The day started with a nice breakfast in the hotel, straight after we headed to the Taj Mahal. The bus ride lasted five hours and was very impressive. Driving through the countryside of India gave us an insight into how the life in India is. What struck us the most was the amount of rubbish which was lying on the streets.
When reaching Agra, the City of Love, we stopped for a nice Indian lunch where we ordered several meals to share. After the delicious meal it only took us another five minutes to reach our destination. At the entrance area we had to get on to small electric cars which brought us to the gates of the Taj Mahal. In these cars, we finally got a first glimpse of the Taj Mahal dome.
There are four entrances and when passing the main entrance – there it was – the spectacular Taj Mahal. A dream came true.
The tour guide gave us many interesting details, for example that the love the emperor Shajahan felt for the queen Mumtaj Mahal cannot be compared with the love we feel. His wife died after giving birth to their 14th child and then decided to build something to remember their love.
When walking around on the very crowded platform some girls of our group felt like stars, because the Indians took more pictures of and with them, then of the glorious heritage. Not only the girls experienced this, but also when we took some group pictures, we had to smile in 20 cameras at the same time.
On the way back some of us were sleeping and others answered the quizzes of our tour guide and were telling jokes to each other. The day ended with a get together in the hotel where we reflected our impressions of the day. All in all, it was an amazing experience.
Jessica Ulmann / Jannick Keller
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