History is Gracious and so is its Beauty
Taj Mahal, meaning Crown Palace- is one of the 7 wonders of the world where millions of people travel from all over the world just to experience it beauty. This palace was built by the 5th Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan, in memory or his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who passed away in 1630 at age 39. The Emperor loved Mumtaz so much that in her memory he built one of the most majestic buildings in the world, the Taj Mahal which now houses the tomb of the king himself and his beloved wife, Mumtaz. The cost estimate is thought it be around 53 billion rupees (which is around $830 million USD) today. It took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal and around 22kworkers, 1k elephants (transporting marble and other materials) to help complete it. It is said that the King went to great lengths to make sure no one could ever built anything like this. Below are the 3 theories I have heard the most regarding the employees he had working on this palace: 1. The King cut off all the thumbs of anyone that helped construct the Taj Mahal 2. The King cut off their hands. and 3. The King paid them and made them sign a contracted stated they would never build anything like this again. This is the most accepted theory. The rest are believed to be fables.
Preparing for the Taj Mahal
My dad is from India, and I must give him a lot of credit- he basically planned the entire trip for my family. Not to mention, when we got there we relied on him a lot for communication and navigation around. I have been with him 3 times to the Taj Mahal (first time I was too sick to go inside, second time my dad took me since I missed the inside the first time, and this time we went because my sister and my niece had never been there- I am so lucky to have been able to see this beautiful site more than once in my life- there really are no words for this beauty- it truly looks like you’re staring at a picture).
Here are our travel plans as well as some things to know when going to the Taj Mahal
Visiting hours– Open from Sunrise to Sunset every day, but Friday. It is closed on Fridays for general viewing
Cost–
Foreign Tourist 1200 Rupees
Indian cardholder- 200 Rupees
Duration – 2-3 hours in the Taj (prepare a few extra minutes to get ticket, get a locker if needed, go through the line, security, etc..) Agra is a nice city, but we decided to stay in New Delhi and we just took a day trip to the Taj Mahal.
Transportation- We took the train and it was about $25 USD/person. It was a pleasant experience- they had a spot for us to charge our phone, we met people sitting across from us and we got a meal on the train and it took about 2 hours to get to Agra from Delhi. (With the traffic in Delhi I highly suggest the train- one time my dad and I hired a private driver to go from Agra to Delhi and it and took over 4 hours to get back to Delhi. It was CRAZY!
From the train station to the Taj Mahal, we took a Tuk Tuk for about 100 Rupees, it was about 2-3 miles away.
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Prepare: Get prepared to be surround by hundreds, if not thousands of people. Also, if you are a foreigner, get prepared to be bombarded with people asking to take pictures with you. It started out feeling like I was a celebrity and then got annoying very quickly. Oh and they didn’t just want one picture of you, they wanted a photo shoot. My sister kept saying we were like majestic unicorns! A few people tried to rub my blonde neice’s head-they think it will bring them good luck -she was not amused.
Tour guides: If this is your first time going, I suggest getting a tour guide once you get there. My dad and I had one last time we went and it was an amazing experience- he told us every detail and knew the hot spots to take photos and we were able to skip everyone in line.
What NOT to bring to the Taj Mahal:
- Nothing valuable!
- No Computers are allowed
- No food
- No Cigarettes or lighters
- No tripods or any lighting equipment
- Most electronics are not allowed other than Cameras, and phones
- No reading material
Note- They do have lockers there that you can pay to use and then walk a little distance to get to them from the entrance. My dad brought his backpack with his computer in it and snacks. We actually forgot this detail, so we decided to get a locker. We were very wary about leaving his valuables in the locker- surround by 5 men sitting at a table in a small hole in the wall room- he even thought about skipping the Taj Mahal. However, we discovered that my dad brought his own lock with him and we could put it on the locker. When we returned, everything was nice and safe. However, my suggestion is to leave valuables in the safe in the hotel.
What to bring to the Taj:
- Passport
- Money
- Phone
- Water
- Hand Sanitizer
What to wear:
No dress code, but I would suggest something light and comfortable. Comfortable shoes are a must! Also something safe to keep your belongings in. Security is pretty tight there, but once you get in- the Taj is so packed that you will want to keep your items close to you and safe at all times.
Also, I like to dress comfy but cute for the pictures. I mean its the Taj Mahal! Pictures are a MUST.
Speaking of Pictures:
No one goes to the Taj Mahal and doesn’t secretly want a photoshoot with this majestic palace in the background. We ran across a photographer that kept asking to take pictures of us and he even used our cell phone to do it. He told us what poses to do, rotated us around, took pictures with his own camera too, etc.. he seemed great. So after we thanked him and tipped him, we learned that he didn’t want the tip, but he wanted us to purchase his pictures from his camera. We all tipped him pretty well and he still followed us around and kept trying to talk us into buying his pictures (that he also took on our cells). Finally after walking half way to the Taj Mahal I think he got the hint and I think we kind of learned our lesson. But I mean… at the same time I still like the photos on our phones that he took and we tipped him, so I feel like that was still a win/win.
Here are some of the pictures we mostly took with and without his help.
After visiting the Taj for a few hours we were beat. We had just flown in the night before and had a total of maybe 45 mins of sleep before we headed to the train station. So, we walked out and did a little shopping and went back to the train station. We sat in a restaurant there and had a few snacks. Then we still had an hour to kill- so we found a lounge, that was mostly empty- had Wi-Fi, had drinks and a place to charge your phone, and to NAP! So we went over there and paid about $4 USD per person to kick back and relax. Even while doing this be careful. Every one of us fell asleep- I was laying on my purse, as was my mom and sister and my dad had his book bag on the floor beside him. I opened my eyes to a little kid staring at my mom and sister and then back at my dad and his bag. Finally he glanced at me staring back, with a scolding look on my face and he walked away. I am not sure of his intention- but I took my dad’s book bag and held it until we left. So just always be wary no matter how cute, or friendly someone might seem.
