India is continual
layers of madness!
While there is
immense beauty in the chaos, I don’t think we were quite prepared for the
experience. It was tough. An emotional roller coaster – and sheesh – what a
ride!!
Seeking
the expertise from a local tour company, it was so nice to take some time out
from booking and planning and let someone else take care of it for a while. One of the last sights on the agenda, proved, as one might expect,
to be worth the wait!
As
it turned out, our sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal didn’t end up including much
of a sunrise due to cloud cover, but at least we were able to enjoy pleasant
temperatures and low crowds that early in the morning and at the very least,
there’s no mausoleum more grand, no declaration of love more apparent than
building a marble masterpiece
for one’s favourite wife… And no better reason to travel than seeing its
magnificence up close.
Tree-lined
paths lead the way to the mausoleum and a beautiful fountain stretches from one
end of the gate to the Taj Mahal itself. We were told that they only run the
fountains when VIP people are known to be visiting. *I
guess they hadn’t heard we were coming.
The exterior of the
mausoleum is made of white marble that has been carved, painted, and inlaid
with precious stones. Just like everything else we had seen so far in India,
it’s clear the utmost attention was paid to even the smallest details during
construction. Extra care has been taken to make sure that the Taj Mahal retains
its elegance today through teams of people that have been taught how to
carefully replace any stone that comes loose or any painting that has been
chipped.
Is there a sight more
iconic, more beautiful, more jaw-droppingly spectacular than the Taj
Mahal?
Quite honestly, we
can’t think of one.
Tan xx
