The Golden Triangle

It's official, I have seen the Taj Mahal. I am so happy. I feel that my list of things I want to do or see in my lifetime has now been shortened. In the interest of time, we had to be very efficient. Typically, people do what is known as the Golden Triangle in 5-6 days. It consists of Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. We did it in a lot less. We decided what was important and used our classmates' advice. Jaipur is a wonderful city. It is known as the Pink City because it the buildings and walls are pink. Our first experience In Jaipur was on our way to our lodging, Shahar Palace. The owner picked us up from the airport and on our way, we saw a camel in the street! I shrieked out in excitement. I love camels! Not too long after, we saw an elephant. I love elephants!!! The Shahar Palace was so peaceful and beautiful. Animals like wild monkeys and peacocks roam. For dinner, Jami and I walked down the street to a restraunt called Spice World. It was adorable. There were white lights everywhere and ethnic dancers. The highlight of my Jaipur trip was most definitely both the elephant ride up to the Amber Fort and the camel ride later that night at Chakra Dani... in the rain. I think that overall, Jaipur has been my favorite city in India. It is beautiful with so much culture and the people were so friendly. We headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal but stopped off to see Fahtepur Sikri which is also known as the City of Victory. Unfortunately, this is where we all became quite irritated. There were so many beggars and people just out to get your money that it was taking away from our expereince. They weren't just waiting for you outside of the complex, they were everywhere inside as well. At one point, we were completely surrounded. But oh well. Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal, was definitely an eye opener. It was incredibly dirty, busy, and most importantly smelly! It's sad that such a dirty place is associated with such an amazing structure. We got to eat dinner on the rooftop of our hotel with a moonlight view of the Taj. It just made me more excited to see it. In fact, automobiles are not allowed with 1.5 km of the Taj to prevent damage from the pollution. And then, there was the Taj Mahal. It is so amazingly beautiful. There are honestly no words to describe it. I had been told by some people that they didnt know what the big deal was, but I found it to be beautiful. It's so hard to imagine this being man made. It's incredible.