My trip to the Taj began in typical Indian fashion...in no rush. We had to get up early for breakfast, then sit and wait for the driver. The trip, though only about 150 km (90ish miles) away took about four hours. We had nice cars rented for the trip, meaning there was blessed A/C for the long journey. I should point out the average temperatures in India right now are in the 90s. Not merely breaking into the 90s, but a solid 95, 96 degrees. I was seated on the sunny side of the car, so I still warmed quite a bit, but without A/C I would have melted before we got there. Once we did get there, I started to melt. But the beautiful Taj was overwhelming enough for me to forget about all of the sweat pouring down my face. It really, really is not overrated. There are red palaces constructed in similar fashion in Delhi, but there is something magical about the all white marble masterpiece of perfect symmetry. We had a good guide who shared all kinds of interesting facts (like the 2 builders from Iran hired to build the Taj had one hand cut off when it was complete so as to not recreate something similar), took our pictures, and led us inside of the sauna called the Taj Mahal. I say this because to go inside of the Taj they let you in by the roomful. There is no queue, just a swarm of people pushing and shoving and getting as close to you as possible so as to share drops of sweat with everyone before they let you inside to see the tombs of the king and the queen. It is noisy, bumpy, hot and chaotic...even as a world famous tourist attraction, it is distinctly, marvelously Indian.
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