Taj Mahal - April 18,2009

THE PICTURES ARE IN REVERSE ORDER - SORRY 'BOUT THAT!

This morning I was up at 4:30 so that I could have a couple of cups of coffee before going to see the sunrise on the Taj Mahal. The gates open at six so several other travelers and I were in line to buy our ticket (which is very expensive considering other prices in India. It cost 750 rupees, $12.00), and this man comes up and tells us that today is a holiday and admission is FREE! So I saved enough for three nights hotel I will have here!

The street scene is of my hotel, which is close to the boundaries of the Taj.

My comments about the Taj are that is was BIGGER than I thought, and it was a very impressive building, beautiful. The gardens around the Taj and the outlying buildings were also very impressive. I understand why it is such a worldwide attraction!!

Now with the Taj out of the way, I've got to decide on my schedule for the next month and get my train tickets purchased. The trains are FULL, and advance booking is almost necessary on some routes. My problem is deciding how much time at each place. So far I have been able to travel as I wanted, but the train here showed me I needed to now plan ahead. So this afternoon , I will be going over all the choices and talking to travelers about where is best and what is not worth going to, and how long to stay at any given place. Of course it doesn't take me long to see stuff, especially old buildings. But I do want to see what is here.

So - in the town of the Taj Mahal -
Johnny