India (Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh) July 2007 D-23

I had only 3 hours of sleep last night and this morning I had to wake up early to join a group of Indian tourists to Agra ( 5hrs by bus from New Delhi) to visit the Taj Mahal & Agra Fort. Another interesting day for me after my Jaipur experience yesterday.

Like the local Indian tourists, I paid Rs30=Rm2.70 for entry to the Agra Fort ( foreigners paid much more) and another Rs6 for taking a service jeep to take us to the entrance of the Fort.

Agra Fort and palace were built in 1565 by King Akbar. Inside the Fort, I visited the Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience), grave of John Colvin , Nagina Masjid , Diwam-i-khas (Hall of Private Audience) , Shish Mahal (Mirror Palace) and Anguri Bag (garden) and a large courtyard.

Next , I visited the Taj Mahal - a great wonder of the world ! This magnificent marble monument was built in 1631 by Emperor Shah Jehan as a memorial for his wife. I paid an entrance fee of Rs20=Rm1.80 as enjoyed by the local toursits but for foreigners , the admission fee was Rs750. The trick to this was I claimed myself as a Tibetan Chinese when queried on my nationality by the ticket counter staff. Under a hot sun, I had to bear with a long queue of visitors lining up at the ticketing counter and also at the security check point as all visitors had to be screened before entry.

This was the 3rd great wonder of the world I visited as I had in earlier years seen the Great Wall of China (1997) & Angor Wat (2007).

I took a number of pictures on the tall white minarets, the white marble walls carved with flowers, the domes, the arches, the surrounding area and the whole monument building from various angles as I entered.

After the Taj's visit, the tour bus took us to Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi , the Kesava Deo Temple & the Katra Masjid, which was guarded heavily by soldiers. No photography was allowed and all cameras had to be surrendered to the front reception prior to entry.

I had a late dinner at 11.00pm at a local restaurant which charged an exorbitant price on all the food ordered by our tour group. A few Indian tourists were furious and had a heated argument with the bus attendant for bring us to this dodgy place.

By the time our bus drove us back to New Delhi, it was around 2.30am. Another long and tiresome day ! You really need abundance energy if you are taking package tours for two consecutive days in this part of the world !

" I put on a smiling face when I saw the Taj Mahal in front of me. So magnificent and elegant looking, no wonder is rated as a Great Wonder of The World "