the Taj Mahal proper.

    Enter through these gates, and you are greeted by a Tourism department counter that asks you to hand over any video cameras that you may have. Apparently, the Taj Mahal is allergic to video cameras, so you cannot take them close to the monument! So after completing the formalities of depositing your camcorder for safe-keeping, you are finally allowed to gaze upon Shah Jahan's famous creation.

After spending a while marvelling at the structure, I was  greeted with the remarkable phenomenon of the sun rising over the Taj. Once you see this, all the trouble of haggling with the auto driver & standing in the queue is forgotten. It's a site worth seeing. Check out these pics below!