Wonders of the World

Dad and I reluctantly left Samode Safari Lodge yesterday - check out our Safari Slideshow -  and drove to Katni where we hopped a train en route to Agra. Fortunately, Shanti from Amber Tours arranged for a guide to ride with us on the train; otherwise, it would have been complete chaos trying to board with our luggage and find our compartment!

Here is a photo of our cabin in the train:

This is a first-class cabin with air conditioning. Our guide brought clean sheets and even made the beds for us! 

This is what the Indian Railways trains look like:

Very similar to Darjeeling Limited, at least from the outside! 

This was posted in our cabin. The English version is hilarious:

We arrived in Agra around 10:30 this morning. Our guide took us to meet our driver and helped us load up in the car. From the train station, we went to our hotel, the Trident, which is a nice chain of hotels (we also stayed at a Trident in Mumbai). Our local tour guide, Sanjeep, met us at the hotel and arranged to return later in the afternoon to begin sightseeing (we needed some rest and showers after the overnight train). 

Around 2:00 pm, Sanjeep and a driver picked us up at the hotel and took us to the Taj Mahal. Even though I've seen the Taj before, it still took my breath away. Photographs simply do not do this "Wonder of the World" the justice that it deserves. It is truly spectacular.  Here are a few pics:

You wear these over your shoes to protect the marble.

No paint - only semi-precious gemstones inlaid in marble.

A little info on the Taj Mahal - the Mughal emperor who constructed the Taj built it as a mausoleum to honor his 37 year-old wife after she died giving birth to their fourteenth child. Construction took twenty-two years, with over 20,000 laborers working morning and night.  The emperor lived to see the finished product. In fact, after construction was complete, the emperor's son imprisoned him in his palace in the Agra Fort. The emperor was standing on his balcony overlooking the Taj when he died.

The emperor's balcony facing the Taj Mahal.

The Agra Fort

The Taj Mahal is not only one of "The Seven Wonders of the World," but in 2007 it was voted the #1 Wonder of the World. Visit it, and you will see why.