The Taj Mahal, we’ve all seen photos of it a 100x, it’s India’s biggest tourist attraction, a World Heritage Site… but the real question for me was “Will it be worth it?”

To be honest I think half of me went to Agra to see it just because I didn’t want to hear from everyone back home that after spending 5 months in India that I didn’t see it.  I didn’t want to have to explain over-and-over again that India is huge and much more then the Taj Mahal but at the same time I secretly wanted to know what was so special about it.

I went the second day early at 0600 when the gates open.  I had zero expectations as I just wanted to show up and get a few shots and see what the hype was all about.  Lucky for me it was pretty empty early in the morning as the only people there were local Indians, a few random groups of 2-3 foreigners and one large group of Koreans in matching puke green shirts.  I started snapping shots the moment I set foot inside and didn’t stop until I left.

My first reaction after walking through the main archway and seeing the Taj tomb was I thought it was a little small.  For some reason I thought it was going to be bigger but nonetheless I was still impressed with the layout of the surrounding gardens and white marble tomb set at the end.  Going early paid off as well for good light for photos and was impressed with the shots I got with rich blue skies in the background.

I finally made my way to the tomb and had to put on slippers to cover my shoes, which made me look like I was a doctor in an ER.  It was then I noticed all the inlay of marble that makes up the Taj Mahal.  I was impressed to say the least and spent a good hour just trying to figure out new angles to shoot a photo from, which I knew was pointless because every angle in the place has been covered by at least a 100 professional photographers before… but it was still fun trying.

I finally exited the site and was happy knowing I finally visited one of the most recognized places in the world.  Was it worth the high-ticket costs of 750Rs ($16.75 USD)?  Yeah at least once.  Would I go back again?  Nah, unless it was for a photography assignment or something.  Did it live up to the hype?  Yeah and I’m glad I stopped to see it and was happy that it wasn’t a let down.

The photo above was from the backside of the Taj across from the river.  There is a long story on it and will post it soon, as I about got arrested trying to get this shot.

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