Visit to Taj

So we have come up to go and see Taj Mahal during a day off. Being a rather spontaneous idea of Ellie's we quickly jumped on the bandwagon and allowed the kind MHE and OB staff to deal with all the logistics for us.

The next day, we woke up at early o'clock and took the Metro (infinitely better than London Underground) and went over to where our driver picked us up. Greeted by the monkeys we got in the car and went our way (they didn't seem too keen on us anyway).

Three and a half hours to go... It didn't take too long before we enjoyed the Indian services, with many chains, two of which I worked in back in England it didn't take too long to feel 'at home'. The fixed prices meant that for once I did not have to worry about getting shafted - making a nice change.



During the journey I have spent most of the time plugged out with my one of my favourite bands, Sublime - reminding me of how much I love my dog. This means I missed out on the uneccessary stuff like whether we are guided or not (yes we were).

As we were getting out of the car we were welcomed by a lady with severe cataracts in both eyes with a starving baby in her arms begging for money. As much as I somewhat like the idea of being cold and surgical in some aspects of my life I would hate to become oblivious to suffering and poverty...

... On a happier note, we met our guide, and actually saw Taj, being foreign, we paid 1000 rupees instead of 40 - however the 'foreigners queue' moved much faster and came with a few perks so I guess it wasn't that bad. Screened and patted down we joined the crowd who seemed to be very focused on one thing. taking a good selfie.

Not even Ellie will stand in the way of a selfie.

The building (and the ones surrounding it) was nice, the stories told by the guide were really good and enjoyable (some of which later turned out to be complete bollocks, but that's fine). The architecture was fascinating, lots of ooh's and aaaaah's from me. If you happen to be in the area then by all means spend the 1000 rupees and 2,5 hours of your life to apreciate this place. Be aware, however, that everything around it is a complete shithole.

Being a good vibrations blog I had to think many times how to finish, so here goes.

You will be very impressed with the place the local guides take you to to buy the "real deal". And you will make said guide a very, very happy man if you happen to pay the 'western' prices for whatever it may be... Of course, this has nothing to do with the presents my family and a couple of friends will recieve in the upcoming weeks ;) .