Dave and Fintan at the Taj MahalWith Caroline feeling terrible, we were unsure if we were going to make it all the way to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and back to Delhi which would probably be altogether a 10 hour stint in the Hummer. With the logic that coming to India and not seeing the Taj Mahal would be a crime, Caroline decided that she could just about manage, so we hit the road towards Agra.
The Type of Tractor that took our Wing Mirror. Ridiculous Load!After about 2 hours back on the frantic Indian roads, we had our first damaging blow to the Hummer on CrazyJourney when the side-mirror was swiped off by an oncoming tractor carrying an overloaded trailer of grain. We’ve seen plenty of these trailers which are ridiculously over-loaded and we often see many that are collapsed under their own weight and stuck on the side of the road. As you can imagine, not having a passenger side-mirror on such a wide vehicle was an absolute nightmare, so continuing on with only one rear view mirror made the Indian roads even more dangerous.
The Sun Sets on the Taj Towers
We eventually arrived in the congested and polluted industrial city of Agra. We made the parking area, just in time with only an hour of light left to see the Taj Mahal. After negotiating the masses of hawkers, we finally got to the entrance. Even with an idea of what to expect, we were still blown away at our first glimpse of this magnificent mausoleum. It was built as a memorial to a Mughal Emperor’s wife and took 23 years and 20,000 people to construct. Legend has it that the Mughal emperor cut off the hands of many of the Taj Mahal’s builders so that nothing of it’s beauty could ever be replicated. The wonderful white marble structure is aptly described as ‘the most extravagant monument ever built for love’. After the hectic driving today, a walk around the grounds chilled us all out before another mad drive back to Delhi for Caroline and Layla’s flight home.
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