14 Hours In A Plane

India Day 6

 We were told to have our suitcases outside our rooms by 5:45 AM this morning.  In the  darkness we boarded our bus and drove back to the Taj. 

 Close to the Taj, we got off the big red bus and made our way by foot along the putrid and stinking street leading to the gate.  At one point I physically wretched as we crossed a river that smelled so foul I felt my breakfast in my throat.  Even the elegant, above-it-all Mr. Singh covered his mouth and nose and sprinted in his pointy red shoes until he was far enough away from the stench that he too could breathe.

 Once inside the palace gate, we were overcome with… quiet.  There was virtually no one there.  We had the  Taj Mahal to ourselves!  Ahhh….

 I walked along the long path leading up to it and imagined Shah Jahan walking here alone, in the early morning, coming to visit her, here, at her “grave,” his final tribute to his beloved, fulfilling her deathbed vision of a beautiful castle. 

 For 21 years over 20,000 people worked every day to build this. 

 Here is the quiet morning Taj:

 

We toured inside too, but no cameras were allowed.  Inside, our tour had hired a man to sing inside the rotunda for us so that we could hear the resonance which was haunting and thrilling and gave us chills.

 Entering the Taj:

 

To the same degree as I was disappointed yesterday to see the Taj with thousands of other people, to that same degree I was deeply satisfied today.  I basked  in its glory as the sun rose.

 After hundreds of pictures were taken, we walked out through the gate and then up a small street which looked like this:

 
Mr. Singh led us up a grassy embankment to the place where we were to have breakfast. 

 This is what greeted us:

 
Silver chafing dishes, obeisant waiters, linen table cloths and the most stunning view of the Taj.  We ate breakfast here, as the sun rose.

 

Now, this.  This was unbelievable.  All I could say, over and over was: “This is CRAZY!”  and

“Who ARE we???”

 After breakfast we re-boarded the bus and headed for Jaipur.