"Fulfilling a Promise Made 28 Years... " a Agra Travel Page by pchamlis

I love photography and am an old-school guy. For me, classic black and white has a timeless quality. Let's open our visit to Agra with THE timeless image the world has of the magnificent Taj Mahal.

My wife told me many years ago - before we married actually - that it had always been her dream to see the Taj Mahal. At the time, she'd never been on an airplane, and had never been outside of three states, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. I made up my mind on that day that Bonnie would one day see the Taj Mahal and that I'd make it happen.

As it turns out, we viewed the Taj one day after our 28th wedding anniversary, which was October 4th, 2008. Logistics made it impossible to be at the Taj ON our anniversary, but being there the day after was still perfect. The night before, in New Delhi, we'd been surprised with a lovely and scrumptious chocolate cake celebrating our wedding anniversary, courtesy of Mr. Navin Pandey and Gatik Eventures, the company with which I contracted for driver and city guide services. Gatik and Navin are a class organization, and I hope you do see my specific tip regarding them on my India page. This extra little kindness on our special day just shows you how personal and connected Gatik Eventures and my friend Navin Pandey are.

So, the night before, we enjoyed Navin's gift chocolate cake, and the next day - it was a dream come true, a visit to the Taj Mahal.

We expected so very much from our visit to the Taj. And yet, we were still overwhelmed by its grace and perfection. Don't EVER let someone tell you visiting the Taj is just a tourist thing. We will never forget our visit to this beautiful place, on a special day of celebration for us, our 28th anniversary.