Sheer Beauty . Review on Agra

Visited the TajMahalthis year (2003) in August with my wife and two children (8 &5) I?d been twice before in the past first as a single man, the last time with a whole horde of relatives. To put it in a nutshell from my first visit back in 92 to this visit not a thing has changed except the heighten security measures. I will comment on my most recent visit and try to break it down into sections.

Trip through Agra and getting in.

Considering that Agra is the home to one of the most beautiful monuments made by man ever made the city of Agra is a disgrace. (By the way I am an Indian living abroad). The revenues that are earned trough the Taj and other monuments etc must amount to a very sizeable sum and the vast majority of this in foreign currency it looks like hardly a single penny is spent on the city itself. The area around the Taj don?t fare much better, we entered by the Kings gate and to get to the kings gate entrance we decided to walk the short the short distance to the gate from where our driver dropped us off.

You have the option of covering this short distance by Rickshaw or a horse pulled carriage the cost being 20 to 50 Rupees. Petrol & Diesel cars etc are now banned from approaching the Taj due to the effects of pollution. The other entrance on the other side is further away than the one we used and electrical powered min buses are available plus camel powered transport By foot the distance is covered in about 5 mins to one side of the road you walk down is a rather overgrow uncared for park which is real disappointing, All the time you are outside you will be pestered by people offering there services as guides photographers these are all unofficial don?t risk it, plus you will be offered all sorts of nick knacks for sale almost all of it rubbish and vastly overpriced.

If you do utilise a guide from inside do not at all costs let them take you to a souvenir shop once your in they will have the shirt of your back I had this experience in 1992. You are not allowed to take in to the Taj any cigarettes, lighters, matches etc nor can you take your mobile phone or any other electronic devices except video cameras and still cameras you have to deposit these in lockers for a fee of about 10 rupees, don?t think you can sneak in any items as you are body searched and have to pass through a scanner before you get let in not once but twice.

There are two counters where you purchase your entrance tickets, one for Indians and one for foreign nationals which by the way includes NRIs (Non Resident Indians) the difference in the price of tickets is unreal a mere 20 rupees for Indians and a whopping 750 rupees for every one else.

A tip for NRIs they will suspect that you don?t hold an Indian passport and tell you to go to the other counter but stand firm speak in Hindi and do your homework as they will ask you where your from etc and may even ask you questions about it like who?s the chief minister of the state you say you come from.

Don?t let your actions betray you as even the smallest things will be picked up, for example my wife left a lighter in her handbag when we were searched at the gate to enter the Taj complex, my wife said ok and threw it in the bin they saw this and questioned her again about where she was really from our guide later explained that an Indian from India wouldn?t have thrown the lighter away but put it to one side and collect it on the way out so be warned they are as sharp as tacks!

Inside

You walk a short distance to a courtyard and you will be pestered by photographers and guides all this way and in to the Taj itself. If you want photos negotiate a price and how many pictures you want taken don?t let them take one extra snap. Don?t say ok and leave it at that as they will snap away and demand a heavy price fro them. They will find you as you leave to hand over the photos and get payment don?t give them anything upfront. By the way buy water from out side, as there is none for sale inside the Taj. You will be searched once again before you enter the Taj proper and as you stand in line you will get tantalising glimpses of the white beauty of the Taj.

You will then have to pay a fee if you have a video camera, you are only allowed to take video footage from the platform which is on the other side of the entrance to the Taj once you have finished you will have to deposit your camcorder in lockers before proceeding up to the Taj.

To try to describe the beauty of the Taj here is pointless because I could write thousands upon thousands of words here and still not do it justice. My advice is to just don?t view and take pictures the Taj from the usual angles etc, i.e. pictures on the lovers seat, by all mean do these pictures but venture of to the sides and get different angles and use the trees etc to enhance the pictures and viewing. Explore the whole of the Taj the gardens are vast and make and excellent places to just laze and take in the beauty.

When you get up close to the Taj itself its huge before you can actually venture on to the Taj itself you have to take off your shoes or get covers put on them, you will find men at the base of the Taj to help you with this and normally 10 rupees per person is enough for there trouble. Be careful when you climb the steps up onto the platform of the Taj it can be busy and its not very safe this is also the case when you get down after you?ve looked around the Taj. Take you time walking round the Taj the levels of workmanship are just fantastic and the views across the river to the fort are quite pleasant as well.

At the rear of the Taj you can just make out the foundation of the Taj 2 where Shaan Jahan was to build a replica in black as his resting place but his son Aurangzeb put an end to that. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the tomb itself you may be tempted but if you get caught the chances are they will take out the roll of film from your camera and destroy it. A word of warning hot sun plus white marble floors can seriously hurt you feet!

There is a museum in the Taj complex but it isn?t that good there are some good exhibits but the place is to put it mildly a tip its worth [paying the entrance fee of about 20 rupees just to be able to stand in front of the fans they?ve got to cool you down. Why this couldn?t be converted in to a proper visitors centre with air con, decent toilets and a snack bar is beyond me. If needs be charge a fee to use the facilities.

The toilets that are on offer are nothing short of disgraceful.

The one thing I do recommend you do as you leave take a moment to just stand back hug your nearest and dearest and gaze at the Taj together for a few moments and remember why the Taj was built this may sound real soppy but it brought tears to my eyes.

To sum it up beware of guides and photographers outside as they are ALL not official, negotiate with the photographer on the number of pics you want and price don?t deviant from that as a rough guide we paid 50 rupees per print for 10 (A5 size). Take in enough drinking water with you unless you fancy drinking from taps. And last but not least take your time and enjoy one of the most beautiful things ever created by man.