Embedded Files
The more I travel, the more I find the world to be contemptuously bipolar. Beauty and squalor coexist everywhere - everywhere except in the U.S. where just about everyone has a car, a roof over his head, three square meals and a smart phone. It's why you have to go to places like the Taj Mahal - to get a feel for how most of humanity really lives. Without going on and on about such things, just let it be known that the Taj Mahal is an extravagant display of excess, opulence, wealth and splendor, and sits in the middle of one of the poorest towns I've ever seen from the back seat of a chauffeured BMW. Meet our new friend Hari:
The Taj Mahal is truly a sight to behold. I was able to take some pretty good pictures today and will post them below with comments.
The Taj Mahal: A shrine dedicated to Mumtaz Majal, wife of Shah Jahan -1653. One of the seven wonders of the world and the iconic symbol of love.
I didn't take this picture, but it captures the beauty of this monument quite well. The Taj sits between the two building and is built from locally sourced white marble. We bought a few souvenirs from the family who still carves marble in the same tradition to this day. Hillary Clinton purchased some of the very same marble carvings when she visited India as the First Lady. Donald Trump owns a Taj Mahal. Hmmmmm....
Recently, Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the Taj Mahal and took a picture, which was likely inspired by the famous shot of Lady Diana in 1992. Apparently, things weren't going so well with her marriage to the Prince of Wales and she looked a little sad. On the other hand, Will and Kate seem pretty happy.
Lady Diana - 1992, 4 years before her divorce, 5 before her tragic death.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - Looking a little more cheery.
These famous photos have inspired a host of copycat photojackings - a few that have gone viral. One of my favorites:
This guy - for the win.
Not to be outdone, Kimberly and I worked very hard to bring you this (yes, that is the Lady Di bench):
Of course, they didn't shut down the park for our visit, but I thought Kimberly did a fantastic job with her pose. Another fun pose you see online quite a bit is the old "grabbing the Taj by the spire" shot. It takes a good bit of work to get it right, but I think we nailed it:
Finally, there's this optical illusion on the back side of the Taj Mahal that resembles Albert Einstein:
This is actually a special type of optical illusion referred to as "pareidolia." That's where you see some random picture and automatically assume it looks like someone or something you're familiar with. The famous face on Mars is a classic example.
Tomorrow we fly to Kathmandu... I'll post some more thoughts from there.
Archives:
05.15.16 Kathmandu
05.16.16 Lukla/Phakding
05.17.16 Namche Bazaar
05.21.16 Gokyo Lakes
05.25.16 Gorkashep
05.26.16 Everest Base Camp!
05.29.16 Kala Patthar/Tengboche/Namche
05.30.16 Lukla
06.01.16 Kathmandu: Final Thoughts
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse