Thursday 19 November 2009

In her father's footsteps



This time next week the Baby and I will be in Agra where the highlight of the visit - and quite probably of the whole 8 days we're in India - will be going to see the Taj Mahal.

It's nearly 30 years since I was there, and yet I remember it perfectly (don't ask what I had for tea the day before yesterday. Or even yesterday) because it's one of those places which is so perfect, and so beautiful, and that lives so triumphantly up to every expectation, that it's totally unforgettable.

Most famous places you've heard all about, when you get there they're smaller, or dirtier, or smellier than you were expecting - but the Taj is every bit as fabulous as you've been led to believe. There are very few other places in this exclusive club: Machu Picchu, Ayers Rock, the Grand Canyon - that's about it, in my experience so far.

I do expect that it will be more crowded than in my photo here; and instead of the slim young man in his surprisingly short shorts, I'll be photographing his slim young daughter who was many years from even being thought of when this one was taken. I'll probably include her feet this time.

And I'm equally confident that I'll be coming home with more than just six photos of this astonishingly beautiful building. Hooray for digital!

2 comments:

the queen said...

It occurs to me I've never seen photos of the inside of the Taj Mahal, of course because it's a mausoleum, but is it just an empty shell with coffins in it? Can one go inside?

TravelSkite said...

Yes, you can, and it's just as lovely inside, with inlaid flowers in the marble and fabulous calligraphy, bas reliefs, arches and screens and the underside of the dome, all decorated, and then the two tombs. All marble and semi-precious stones. No minimalism!

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