Taj Mahal

When we talk about the Seven Wonders, its actually about the Ancient World Wonder, which are:-
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Colossus of Rhodes

The Pharos of Alexandria

... but what about Taj Mahal? ...

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I went to India (Delhi-Jaipur-Agra) last December to celebrate New Year. Leaving KL on 27th December 2006, but was stuck at KLIA from 9:00am to 6:45pm because of flight delay from Delhi due to heavy fog. Indian Airlines gave us meal voucher and they put us in the Business Class Lounge (only two of us not the other passengers) after we showed our unsatisfactory and they manage to fulfill our request to change to MAS. Flight was okay. We reached Delhi about 10:00pm) local time. A driver picks us up at the airport and took us the (lousy) hotel.

Day 2..
After (damn lousy) breakfast, we headed to Jaipur... Nothing much we can see in Delhi along the way to Jaipur. Scenery was fantastic, huge flowers farm (for vegetable oil) along the highway, countryside and weather was great. What I hate about driving in India is they like to use horn.

We stop at Rajasthan Motel for a quick bite. I had Vegetable Pakora, Samosa and Ginger Indian Tea with few other guess, the little Indian squirrels.

After about 5 hours drive, we reached hotel in Kukas, Jaipur, Gold Palace & Resort. It set amidst the Aravalli hills gives the impact of the Shahi Bagh, where Akbar, the King of Mughals spent his leisure hours, beautiful. We had our lunch in the hotel restaurant (north Indian meal), very nice or maybe i'm very hungry.
After that the driver took us to City Palace, Jaipur. Raja Sawai Jai Singh built the City Palace Complex in the heart of his newly founded capital and it is clearly one of the most imposing and magnificent examples of art and architecture. The succeeding rulers made additions to the building later. Presenting a pleasing a blend of Mughal and Rajasthani architecture, a part of this palace is still occupied by the royal family. Sawai Madho Singh built Mubarak Mahal or Palace of Reception in the 19th century to welcome his guests, just as the name suggests. It is now occupied by the costume gallery of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum displaying regal costumes such as exquisite and precious Pashmina Shawls, Benarasi silk saris, Sanganeri prints, embroidery and the voluminous clothes worn by the giant Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I (ruled 1750-68).

Day 3

After breakfast, we went to Amber fort for an elephant ride. Amber is a ruined city of Rajasthan state, India. It was the former capital of Jaipur state. The picturesque situation of Amber at the mouth of a rocky mountain gorge, in which nestles a lovely lake, has attracted the admiration of all travelers.

Hawa Mahal, or the "Palace of Winds", is a palace in Jaipur, India. It was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, and designed by Lal Chand Usta. It forms part of the City Palace and extends the Zenana or women's chambers, the chambers of the harem. Its original intention was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen. After that we visited one of the popular in Jaipur, carpet's outlet

Day 4
Drive to Agra. Hotel Yamuna View.

Day 5
Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal the symbol of love...

Located in Uttar Pradesh. An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1653 by workforce of 22,000. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned its construction as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Arjuman Banu Begum).

The Taj Mahal (sometimes called "the Taj") is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Indian and Islamic.

The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal at Agra stands in a formally laid-out walled garden entered through a pavilion on the main axis. The tomb, raised on a terrace and first seen reflected in the central canal, is entirely sheathed in marble, but the mosque and counter-mosque on the transverse axis are built in red sandstone. The four minarets, set symmetrically about the tomb, are scaled down to heighten the effect of the dominant, slightly bulbous dome. The mosques, built only to balance the composition are set sufficiently far away to do no more than frame the mausoleum. In essence, the whole riverside platform is a mosque courtyard with a tomb at its centre. The great entrance gate with its domed central chamber, set at the end of the long watercourse, would in any other setting be monumental in its own right.

The interior of the building is dimly lit through pierced marble lattices and contains a virtuoso display of carved marble. Externally the building gains an ethereal quality from its marble facings, which respond with extraordinary subtlety to changing light and weather.

Yamuna is a major river of northern India, with a total length of around 1370 km. It is the largest tributary of the Ganga. Its source is at Yamunotri, in the Uttaranchal Himalaya, which is north of Haridwar in the Himalayan Mountains. It flows through the states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, before merging with the Ganges at Allahabad.




Day 6

Agra - Delhi. Traveling from Agra to Delhi was very bad due to heavy fog. We can only see about 10-20 m ahead. Arrived Delhi and hope to see the metropolitan city but unfortunately not that what i'm expected. New Delhi, an urban area within the metropolis of Delhi, is the seat of the Government of India. With a population of 15.3 million people (2005 figure), Delhi is the seventh most populous metropolis in the world. Due to urbanisation, Delhi is one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. As a consequence, it faces key issues like environmental degradation, air and water pollution, traffic congestion, and acute power and water shortages.

We stayed in Suncourt Yantri, Cenna Market, Karol Bagh. Small hotel but consider very expensive.

Day 7

We had breakfast in the hotel then we took Auto Rickshaw to Connaught Place for a shopping.

Day 8

After breakfast, walking around the Cenna Market, does some shopping then rush back to hotel to check-out. We leave our luggage at the concierge, and then took a Metro Link Train to City. We still have lots of time coz our flight back is 12:50am. We worried that we will stranded at the airport due to heavy fog.

Flight took off on time.

Day 9

Transit at Bangkok and again flight was delay until 12pm. I reached KL at 1pm.