Wonder of the world...tick!

Sunrise appointment with the Taj Mahal..oh what an experience, described as the most extravagant monument ever built for love!

We had left our hotel at 6.30am and headed out in the dark to try to beat the masses. We got there and the gates were still closed so had a very chilly wait in line for a while, then the doors opened, went through very thorough security check, and we were in.
Our guide, Tyronne (not his Indian name I am sure) was very good and gave us all the low down on the building, the construction and the stories related to the Emperor. He made it all sound quite romantic really, the Emperor met his (third) wife Mahal when he was 15years old in the 'ladies' bazaar. Story has it that she was looking into a hand mirror that she was keen to buy and saw the Emperor in the reflection. When their eyes met it was love at first sight..ahhh.

Anyhow, as we were there early we had a tranquil beginning to our tour and we were able to get a few of the cheesy tourist shots on the 'Princess Diana' bench out of the way before the hoards of people arrived.

All in all we both felt it was quite a magical place. as the Indian poet Rabindranath Tangore put it, 'a tear drop on the face of eternity'