I was sitting on a
14 hour train ride from Varanasi to Agra, on my way to see the Taj
Mahal – one of the Seven Wonders of the World. And then it occurred
to me: for someone who had spent the best part of the last eight
years travelling, I haven't seen many of these so called wonders.
The Taj Mahal
The lists seem to
vary greatly, but according to this list, the only one I've “ticked
off” is the Roman Colosseum, which I did back in 2005 when I was
just getting started.
Who knew it would
take so long to see another one of man's greatest creations?
I've seen some
great sights in that time: La Alhambra in Spain, The Eiffel Tower in
France, Stonehenge in England and the Statue of Liberty in the US,
among others.
All were great in
their own way, but what makes one of the “Wonders” that much
better?
I guess I was
about to find out.
Arriving in Agra
early in the morning, the first thing to do was to check into the
hotel and dump my stuff. Now everyone who has travelled through India
will tell you that the best time to see the Taj Mahal is the first
thing in morning, which means finding something else to do with your
first day in Agra.
Agra Fort
Luckily, Agra has
another World Heritage listed monument in town, just a short walk
from the Taj, Agra Fort. The Fort is massive and contains 16 separate
palaces built over the centuries by successive rulers. And do you
know what the most interesting thing about Agra Fort is? Its that
every person has the same reaction while they're walking around it
and get a glimpse of the Taj Mahal a short distance away. Its clear
what everyone is really here to see.
View of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort
I finish off my
first day in Agra doing what dozens of other people do – heading to
the park across the river to try and get that perfect photo of the
Taj Mahal's reflection and amazing colours during sunset. I settle
for a so-so photo and an early night in preparation for an early
morning start to see the Taj.
Cheesy landmark photo
After establishing
that the “high value” ticket queue was code for “foreigners”,
I arrived at dawn to see this wonder of the world and it
was.....pretty cool.
My attempt at the artistic shot
Ok, I might have
undersold that a bit. It is incredibly beautiful. To see something
like this in person, after seeing it so many times on film or
pictures, was kind of surreal. It almost didn’t seem real. You had
to keep looking at it, and telling yourself that you are seeing this
with your own eyes.
More restrained pose inside
Having said all of
that, was it any better than any of the monuments I'd seen that
didn't make the list? Probably not.
Taj Mahal in all its glory
I'm looking
forward to seeing a few others from the list during this trip –
Christ the Redeemer, Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza are all
probabilities – but I don't believe these lists are the be all and
end all of what is to see.
Like Beauty, it's
in the eye of the beholder.
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