The Taj Mahal

Well, maybe it won't be a while for the post. We went to the Taj Mahal today. We got a late start because our taxi driver was an hour late. The road to Agra is probably the best road in India. It was actually somewhat comfortable to drive on. And there was much less riff-raff on the round than usual. By "riff-raff," I mean farm tractors, bicycles, pedal rickshaws, pedal carts, pedestrians, and assorted roaming animals. They tend to slow down the traffic. Nonetheless, it was still a four hour drive.

The Taj Mahal is impressive, which is good because it is also expensive. Our taxi cost 3,000 rupees ($80) and my ticket to enter cost 700 rupees ($18). Of course, Tamding's ticket only cost 20 rupees, and he's not even a citizen. There was also a significant security checkpoint issue. It took me two tries. My camera tripod tripped me up this time. In a sensible country, they'd put up a sign telling you what you can bring. But this is India. I also couldn't bring my camera bag, so I could only use one lens for the black & white pictures. I opted for the 24mm f2.8.

I have to say, I thought it would be much more impressive than Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but that wasn't really the case. It was smaller than I had expected (much smaller than Angkor Wat). But the marble inlay work is very impressive, and the overall look to it is beautiful because it is made of marble. And I guessed right on the camera lens. I got a lot of shots that would otherwise have been impossible.

We also went to the Agra Fort which is very large, given its 17th century construction. And there are some great views of the Taj Mahal from it. It turns out that I made a mistake by not bringing my camera bag to the fort. It was okay there. And I missed a few shots because I didn't have the telephoto. Oh well. Got to go, my computer will turn into a pumpkin soon.