Taj Mahal – the most romantic wonder of the world.

When I was 17 years old (cannot believe that was 24 years ago), I took an opportunity to go to India on a discount 7 night trip with other Thomas Cook colleagues on a British Airways agent deal. It cost me approx £150 and included the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur with all flights, hotels, meals and excursions included.  At this time, I had never been further than Europe and had never eaten Indian food, not even from the local takeaway. It was to be one of the best experiences of my life.

On arrival into Delhi, the heat hit you straight away. Then the smells, not all unpleasant but certainly different to what I was used to in London. Those first 24 hours was a shock to the system, but the full 7 night was really a real eye opener and mostly for the good.

If you have ever been to Asia, South America, certain Caribbean islands and parts of Africa, then you may have experienced poverty in a dramatic way. I had at this age, never seen poverty like this in front of my eyes, but it is something that you have to deal with and quickly when in a country like this. My main memory of the extreme poverty was waking in our hotel in Delhi and seeing from the window the amount of people that lived on the streets. Having lived and worked in London for so long, you do get used to seeing the odd homeless person, but not to this extreme.  You do need to be aware of this and I have some great tips for those considering doing a trip like the fantastic Bucket List that has been put together exclusively for cruise.co.uk

World Wonders Bucket List

Delhi has so much history new and old and the buildings of palaces and temples are spectacular. After spending a few days here, sightseeing, going to the Zoo and getting as used to the surroundings as much as one possibly can, it was time to head on to the highlight of this 7 night tour.

Agra and the Taj Mahal.

We stayed for just 2 nights in a beautiful hotel on the outskirts of Agra, which was more than enough as honestly Agra is not a beautiful town. I felt my most vulnerable here (but remember I was only 17), even just going from the coach to the entrance to the Taj. I have never experienced sights like I saw in Agra. One of my most vivid memories of this trip was the amount of beggars and men with leprosy on the street. Fortunately, there was plenty of security around and our safety was not a concern.

We walked through these large gates and could see armed army all around us, from memory you walk through the army barracks towards a main gated building. From here you have to abide by the rules of photography and videoing in this area. We was allowed to video from certain areas and take photos but restricted once you was close to and inside the Taj.

The emotion we all felt when walking through that guarded gate straight into the most immaculate gardens and the the sight of the most beautiful building I have ever seen, was quite overwhelming as there she was in all her white marble glory, the Taj Mahal.

Trying to do my ‘Diana’ pose…

Taking over 20 years to build, this UNESCO world heritage site was built in by the Mughal emporer, Shan Jahal in honor of his beloved Persian Princess after her death during child birth in 1631. Sitting in grounds of over 42 acres and on the banks of the river Yamuna, it is a vision to behold and I certainly recommend to visit twice if you can. Once in the day and once at dusk, this is when you see the marble change colour as the sun sets. Seeing the Taj white then later pink, is just a beautiful sight and memory that will last forever.

The beauty of this building is something that I cannot describe, it is something that only those that experience it will ever understand.

The Taj Mahal is a tomb, a husbands extravagance to prove his love for this women by building her the most spectacular resting place. Through the open entrance of the Taj, you will see two marble caskets one for him and one for her. It is believed that these are replicas and their actual bodies are beneath the Taj Mahal. Surrounding this open entrance of the Taj, there is black marble en-scripted the whole way around the arch from floor to floor, declaring his undying love for this woman.

If you walk around to the back of the Taj you over look the Yamuna River and on the opposite side is the foundations of the start of a replica to the Taj Mahal but in black marble, which the children decided to build for their father, however nothing more than the foundations was started and it was never completed.

I can assure you that a visit to this magnificent wonder of the world will be a trip of a lifetime.

After spending as long as possible at the Taj, it was time to move on to Jaipur. This is the city featured in the films ‘The Best Marigold Hotel’ I really loved Jaipur and felt very comfortable here. This is the also known as the pink city as the buildings are made of a pinky coloured clay and home to the beautiful Palace of the Winds. We was lucky to hear how this building sounds when the wind rustles through the flute like openings of the building.

We found ourselves surrounded by children begging from us more often than not, wherever we travelled to. They would stop at the bus windows and hand out their hands asking for money. Of course the children look more vulnerable than adults and pull on the hearts strings a lot more than an adult would. It is hard to say no but you can’t help all of them. One thing we learnt was that they don’t just want money, they want anything that they can use and show off with. My biggest tip for anyone travelling to India or any poverty stricken country for that matter would be to take as many cheap biro pens, pencils and even hairbands that you can, to hand out to the children that put their hand out to you for something. The look of delight on their faces, that this is just for them is one of the most priceless feelings you can experience.

India was more than I ever expected and I would love to go back. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the heat and the food was just exciting, different, sometimes scary, fantastic and overall one of the most amazing travel experiences of my life so far and I have been fortunate to travel to many places.

Dawn

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