I woke up before dawn to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. The guidebooks all said this was the most divine time to see the Taj, with the bonus of fewer crowds vying for a glimpse and a selfie. Never one to miss out on the best, I set my alarm and bundled up for the chilly Agra air.
I scuttled down the foggy, bleak streets towards the famed memorial, keeping one eye out for massive potholes and the other trained on the gangs of teenage boys loitering about. Oh god. Youths!
As I walked hurriedly past the many touts and rickshaw drivers, one man shouted to me, “Miss! Buy tickets for the Taj Mahal here!”
Ha ha! You can’t fool me, old man! I will NOT be tricked into buying your over-priced, fake entrance ticket!
I kept walking, head down, refusing eye contact, lest I be forced into conversation that would surely (if my brief history in India was any indication) result in my buying loads of souvenirs to carry around the rest of the day.
Feeling savvy after my slick maneuver away from that scheming man and his ticket booth scam, I arrived at the East Gate entrance to the Taj Mahal.
And guess what?
I was refused entry because I hadn’t bought my ticket back at the office. You know, the one where that kind man tried to help me and save me from walking 1km up to the gate without a ticket? Arrrrg, my streetwise, seasoned-traveler arrogance backfired! Must try to trust people sometimes....
Well I certainly couldn’t show my face back at that ticket office after so rudely ignoring the ticket man, throwing a cocky sideways glance as I rushed past. My pride was the only thing keeping me warm.
So I checked my trusty Google Map and found that the South Gate was “just around the corner” and definitely walkable. The fog was still thick enough to cut with a knife, so each corner was hidden pretty well, preventing me from seeing what was around any of them.
As I wandered aimlessly down the narrow, winding alleys of Taj Ganj Colony, I quickly realized that there were no signs leading the way to the entrance. I mean, the Taj Mahal is the ONLY thing to see in the area, and the locals could clearly see that I was a foreigner who did not know where I was going. But no one offered to help. Not that I would have taken their help (remember that ticket salesman...).
The fog was hanging so low and thick, and the allies were so dark and narrow, I was beginning to think that THIS was how I was going to die. Surely at any moment that group of shifty youths would come around the corner, having followed me the whole way, and jump me. This was what everyone warned me about: “Samantha, be careful! Don’t go anywhere alone! You’ll be robbed!” I kept wandering, awaiting the inevitable.
I couldn’t take it anymore. My heart was pounding. I kept glancing behind me. I had one eye on the probable mugger sitting on his stoop and one eye on the would-be murderer drinking hot chai on the corner. I had to get out of there!
I followed my bread crumbs back out of the Taj Ganj, relinquishing myself to the shame of walking back up the road to that first ticket booth. At least I’d be alive.
But suddenly my luck changed! Walking toward me were three Italian med students, heading for the Taj Mahal! I joined forces with them, and we boldly made our way deeper into the allies, determined to find that elusive South Gate.
Looks like my little dip in The Ganges really paid off.
Finally, I was inside the grounds of the most beautiful building in the world. Despite the time wasted on my misadventures trying to find the entrance, the sun had not yet risen over the Taj. Touted as one of the essential views of this Wonder of the World, I was expecting a glorious and breathtaking spectacle. However...the fog.
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| Creepy fog! |
The fog was STILL beyond murky and I couldn’t see a damn thing more than 10 feet in front of me. I stood on the spot where the most well-known photos of the Taj are taken, and this is what I got:
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| Still beautiful, but no Taj! |
It was just past 8am, so I figured I’d tool around inside the Taj Mahal, take in some architecture, maybe a little history, and then the fog would have lifted and I’d get my iconic view.
Four hours later, I was still waiting for the fog to lift. I was shivering, rattled through to my bones, and the security guard inside the main building was starting to get suspicious of me, having circled around at least a dozen times to avoid going back outside to the cold and damp fog.
At least I had plenty of time to read my notes on Agra provided by the fabulous staff at India Someday and inspect the beautiful and intricate marble and semi-precious stone inlay work.
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| Semi-translucent white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones |
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| Marble inlay work |
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| Marble inlay |
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| Hand-carved marble work |
Around the time I started to get very nervous that I would miss my bus to Jaipur just waiting to get a look at the Taj Mahal, the sun finally came out and started to chase away the low-hanging cloud. Within about 20 minutes, the incredible Taj Mahal came into focus. I will never forget the moments I spent sitting alone on a bench under a tree in India on a chilly morning, watching the Taj Mahal materialize behind a cloud of fog. So majestic, so magical.
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| Starting to peak through |
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| Finally, a glimpse! |
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| There she is! A true wonder! |
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| Requisite Taj Mahal selfie |
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| Still some haze in the air, but a much clearer view than 4 hours earlier! |
