Agra

The drive to Agra was fast and uneventful. Azad, my driver, was very nice and pointed out some interesting things as we drove – the most unanticipated of which was that there was a Formula One racetrack 30 minutes outside of Dehli that hosts a number of time trials and exhibitions. 

We turned off the highway and as we crossed over a river Azad casually mentioned that the house on the left was no longer inhabited by humans, so monkeys lived there. I looked over and monkeys were everywhere – sunbathing, eating, people-watching… much like the people who lived just next door to them. Add that to the list of things you won’t see in the U.S. 

A few minutes later we turned a corner and Azad said, “Welcome to Agra.” 

I really can’t find the proper words to describe the functioning chaos. The city is alive in every sense of the word and every living thing is moving with some sense of purpose, though at first glance to only thing I could process was the disorder. Cars, rickshaws, bicycles, cows, people – it’s oddly magical how a mass of them can coexist in what seems to be exactly the same space. 

We picked up Benson, my guide for the Taj Mahal and Red Fort, and Azad dropped us off at the (west?) gate. After thorough bag check, in we went. 

Love. The Taj Mahal is love. 

Azad said that he has been taking people to see the Taj Mahal for eight years. It has never seen it himself. When I ask him why (and am on the verge of asking him to come with me) he tells me that he wants to see it for the first time with his wife. 

Benson started me off with the basics: the Taj was built from 1632-1650-something (Internet dates may differ), commisioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan at request of the most beautiful of his wives. She made the request upon learning that she would die as a result of complications from the birth of their 14th child.   
It took 30+ years and 20,000 workers to complete the Taj; everything is symtetrical down to the finest detail and nothing seems to have been left sub-par in any way. It’s quite a sight and – despite sharing the view with thousands of people – will take your breath away.  

After the Taj we visited the Red Fort, which semi-pales in comparison (but what wouldn’t) but was wonderful because all of the Fort is open to the public so it gave a pretty detailed view of what life was like for people in power. And the view? It looked out on the Taj Mahal. 

Red Fort was interesting in that il there was almost full access to all areas of the fort, giving a complete picture of what life would have been like for the elite.  It’s said the Shah Jahan was inspired by the Red Fort, but he completely pimped out the designs. As an (completely fictional) example, if the Red Fort has a 100 piece mosaic design, the Taj will have a 300 piece inlaid design. 

Awkward trip moment #2: Benson and I were waiting for Azad to pick us up for lunch and were chatting about tv and movies when Benson asked me if I ever watched porn stars. Thankful that I didn’t have anything in my mouth that I could hold on, I repeated back to him, “Porn stars?”

“Yes!” was his enthusiastic reply, then he proceeded to list of names of porn stars he enjoyed watching. Eventually he said something about how he enjoys how they find things that they didn’t know were valuable. 

And the light bulb went on. Pawn Stars. 

Luckily Benson thought the misunderstanding was as funny as I did.