The most beautiful building in the world

Possibly the best part about traveling is getting to those places and seeing those things that just make you stop and stare. Wonder and amazement are not part of every day life...but they should be.

Sometimes if you travel enough or too much, you can get jaded and forget to enjoy all the sights, sounds and smells. You have to remember why you travel and to stop and smell the roses, enjoy every last detail.

Sometimes you expect to be disappointed because of the hype or by the presence of throngs of tourists.

...and then there are the times, that what you came to see is so absolutely amazing nothing could take away from the experience. I travel....a lot. I have been many places and seen many things.

Nothing prepared me for the Taj Mahal. This is why I travel.

Waiting in line for over an hour to get onto the grounds, constantly harassed by shop keepers and touts, the brutal heat......it didn't matter. The minute I could see the Taj Mahal through the gates of the main gateway, it was worth every minute waiting in line and every minute of the trip to India.

As we emerged from the gate, I understood what people have said for hundreds of years...the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful building in the world. It just is.

Jaw dropping....inspiring....I was at a loss for words. We wandered around the grounds and the building...went inside...wandered around more. What a beautiful place...absolutely breath taking.

We got loads of pictures. Literally hundreds.

We sat around and admired this beautiful, beautiful place.

Above, Will enjoying the view.

We stayed at a really crappy hotel that was under construction and was absolutely horrible in every category...except for one.

The view from the roof.

It was a great ending to a great trip.

The next day we took a taxi to a real hotel, not like the ones we had been staying in, and hung out by their pool all day, relaxing, drinking some cold beers and contemplating all the mysteries of India. What a fantastic freakin trip.

Guillaume, Will & Chris - India, August/September 2010