India 2024 – All about The Taj

May 1-5, 2024

$1 = 83 rupees

Our World Cruise included a trip inland to The Taj Mahal – a place I’ve always wanted to see. Unfortunately, this meant I would see little else of India.

We had a few hours stop in Cochin , a city in the south of India known for its beaches – but the “nicer” beaches were almost two hours away, we were in port for only 7 hours. John and I grabbed an Uber to a beach about an hour and fifteen minutes away, where we enjoyed dinner about an hour before sunset.

Unfortunately, it was May 1 – International Worker’s Day – a major holiday. Unlike in the US, where Labor Day is heralded with beer – there’s no alcohol served on Worker’s Day. And since it was a Holiday, the beaches and malls were very crowded.

After the beach, we went to a mall, wandered, found an ATM so we could get local currency, and then took an Uber back to the ship. Goa was the next stop, a place John loved in his past travels, but for us – it was off the ship and to the airport for a flight to Delhi. The airport in Goa had some interesting sculpture (good thing I don’t have coulrophobia).

Flying into Delhi you could see the air due to the levels of pollution. We drove to our very fancy 5 star hotel (the very lovely an ITC Maurya – which has hosted every US President since Bill Clinton) – arriving around 6 PM.

They fed us dinner, and I relaxed while John went and explored – getting a shave and scalp massage.

Early the next morning, we boarded busses for the four hour trip to Agra. (Apparently, the military runs the airport in Agra and limits flights, so we couldn’t get a flight from Goa to Agra. Our eight hours was better than group 1 – they had a 7 hour train trip from Delhi to Agra then a 4 hour bus ride back).

The Agra Fort is an impressive series of buildings that housed the Mughal Dynasty from 1573-1638, and renovated by Shah Jahan – who also built the Taj.

The Shah was eventually deposed by his son, Aurangzeb, who imprisoned his father in the tower where he could see The Taj Mahal.

After the fort, we took a trip to the workshop where the craftsmen demonstrated the inlay of marble using fine bits of semi-precious stones.

After lunch, we proceeded on to The Taj. And yes, it is magnificent in a way that photos cannot truly capture.

After returning to the hotel and dinner, John and I went to a Mall – and found an interesting Bar/Nightclub called Kiskey Whiskey – known for whiskeys, but also for their own microbrew – of which they gave you a small sampler before ordering your brew of choice.

The early morning bus ride had one bathroom stop (there was a toilet on the bus) – where we found some interesting dumpster divers.

We returned to the ship in Mumbai – just before setting sail.

Although the Taj was amazing, I can’t see myself returning to India any time soon – because of the air. The air pollution is terrible. Although it did not trigger an asthma attack due to all my preventative meds – I could tell it was affecting me even though I wore a good quality mask, my body did not want to take deep breaths. It took about two days for them to feel normal again.

History lesson:

Mumtaz Mahal (born Arjumand Bank Begum) was the second and favorite wife of Shah Jahan. She accompanied him on military campaigns and they were rarely separated, even though she was almost constantly pregnant (they were married for 19 years). She died in 1631 while delivering their 14th child. In his grief, the Shah commissioned The Taj Mahal to be built in white marble and inlaid in semi-precious stones.

Shah Jahan had been a third son, but had very high ambitions and fought and defeated or simply executed all other rivals for the throne and took the crown in 1628, presiding over a time of great and grand architecture. Like father like son, when Shah Jahan named his eldest son as his successor, his third surviving son, Aurangzeb, did not agree and promptly assassinated his rivals and took the crown, imprisoning his father as mentioned above.