Taj Mahal

May 4

7:01am Delhi time
I forgot to talk about the funeral processional we saw yesterday. While we were driving to the Bollywood movie, we had to pull to the side because there was a mass group of people walking down the road. The front few people were carrying what was basically a stretcher with sides on their shoulders. It looked like there was a woman laying on it. It was pretty high up so it was hard for me to see but there was a combination of colorful clothing (I think this is what she was dressed in) and white sheets (which were covering her or underneath her). It was a really large group of people. I can't remember exactly and I may be making this up but I think a lot of the people were men... If not all of them. They were wearing white robes with little white hats. All the drivers on the road pulled off to the side. It was a pretty cool thing to see.
Nick, one of the Americans from Alaska, is going to Africa after this. He is hitting up so many countries. I don't remember Ll of them but for sure South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and many other countries on the east coast. That would be really cool.
I'm kinda jealous I'm not a man. I feel like it makes traveling so much easier. There are still a million precautionary things, but in general, the guys all seem pretty comfortable going out on their own. Plus they don't have to worry about shaving a million body parts or have a period. Honestly, tampons take up a ridiculous amount of space.
We woke up at 530am to make our 7am train to Agra. It was actually really nice being in one place for two nights. We're in Agra for 2 days (only 1 night) and then we take the overnight train to Varanasi. I'm assuming we won't have Internet on the train so don't expect a blog post that evening.
In the US I always choose to sit on the floor. I would NEVER sit on the floor here. People spit and cover one nostril to blow snot out from the other pretty much anywhere they wish.
It is really nice they give you free water on the train. Today I bought a water bottle at the train station for 15 rupees. That's the cheapest I've seen it. It's also crazy how normal drinking warm, or even hot water, had become. And I've only been here for like 5 days. Ha.
I'm also glad I am pretty easy going because I feel like not too much has bothered me. I feel like a lot of people I am with get frustrated over things that make no sense to get frustrated over such as the smells on the street, the tuk tuk drivers not knowing exactly where our hotel is, people constantly asking for money or asking you to buy something. They're all obnoxious but were only here temporarily and they are trying to survive off of us buying things from them or carting us around. I feel like its part of traveling to foreign countries with different languages and cultures.
This morning, Zahid said we were going to ride in tuk tuks to the train station and immediately, in my head, I was like LOL! Every time we have been in tuk tuks it has been 3 of us crammed butt to butt and shoulder to shoulder. How will our bags fit! Of course, some of them have little trunks. It was basically a rack on the back that we stood our bags up in. That made more sense. I was beginning to prepare myself for the most uncomfortable tuk tuk ride of my life.
They're serving us breakfast on the train again. So far we have a cup for tea with a packet of creamer, a little plastic pot with hot water, a few tea packets, some biscuits (cookie cracker ish) and a few hard pieces of candy.

11:15am Delhi time
Later they brought out bagged bread and butter, and a potato dish with spicy sauce on the side. It was okay.
When we pulled into Agra we passed above a street. The middle of it was covered with yellow. All of the tops of tuk tuks are yellow. It was just a huge mass if yellow haha.
There were also many houses lined up along the train track. They are literally built right next to each other. Some of the house had a large sheet or cloth they were using as an overhang to make a shaded area on their front porch. In front of the houses there were also just heaps of trash. I'm pretty sure it's black piles because they burn the trash. It's sad to see that much trash all over the place.
It's really beautiful to see their laundry hanging because of all the sarees with their colors and sparkles.
When we got off the train (it had AC and was very nice) we had a car waiting for us. It was a 17 seater van. He opened up the back to put our luggage in and it was smaller than a trunk in the US. There was enough space to lay down 2 bags across the floor along the door and then we stacked a bunch of other bags on top of it. There still wasn't enough room to fit everyone's bags and we had exactly the number of seats as we do people so we got a tuk tuk as well. It was pretty silly looking because it was our van and a little tuk tuk stuffed to the brim with a bunch of luggage. The hotel we are staying at is pretty nice. It has wifi but you have to pay for it. It is right near a Pizza Hut and a costa coffee. Aside from a McDonald's near the Bollywood theater, I haven't seen any stores or restaurants from home until now.
I am constantly thinking about what I can leave behind but there is still so many different things on my trip to come climate wise and country wise that I just have no idea what is important and what is not. My bag is so large though. Today when the bag boys were taking our bags to our room he stopped half way down the hallway to set it down and he made the funniest grunting noises to lift it again. I feel really bad. I'm pretty worried about trekking in Nepal with my bag. It's not too bad when it is all buckled up but I don't know if it will still be comfortable after 7-10 hours of carrying it on my back through the Himalayas.
I am staying in the same hostel/hotel before my trek starts and after it ends so maybe I could leave a duffle bag full of stuff I don't need on my trek at the hostel. I just don't know how safe that will be.
We have some free time now before Agra fort (which is HUGE). Then we will come back for lunch and have more free time in the afternoon before we head out to see the Taj Mahal at sunset this evening. Should be way cool!

3:24pm Delhi time
Agra fort is actually really cool. We had a tour guide because in India you are required to get a certification from the government to give informational yours out at monumental sights. Zahid does not have one of these.
The guy was very knowledgable. He gave us way more information than I can remember. I think it was built in the 1500s. It is 2.5 meters around the entire fort. There was a water moat with crocodiles, a wall, another dry moat with Bangal tigers, and another wall, and then canons and guns. It was very well protected haha.
It took about 90 years to build. You can see a great view of the Taj Mahal from the fort as well.
Some interesting facts I remember about the fort:
1. It was really hot (and still is) during summers in Agra- reaching up to about 49 degrees Celsius which I think is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The walls are built so they are hollow inside. In the mornings, people would go around and fill the walls with water to keep it cool.
2. There are vent type things built into some of the walls for "AC". Women would stand behind it and their job would be I fan fan while they were in there so that air would circulate the room and cool the people down who were in there.
3. The guide said since they had no alarm clocks that the emperor would be woken up by women shaking their bangles from inside the vents. Honestly, I don't know if that's real or a joke. It was hard to tell the difference sometimes.
4. The emperor would drink 60 cups of wine a day! That's some crazy tolerance! And of course, I would remember a useless fact like that.
5. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a memorial to his wife who died giving birth to their 14th child. Then, his son overthrew him and imprisoned him in Agra fort so all he could do was look at his beautiful creation. He was buried at the Taj Mahal when he died (next to his wife).
6. Once a month there was a market in the fort for women only to do their shopping. This is where Shah Jahan met his third wife. Since only women were allowed, he dressed up as a woman!
It was funny because when we were getting back in the van we had probably 5 different guys standing at the door to the van shoving items in our face to get us to buy them. Books, Taj Mahal snow globes, fake peacock feather fans, and some other strange things I couldn't identify.
When we got back we went to lunch at a restaurant that serves southern Indian food. It was good I guess. I got vegetarian thali which is a platter basically like tapas so it allows you to try a number of different dishes in small amounts. I don't know how southern Indian food is different from northern Indian food though. The 8 of us had a lot of time to talk and hang out at lunch.

1:32am Delhi time
We saw another funeral processional today. It's definitely only men. This one had white sheets covering it with colored (red and yellow) flowers.

9:03am Delhi time
Fell asleep before I could finish writing about yesterday. The hotel we are at charges for Internet (100 rupees for 1 hour) and the pool (500 rupees for 1 day use)! Pretty ridiculous, so that's why I haven't posted anything in a while. And the exhaustion factor from constant traveling or doing something. I don't even think I would be able to type out everything I've written in one hour only!
We met downstairs at 4pm to go to the Taj Mahal. We all piles into our little van and set off. The van could only take us so close so we switched into a thing that looks like those tour vans like in Disney World or what we took around the Warner Brothers studio.
It took us to the East entrance of the Taj Mahal, also called the VIP entrance because VIP enter through this gate only.
We had to go through "Security" to get inside. We weren't allowed to being a lot of things in. Pretty much just money and a camera. I wasn't sure what to do with my money so naturally, I just shoved it in my bra. Well... That doesn't work well when you're sweating balls... Literally. I could feel balls of sweat running down my body. I was constantly checking my bra to make sure it hadn't slipped out. I'm sure I looked strange constantly "feeling myself up" but whatever.
So "security" was a lady (because we went through the women line... Obviously) frisking our hips and legs underneath a non-functioning metal detector. Then, if you had a bag it had to go through he security belt. Even when we were waiting for everyone in the shade it was ridiculously hot. I think Seth, the tour guide, said 42 degrees Celsius. So far India has been a pretty dry heat so I haven't been as sweaty even when it is hot. Here it is so wet I pretty much felt wet all day.
Once we were all through security, Seth led us in. After the east gate (there is also a south and west gate), there is a large gate you have to walk through to get to the Taj Mahal. It's a reddish brownish color. I can't remember how tall he said it was. At the top of it, there are 11 bells on each side (made of stone). Each bell represent 1 year of work it took to build the Taj. It took 22 year with a total of 20,000 workers working on it every day.
Shah Jahan married 3 wives. The first 2 could not bear children but the 3rd could. She gave him 14 children in 19 years of marriage. When she was carrying the 14th child, the emperor had to go off to the battlefield. She gave birth and became very ill while he was away. A messenger delivered an incorrect message to the emperor telling him his wife and child were both in good health so that he could stay focused on the battle. The doctors discussed it and decided to tell her he did not have much time left.
She said she wanted to speak to her husband and wouldn't die until he arrived at her side. Once he heard, he rushed back and made it home to her. She asked for 3 wishes from him. The first was he would not remarry. The second was he would look after all 14 of her children since she wouldn't be there to do so. The third was that he should do something to prove his love to her and the rest of the world. She died in 1631.
He then decided to build the Taj. He held a contest for a building design. The man who won was paid 1000 rupees a month. They used white marble because Shah Jahan really liked it. The gold for the building was found about 350km away which was far back then, especially when it was all being hauled into Agra. It's 1 of 2 buildings in India with a double doorway.
Everything on the Taj is symmetrical, even her grave would divide her body in half exactly. The only non-symmetrical thing is his grave because he told his daughter he wanted to be buried next to her mother but he died 30 years after the Taj was built.
Everything colored on the Taj is stone. Nothing was painted. There is a mosque facing west on one side of the Taj but for symmetry purposes they built an identical one on the other side as well.
He pillars were constructed at a 2 degree angle away from the Taj so that if something happened and it was attacked the pillars would fall outward and not destroy the tomb.
There is also writing from the Koran around the building sites and gate. In order to make this look parallel they made it larger on top and smaller on the bottom so it gives the illusion of looking perfectly parallel.
They say the Taj looks like Shah Jahan's tear drop.
I was a little disappointed because the water was not filled but it was still beautiful. When Seth was telling us the history and the story while we were starring at the Taj, it gave me chills. It's so beautiful. The detail of the work and architectural design is incredible as well for something that old.
Shah Jahan didn't want any of the workers to replicate the Taj so he "cut the hand" of each individual and paid their pension for the rest of their lives.
The way the sun hit the marble and made the colored stones sparkle was fantastic. While the sun was setting, the light on the Taj was perfect. It was really cool to see. I still wish the pools had been filled with water because I feel like it would have been so much more magical then.
When you go into the building to see the tomb, the area is circular and pretty small. You are required to take off your shoes or wear shoe covers. They shuffle you through that part pretty quickly. They shove people out while shoving more people in. The guards all have their whistles and are continuously blowing them and shouting at people to keep moving. It wasn't very peaceful for a tomb.
There are rooms surrounding the grab as well that you walk through.
There were monkeys on the railings. I was trying to get a good shot and it was walking toward me but because I was looking through my lens I didn't realize how close the monkey was. When I looked up it freaked me out for a second. While we were at the fort we had also seen monkeys and Seth told us to keep our distance because about 99% of monkeys have rabies. They will bite too. It freaked Stacey out too because she was also trying to take a picture.
While we were walking back from the Taj to the bus the street was lined with shops and therefore it also meant it was lined with shop owners trying to get you in their shops.
One kid selling post cards wouldn't leave me alone so I finally said, "I have no money" and he walked away instantly. That was the best part of not carrying a bag.
At the Taj they have us a complimentary bottle of water. It was a normal size bottle for the US, but the smallest bottle I've seen in India thus far. Not surprisingly, it was also warm.
After the Taj, we went to dinner. It was very good. I had a dish that was cottage cheese dumplings in a sweet gravy with dry fruits and nuts. And obviously naan. I actually didn't originally order any but the waiter said I needed to order some naan or rice. "This only sauce." I had my first beer here too. It is called Kingfisher. It's not amazing but tastes fine.
We spent the evening all crammed into a tiny, very hot room, playing waterfall or kings cup or whatever name you call it. My days of drinking games came in handy because they couldn't remember rules for all the cards.
For the Viking, instead of just holding the Jack and doing it whenever they feel like it, we did it so the person who drew the card did the Viking right away and had to make Viking sounds. The people to either side either rowed to the left if they are on the left of the Viking and vice-a-versa. The rest of the people were water. Then, the Viking has to pass the Viking off to the next person (whoever they choose). It keeps going until someone messes up and has to drink. It was pretty funny.
At one point, it was my turn (toward the end) and the 1 beer I had was gone and I drew a card that meant I had to take 4 sips. They said not having anything to drink is no excuse and to go take some vodka or spiced rum. I had no glass but they insisted I sip from the bottle. I started taking sips from the bottle and everyone couldn't believe i was actually doing it. They were going crazy. I told them I am a heavy drinker at home which I don't think is considered true but they were all like "Yeah! We believe you!" It was funny to me.
We slept with the lights on last night because the fan and lights are controlled by the same switch.
All over Agra; at the fort, the Taj, the restaurant we ate dinner at; there were Stars of David. I asked Z about it and he said that from the beginning of time the rulers in Agra were always about brining all the religions together. There is also the lotus flower from Buddhism, some signs from Christianity, and Hinduism.
Z thinks I'm very quiet because I have only asked him 2 questions. I told him I just like to take everything in.
Apparently I am still shy and not outgoing enough yet. He was nervous I wasn't enjoying it by I reassured him I have been
I always forget that on these group trips there is a lot of drinking. Not that I don't want to have fun but its so hot already that I don't want to dehydrate myself. I also son want to have a hangover or anything when I need to get up to do stuff, especially in this heat. Last night I was okay with it. I had 2 beers all evening, 1 with dinner. It was at the hotel in one of our group members rooms and we don't hav to be anywhere until 1pm!
Cheers!