BUDGET TRAVEL TO INCREDIBLE INDIA: VISIT TO MAJESTIC TAJ MAHAL

July 14, 2018
MABUHAY!

This is a photo and video journal of our budget travel to the Incredible country of India featuring our visit to the magnificent edifice of the Taj Mahal in Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
THE ENTRANCE
From the general entrance, it is around a 5-minute walk to the ticket sales office. You'll be greeted by vendors selling a variety of souvenir merchandise. There are also tour guides that know how to speak different languages and will entice you to hire their service. You can haggle with them and ask for a discount, but remember, Indians are good negotiators. Generally, prices offered to the tourist are much higher than expected.

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Cows also freely roam around the entrance complex.

MONKEYS
Expect to see a lot of monkeys in the entrance walkway of the Taj Mahal complex. They playfully roam around looking for food. Just be alert because sometimes, a hungry gang of monkeys is capable of attacking and hurting tourists.

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BUYING TICKETS
For foreigners, the entrance tickets cost 1,000 Rupees per visitor. You will be given free shoe cover for it is prohibited to walk inside the Taj Mahal with shoes.

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MAIN GATE

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WET BUT DETERMINE TO GO!
Rain continuously pours when we are about to cross the garden surrounding the Taj Mahal. It almost ruined our day. But we are determined to go inside the Taj Mahal and touch its ivory-white marble. We did not travel this far just to see the Taj Mahal from a distance.

TAKING OFF YOUR SHOES!

It is prohibited to wear shoes inside Taj Majal's main entrance level which is why they gave us shoe cover. We took off our shoes and put them on the entrance stair because they are so wet coz it is raining. Then we walk inside and forget to hand-carry our shoes. When we get to the exit and return to the entrance door we cannot find our shoes. Then we ask the guards if they've seen our shoes. They said, " GO LOOK DOWN!" They've thrown our shoes in TAJ MAHAL! 😂😂😂

There is a shoe deposit box just near the outskirt of the Taj Mahal.

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THE MAJESTIC TAJ MAHAL
Some perceived the Taj Mahal to be a temple or a mosque or a palace. Actually, it is a mausoleum- a tomb. Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor who rules North India, built this magnificent white marble edifice to house the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, his favorite wife among his three queens. Mumtaz Mahal died while giving birth to their 14th child. The construction started in 1648 and took 22 years to be completed. In 1666, the grave of Shah Jahan was laid beside Mumtaz Mahal.

Mumtaz Mahal

Shah Jahan

The Taj Mahal was situated on the south bank of the Yamuna River. More than 20,000 workers constructed this mausoleum and completed it in 1643. They also utilize 1,000 elephants. It cost around 32 Million rupees or around 1.3Million US dollars. The height of its base is 7 meters. The central dome alone has a diameter of 17.68 meters and the dome height is around 73 meters which is equivalent to a 23-story building. This magnificent building is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

The Minaret

It is prohibited to take a photo once tour inside the tomb chamber. You must also put on a shoe cover or walk in barefoot. 

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The guest house on the left side of the Taj Mahal.

The mosque on the other side.

JUST HAVING FUN!

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