The Majestic Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, with its grand symmetry, exudes a calming sense of beauty. The night before, we arrived in Agra by train and decided to visit the famous Agra Fort, home to kings, at sunset. That night, I got my head shaved and we visited a travel agent after dinner to book our return to Delhi the next day. We decided to do Agra in one day, allowing us 2 nights in Delhi before our return journey.
For our Taj visit, we woke at 5 AM and left the hotel by 5:30 AM. That way we were able to get there for the beautiful colors of sunrise and the cooler temperatures.
Our hired guide turned out to be an illegal guide, so he handed us off to another guide. After 15 minutes with him we realized that we didn't understand a word he was saying. So we dismissed him. Luckily we saw some folks from our hotel with a guide and asked if we could join their group. Their guide was adequate and appreciated the extra money we contributed.
There was hardly anyone there in the morning and we were able to shoot pictures unobstructed by tourists. The reflection in the pools was lovely and the mammoth size of the structure is easily masked by its graceful symmetry. The only exception to its symmetry is the placement of the king's coffin to one side of his queen, who is in the center. The inside of the mausoleum wasn't impressive, but the fact that the Taj is the same from all sides was really cool.
We both enjoyed taking pictures and meeting travelers and taking pictures of them.
That afternoon we boarded a bus and headed to the steaming rank of Delhi.