Taj Mahal

WHEE! yes... I'm backdating my entries AGAIN. As time passes, it gets harder and harder and get back the same feeling, but I shall try.... at least late than never.

So, since i'm at this picture, I shall start with the magnificent Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. Remember I said I wanted to visit all seven wonders of the world in my lifetime? well, that's one checked off the list. = )


It's really B E A U T I F U L. Every little thing is so detailed, crafted to the finest perfection. It's amazing Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Indian and Islamic architecture. Every bit of the marble and the carvings (see bottom left pic) are done by HAND.


I was told by my guide that I'm sitting where Princess Diana sat before, but when I searched for Princess Diana's pic at the Taj Mahal... it doesn't look like the same marble bench leh.




In any case, I did feel like a Princess Diana then, since Mr Goh wasn't with me when I visited this masterpiece built for love, just like Prince Charles wasn't with Diana when she visited. I think the Taj is made even more beautiful by the love story behind it; and how the locals have been so proud of it everytime they speak of it.

-Round and about the Taj-


See how the Taj changes colour (Right column pics). Rinku (my guide) told me this is the 'magic' of the Taj. The taj changes colour with light. At night, if the lighting is good, the Taj will look like it's sparkling, with jewels. Ahhhh... that's magic... And that's the picture of the Yamuna river. Across the river, there's supposed to be a black taj, for the emperor himself, but he did not live to finish building it and his son felt it was too extravagant.... if not, everything about the Taj would be symmetrical. Perfect. I guess it's good that the emperor's tomb is placed next to his wife? at least they're close to each other....

You cannot wear shoes in the Taj, so that's sth to wrap around my feet. And that's me trying to look regal and imagining myself as the empress reincarnate, and that's my guide.


-Taj marble at sunrise, sunset and night-

I bought a Taj marble table top back too... heavy and expensive ah! Here's the marble shop person explaining the different precious and semiprecious gemstones on the marble slabs...


If I ever go back to Agra again, I'd visit the Taj at night... where the magic begins.