THE Taj Mahal at sunset. Not a bad way to end the day, not a bad way at all. This morning, Chantale had asked Saeed if we could return to the Yamuna view point for a sun set view of the Taj so that's we headed to after visiting the Baby Taj, which so beautiful, I can understand it's comparison to the Taj Mahal which was built later.
This time, we rode all the way down to the view point via tuk-tuk. I don't know why we didn't do that this morning. Perhaps, Saeed wanted to give us the cycle rickshaw experience or more likely, he was trying to get us there in time for the sunset. Chantale is a keen sunset/sunrise photobug.
It was like déjà vu from this morning as far as the views were concerned. It was just that the light was different in. To me, the Taj Mahal is supremely beautiful, no matter the light!
We even had the same boat captain and he took us out to pretty much the same point on the river. The Taj is beautiful, bathed in the light of the setting sun. I probably took three times as many photos as I have posted up but since I couldn't move around on the boat, many are the same. Here's my photo diary.
 |
| Painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala) were feeding in the waters just off the opposite shore. |
 |
| I hadn't noticed the macaque monkeys until today. I've never seen any on the grounds of the Taj Mahal. |
 |
| It looked like some sort of service had just come to an end at the Hindu temple. These women were not there when we first arrived. |
If there is any difference, other than the light, between coming here in the morning and coming in the late afternoon is that I think you can see more of the inlay details if you come here in the afternoon.
Like this morning, I think we were on the boat for less than 15 minutes but considering that we really didn't do much but float from shore to around the middle of the river, there really wasn't much of a change in view as far as the Taj Mahal was concerned so enough time to take the photos you need. I have to admit, it was nice to see my favorite world landmark from the vantage point of the river.
My last view of the Taj at early sun set came as we arrived back at the tuk-tuk.
Before boarding, I took this one last shot of the dome of the guesthouse. Beautiful.
From here, we took the tuk-tuk back up the hill to meet up with Dinesh. From there, it was to our favorite Indian restaurant for aka Pind Balluchi, for dinner. We had our last taste of our favorite two dishes, the stuffed mushrooms and the boondi raita. I am seriously going to make the raita when I get home. We added a dish of murgh gilafi seekh kebab which is a version of chicken kebab that I've never had before - minced chicken flavored with Indian spices that were shaped kebab style and then specially cooked. They were delicious!
 |
| Mushroom kurkure aka stuffed mushrooms |
 |
| Boodi raita |
 |
| Murgh gilafi seekh kebab |
On the way to the restaurant, we dropped off Saeed where a sumptious meal was awaiting him. After dinner, Dinesh took us back to our hotel. We wished him a good night's rest as he would be back to pick us up at 4a! We were tired from the day so it was just a good time to relax. We also had to pack up our bags because we are heading back to Delhi tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we will finally get to visit the Taj Mahal....a proper visit. I know the girls are excited as am I! So, we are all aiming for a good night's sleep.
Goodnight from Agra!
