I have visited the Taj Mahal twice, once with family, once with friends. Its breath taking beauty left me awe struck both the times.
Since I know the local language, and how things work around in India, I thought of listing a few factoids about visiting the Taj Mahal, added with my special tips (and a a bit of gossip in the end)!
- Plan your day of visit beforehand. It remains CLOSED on FRIDAYS!!
- Taking a motorized vehicle or a cart to travel from the main gate to the main grave: Easy on your feet, there is a lot to cover inside the boundaries of the Taj, why tire yourself right from the beginning..? Do not overpay! The cab are cheap.
- There are three entry gates- Eastern, Western and Southern. Don’t panic/wait up if you a see a long queue of people waiting for tickets at the entry. There is an other way round 😉
- Hiring a tour guide: They have memorized word by word each fascinating point about the monument. Hire a government approved guide as they have specific charges. Although no scope of bargaining, but at least you won’t be running into the risk of interacting with unauthorized or suspicious people.
- Getting a token of remembrance after visiting. The gift shops around are OVERPRICED. Do not buy from there in the name of authenticity. You get same stuff outside, in Agra city for 1/10th price!
So I am done sharing some general knowledge, most of which applies to other parts of India too. So reading them, is a win-win 😀 Here are some other snaps 🙂
Basically this recent one was a memorable trip with friends, one of them I was head over heels in love with from previous two years, but never had the courage to speak up to. And that courage finally surfaced in the most romantic place I could think of.
(Well, I have modified the truth a bit, but what the hell, I want my kids to read this in future :P)
You can distinctly see seven people in the above pic, posing in front of the glorious Taj. Me, my newly confessed love, and the others who pulled our leg for umpteen days for get all lovey-dovey (thanks to the Taj effect :P).
Visit the Taj, you will fall in love with its beauty if not something/someone else!
# I should have named this – Blog of a romantic fool 😀
~Cruising through my Life~ 
‘They’ surely will read 😀
‘Himym’ revisited :P..eh ? oh sorry ‘himyf’.. 😛
also..my few tips:
1- Take water with you…but there are snacking outlets surrounding the taj..so don worry..
2- Do pause to see the backside and the yamuna river flowing behind…{there are few interesting anecdotes related to that too..hopefully your guide will know..}
I enjoyed reading this.. 🙂
god bless you both {u nd ur love } 😛
Thanks for dropping by and you inputs! 🙂
Hello, Thank you for dropping by my blog. I hope I was able to share some insights and ideas no matter how mundane some of them may be lol. I find your blog light and refreshing. Keep it up. 🙂
Thanks for your wonderful words 🙂
Have a great week ahead!
nice ! i have spent 6 years of my life in Agra. If not for the Taj , that city and its people are a sh!t
That’s the story of almost every city, my friend!
People’s mentality and motive’s have to be blamed, not the city’s aura 🙂
that’s true 🙂
Loved your post! The taj truly is magical!
It is, isn’t it…!
🙂
your pictures, re-lived my memories of the Taj! Nice post!
Thansk a ton! 🙂
thanks for dropping by my site.. nice pics of the tajmahal.. but now a bit curious of the modified version of your affair. hahaha 😀
I revealed only how much I could 😛
and thanks to you too for dropping by!
Cheers!
beautiful shots
Thanks, but personally I feel I can do better 🙂
I want to go there so badly!!
You should 🙂
Its an amazing place…Worthy of being one of the 7 wonders of the World..!
Very nice pictures, thank you for stopping by my blog as well.
Best of luck to you!
Thanks to you too for stopping by, The Flat Girl! 🙂
My Mothers Home…..
I should Envy my mothers childhood… 🙂
Lucky her 😉
I went to the India in January, and the Tag Mahal definitely lives up to the hype – if anything it actually is better than the hype. There are few places I have been completely awed by, and this is one of my top destinations. I would say that if you go to the Taj, make sure that you know the price of your guide before you go in (as is with most things in India – make sure you set a price first). I agree with never buying anything near the Taj, completely overpriced. And finally, enjoy your trip! There are so many things (especially about Agra) that can make you very weary of people in India, but there is so many beautiful things that are worth the trip. Give back where you can and be nice where you can – just be on your toes at the same time so you are not taken advantage of. Great post!
You summed up exactly what I wrote 🙂
Glad you enjoyed your time at the Taj..!!
Cheers!
When I go to visit The Taj Mahal I will follow your advice. Thanks for the advice, and the well written article. JJF
The Taj is definitely a wonder, can’t wait scratch this distination off my bucket list, great pics by the way and thanks for visiting my blog.
Do post on your blog whenever you visit the Taj..would love to read your experience too..
Keep writing!
Cheers!
Will do, thanks for the inspiration!
Lovely pictures! I must confess I skipped down to the “wink wink” part on the read. 😉 I enjoyed it.
*blush blush*
*wink wink*
😉
Thanks for reading Moxy Jen!
Cheers!
Hello there, it’s really nice meeting you. 😀 You really write a wonderful blog
I went to the Taj Mahal in grade 6, which was like, 7 years back. And it was the only time I visited the wonderful city of Agra. It felt great reminiscing over that experience now, when I read your post.
It was a shivering winter morning at 7 a.m. , during the early days of January when I made the visit. We were severely down with the cold—-the temperature was so low. We’ve never had such low temperatures here in Dhaka. But yeah, I agree with you on the guide thing; they seemed to have memorized every single fact available about the Taj lol!
Anyways, nice blog and I love the pictures. Good luck 😀 Look forward to reading more of you!
Hi Nakib,
Greeting to Dhaka 🙂
I have my 3 best girlies belonging from the same city! So I have seen it in pictures!
And I too visited the Taj once during december, although it was a pleasant climate that time!
Only thing I regret is not able to take time out to visit the nearby Agra fort! That’s next on my list 😉
You keep writing your blog and visit mine once in a while, lovely to have you on board!
Cheers!
It seems like you have an interesting life; with visiting different places like the Middle-East and Agra. I am adding you up on facebook.
I didn’t go to the fort either—we were terribly short on schedule since we had only one night and an early morning only to be in Agra before going to Jaipur for a few hours and then to Delhi again. It was a very short visit! But I think the driver did drive in front of the Agra fort and point to us the fort. There was a statue with a man on horseback I think (although I can’t remember so well) on the entrance. Isn’t that the place where Shah Jahan was jailed by his son Aurangzeb?
Cheers! 😀
Yup, you seem to remember very vividly..!
And actually, I was going to put that pic of man-on-the-horseback in this post.. but it had enough pics already, so it got opted out..!!
Probably, I’ll write about “my affair at the Taj – Part 2” 😉 and include that pic then!
Oh unfortunately I can’t add you up on facebook because of your privacy settings. Why don’t you add me up?? http://www.facebook.com/hnoki32
Incredible idea Nakib, I’ll do it soon! 🙂
Wow, this totally brought me back to my visit to Agra a few months ago. The guards there frown on PDA, but other than that it was quite a romantic place. No pic of you holding the Taj by the tip of the dome?
Haha!
Luckily had no encounters with such guards *thank god*
And no, I feel that holding-the-dome is a bit foolish, I mean, there are so many angles and delicate encryptions you can save on your camera, then why a pic with you “apparently” holding Taj..!
Thanks for they tips and tor the personal anecdote.
🙂 thanks for reading mate!
Taj mahal is symbol of Love , and lovely Information you are sharing here 🙂
Thanks 🙂
Beautiful! You’ve done an excellent job outlining a tour of the Taj – and I get to exlplore it all from my office desk. Loved It! Thanks for sharing.
You are most welcome!
It feels so good to read something like you said..!
Keep dropping by!
These pictures are breathtaking. I enjoyed reading through your “My College Life-India” tab. I have a lot of friends who came to the US to attend college with me in Philadelphia and I hope someday I will have the chance to see their home country alongside them.
Thank you so much! These posts are so old, I had given up anyone would still read them. You keep my hope alive. There are people with varied interests.
Have a great day ahead!