The Taj Mahal

Went to the Taj Mahal at about 5:30 am. To get to the Taj, you walk through a forested park for about a km. At 5:30 am, the park was absolutely packed with people playing badminton, most without nets. I have no explanation for why this is. The Taj Mahal has two reddish buildings, one on either side, and an entrance building to the gardens surrounding the Taj that is also reddish. The red building to the right of the Taj is called the "guest house", and the one to the left is a mosque. Once you get past the gardens and the reflecting pools, you have to take your shoes off to walk around. The gardens surrounding the Taj are teaming with life, with the cackle of monkeys and birds constantly surrounding you. There are "guides" that latch onto you and drag you around the area showing you places to take pictures from. My kept jammering on about "this good American Camel cigarette shot!" As apparently the Taj Mahal is on the Camel cigarette box? After dragging me around for 20 minutes or so he asked for $20 US dollars. Now, apparently the Taj Mahal is the the first day of an India holiday for a LOT of tourists, and some of those tourists must think that is a fair wage for his services. $20 US, or 1000 INR, is a fortune for this dude. If a tourist pays that, he could take a month off of work. At least. I gave him 100, which is still a lot of money for him, and went on my way.
Inside the Taj is is fairly dark and very echo'y. The echos get trapped up in the dome and bounce around so there is a constant ambient hum. Photography isn't allowed inside the Taj, but its just a big mausoleum, and the inner circle inside contains a sarcophagus surrounded by a huge cage all made from intricately carved marble.
It should also be noted that photography doesn't seem to capture the size of the Taj Mahal well. Its friggin huge.

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