Falling in love with the Taj Mahal
Now I'm not suggesting I was the budget version of 'the people's princess' back in 1996, but I was tall, blonde and also heartbroken as I sat on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal.
If there's one place in the world to forget your woes and embrace some good old-fashioned gratitude, it's India. Colourful, pungent and utterly mesmerising, from the minute I landed in Mumbai it felt like my senses had been put in a blender. India is wonderfully chaotic, beautifully evocative and just a little bit nuts; which makes it the perfect place to heal a sad heart.
After a silly little fling in Hong Kong, I fled heartbroken to Goa to welcome in the New Year on Anjuna beach with a bunch of friendly strangers. At 23 and backpacking solo around the world, jet-setting frivolity is the only way to deal with such affairs of the heart.
After a blissful few weeks bumming around on the beach, I spent a month travelling around India on my own. Hopping on and off slow trains and colourful overnight buses which played Bollywood movies on a loop, I saw the Dravidian temples in Hampi and tried bang lassies in Bangalore. I wandered through the heady spice markets of Mumbai, gazed at the faded Art Deco and British Raj architecture of Kolkata, and sailed down the river Ganges in a tiny tin boat, where thousands of Hindus performed holy rituals in its gloomy waters.
For most first-timers, the Golden Triangle; Delhi, Jaipur and Agra is high on most Indian bucket lists, and Agra was an essential stop on my itinerary. I remember the first time I saw a picture of the Taj Mahal: it was on my grandmother's biscuit tin when I was hunting for pink wafers, and I vowed to visit one day.
After a few days in Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, I hopped on one of the long slow trains to Agra. I was sat in third class next to a small boy holding a well-behaved chicken. To be honest, I was glad of the lack of conversation. The 12-hour journey went surprisingly quick, as I watched a slow-rolling movie of Uttar Pradesh – snoozing cows and working buffalo, women in colourful saris and a scattering barefoot children, all toiling in the earth under a muted sun.
I arrived in Agra late at night and a rickshaw dropped me off outside my hotel, which was chosen at random from my battered Lonely Planet book. It was a tiny guesthouse which cost mere pennies, but like all hotels in Agra, it promised a view of the Taj Mahal.
Perched on the banks of the river Yamuna, the Taj Mahal was built in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife –he had three– Mumtaz, who died giving birth to her 14th child. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, it's considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is easily the most popular attraction in India.
Forgetting to close the sheet pinned up over the window by the room's previous resident, I woke up at dawn and saw my first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. I'd read in my guide that the hotel had a roof terrace with a view of the mausoleum, which is where I sat cross-legged at 5am and watched in awe as daybreak slowly illuminated the most beautiful building in the world.
At a more acceptable hour, I walked down to the east gate and joined the queue to get in. Quietly reverential, I wandered through the ornamental gardens and over to the famous bench. I waited my turn – since Diana came in 1992, there's always a queue – and as I sat and drank in the sight of the Taj Mahal reflected in the mirror-like pond, I could feel my sorry heart start to bloom.
After another two days in Agra, where I saw the Taj Mahal illuminated under a full moon, I reluctantly left for my next stop, Jaipur. Known as the Pink City, the capital of Rajasthan was founded by Maharaja Jai Singh II in the 18th century and is jam-packed with dusty pink palaces. While the lodgings in '96 were more functional than fancy, now Jaipur offers some of the most luxurious hotels in India, including the Oberoi Rajvilas, a luxury hotel set in 32-acres of gardens around an ancient Shiva temple.
Over my six weeks, I saw a wild elephant in Goa, met one of Mother Teresa's disciples in Kolkata and even saw my first dead body, laid out on a pyre by the Ganges waiting for its final journey. But it was sat on Princess Diana's bench in front of the most beautiful building in the world, that I'll remember forever...
Fall in love with India and experience the luxurious side of the country with Good Housekeeping's exclusive 18-day voyage, which includes an early morning visit to the Taj Mahal, a seven-night Ganges cruises, accommodation in five-star Oberoi hotels and more.
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