After arriving in Agra I settled myself on a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Taj Mahal. "The best rooftop view anywhere in Agra" is what the guidebook said. It never mentioned the shoddy service or bland food, but the view was spectacular.
Sitting in front of me were 2 girls who were clearly good friends travelling India together, they were flicking through their camera and admiring their classic 'I've been to the Taj' photographs. Beautiful photo's they were, but what I really admired was the fact that they had those photographs period. It's the one everyone frames, a pose in front of the most famous building in the world. Indisputable evidence that you've been to India.
I'm a bit against self taken shots...ones of me anyways. I've never really been a fan of being photographed period; even more so after seeing India through my own viewfinder this past few months. I much prefer to be the man behind the lens because for me it's the best way to instantly capture a moment in time that you will remember for years to come. This is something I can't really do when looking back on a photograph someone else has taken of me.
So all that being said, the chances of me leaving India with an 'I've been to the Taj' photo of my own weren't looking too good. I decided to just get out there and do what I usually do in situations like this, walk around and take photos of people and places. After all, the most photographed building in the world offers opportune times for taking photos of people who don't know they're having a photo taken. Everyone already has a damn camera, so even if they do look at you funny you just return the look with a 'Get over yourself, I'm taking a picture of the Taj Mahal behind you' kind of stare.
I'm pretty sure the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful object I've ever laid my eyes on, man made anyways. It almost looks like a painting when you first see it entering through the main gates. It has the presence of being absolutely enormous yet you can pace around the entire base in a matter of minutes. To be honest I initially planned to avoid the city of Agra and the Taj all together. By passing the city needs no explanation, but as for the Taj it's the difference of admission between foreigner and Indian (750 INR vs 20 INR) that really left a bad taste in my mouth. Cheap I am not, but months of being overcharged for everything from a samosa to a taxi ride just because I'm a tourist gets a little annoying. But It was love at first site when I walked though those gates and in hindsight I would have paid double.
I wandered the grounds for nearly 4 hours and was pretty well the last person to leave. But when humans depart, monkeys arrive. Before I knew it I was cornered by about 15 of the large, tourist-hardened beasts. A security guard started blowing a whistle in the distance and was waving a bamboo stick, I couldn't tell if it was towards me or the monkeys but I left anyways.
Just another day India, and quite a memorable one too:)
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