Baby taj was built by Queen Noorjahan in memory of her father Itmad ud daulah. The monument is which is often called the Jewel Box is regarded as draft of Taj mahal.



The tomb was built between 1622 and 1628. 



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Driving around Agra was certainly an adventure - honking, swerving, flashing lights -- while overtaking cars, motorcycles, cows, horse drawn carts.  Experiencing India is like being served one of those meals so intricately arranged on the plate, so intimidating that you hesitate to bite into it.


A glimpse of driving in India - how many different modes of transportation can you count?



After a full day of exploring the Taj Mahal and driving around Agra we had a quiet and relaxing dinner at the Oberoi hotel.

 This quote was on the first page of the menu in the restaurant which we thought was hilarious.

The descendants of the marble workers who created the Taj Mahal still live in Agra but the numbers are shrinking.  There are only about 600 workers left who can create the inlaid work the exact same way their ancestors did.  They have a secret formula for the glue and the exact way in which they create each masterpiece.  These secrets are only shared with sons as daughters eventually marry into other families so cannot be trusted.

The inlay work is done with extreme attention to detail. The marble is first painted a red color with henna so designs can be seen as they are traced on the marble. Workers then painstakingly scratch out the areas where the inlaid work is to be place. Indian marble is incredibly hard and the work is tedious and time consuming.  One small mistake means starting over completely so there is zero room for error.

The art of marble inlay work begins by careful planning of designs and setting the color patterns. The craftsmen use the tools that are much the same used in the Mughal period. A floral or geometrical motif is cut out on a brass sheet. After placing it on marble, it is drawn and then the marble is carved out. A careful selection of various shades of semiprecious stones is done to give the right gradation and shading to the flowers and other motifs. The selected stones are then shaped with the help of especially made emery wheels. Each part of the design is shaped individually, which requires a lot of patience. After all the stones are shaped a different group of artisans inlay the stone motifs in marble. They cut grooves in marble with a help of an iron chisel. These grooves are of the same size for the stone to fit perfectly. The stones are set in the grooves with adhesive that is a mixture of oil, lead oxide and wax made into white putty. The marble articles are then hand polished with the help of a traditional polishing powder applied on the surface with a soft muslin cloth. The whole process calls for sharp, dexterous hands, patience and high accuracy.

Before traveling to India I knew that the Taj Mahal was beautiful and was one of the wonders of the world but understood very little about the amazing history of the Taj Mahal.  We had an excellent guide at the Taj who shared the history and timeless love story with us.



Taj Mahal means "Crown Palace" and is in fact the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. 
Shah Jahan, initially named Prince Khurram, was born in the year 1592. He was the son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the grandson of Akbar the Great. In 1607 when strolling down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, Shah Jahan caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. It was love at first sight and the girl was Mumtaz Mahal, who was known as Arjumand Banu Begum at that time. At that time, he was 14 years old and she, a Muslim Persian princess, was 15. After meeting her, Shah Jahan went back to his father and declared that he wanted to marry her. The match got solemnized after five years (1612).


The Taj rises on a high red sandstone base topped by a huge white marble terrace on which rests the famous dome flanked by four tapering minarets. Within the dome lies the jewel-inlaid cenotaph of the queen. So exquisite is the workmanship that the Taj has been described as "having been designed by giants and finished by jewellers". The only asymmetrical object in the Taj is the casket of the emperor which was built beside the queen’s as an afterthought. The emperor was deposed by his son and imprisoned in the Great Red Fort for eight years but was buried in the Taj. During his imprisonment, he had a view of the Taj. 







 Inside the Taj - we had to wear shoe bootie covers - the detailed inlaid marble with precious stones and gems was truly awe inspiring. Pictures don't really capture everything but even so I couldn't stop myself from taking hundreds of photos!

 The Taj changes color with the sun.  It the middle of the day it is bright white but in the evening as the sun sets it glows yellow.

Everything in the Taj is symmetrical which is incredibly impressive considering this was all done by hand.

The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble. 


We arrived at the Taj in the afternoon and ended up staying till the sun set which was so beautiful!  I was much more impressed with the Taj Mahal then I ever expected to be.  In the picture above you can see the the four minarets surrounding the Taj all tilt slightly outwards.  This was done as a precaution in case of an earthquake the minarets would fall away from the Taj not into it.  Amazing foresight so many years ago.

After our epic drive from Delhi we were ever so happy to check into the beautiful Orient Taj hotel and especially to take a hot shower and have a hot meal.

Its amazing that Christmas decorations are found almost everywhere in the world.  Even in Agra!

Whew - we just made it back to Singapore after 2 weeks traveling around India.   I now have over a thousand photos to sort through and endless blog entries.  During our travels we had so many amazing experiences and adventures which were truly unforgettable, I only hope I can capture a small glimpse of Incredible India in my posts.

Our adventure began with a red eye flight out of Singapore to Delhi.  I have since realized that this is not necessarily the smartest way to begin a vacation...but we did it and arrived safely in Delhi at 3 in the morning.  I had booked first class ($20) train tickets on the super fast Shatabi express that left Delhi at 6am and went directly to Agra (2 hrs).  However, upon arriving at the train station we discovered that our train had been canceled due to fog (evidently this commonly happens) which left us scrambling to find a driver willing to take us to Agra (5 hrs) at 4 in the morning in the worst fog I have ever seen.  Welcome to India!  Being tourists of course we paid a HUGE premium for the car and driver but there was little we could do about it at such an early hour.


Due to the fog we had to keep the windows rolled down which meant the car was FREEZING.  I basically put on every item of clothing I could find and still shivered my way through the next 5 hours.  Kingsley even pulled out one of his treasured Hot Hands - hand warmers that he usually reserves exclusively for paragliding.

The road from Delhi to Agra is known for being incredibly dangerous (which is why I booked us on the train in the first place) but with the fog it was insane.  At one point the driver realized he had accidentally passed the gas station - - so naturally - - we reversed...in the fog...on the highway...dodging trucks and cows...for over a mile to reach the gas station turn off.  I am fairly confident if we were cats Kingsley and I would both have lost at least two of our nine lives during that one mile stretch.

During our re-fueling break Kingsley found some hot tea which we used to toast to our survival!

After flying all night we had the breakfast of champions - Magic Masala chips and soda water.

A very tense Kingsley keeping an eye on the road.  I cannot emphasize enough how poor the visibility was!  Due to the fog the drive took about 7 hours but we made it to Agra in one piece and for that we were incredibly thankful!

This video captures about 30 second of our 7 hour drive...enjoy!

In 2008 a baby Thai elephant named Mosha lost her leg after stepping on a landmine. When Marc Spits learnt about the unfortunate incident through Soriada Salwala, founder of the first Thai elephant hospital in the world, it inspired him and his son Mike Spits to set up the Elephant Parade – on June 9 2008 Mosha became the first baby elephant ever fit with a prosthetic leg, partially funded by Elephant Parade. Today Elephant Parade’s mission is to become the world’s largest financial support organisation for Asian elephants. 






On November 11th the Elephant Parade arrived in Singapore.  Over 160 life-sized fibreglass baby elephants, painted and decorated by international artists and celebrities, are currently covering Singapore along Orchard Road, Marina Bay, VivoCity, Singapore Zoo, Botanic Gardens, museums and more!  

Each statue is a unique piece of art – and when the exhibition comes to an end, all will go up for auction. Part of the proceeds will then be donated to The Asian Elephant Foundation.