The two measley stars are not for the magnificent Taj Mahal. Taj mahal gets a 3.5 as a monument and close to 5 on the thought behind it, which I think is very unique and special.
Now an internationally famous monument which single handedly drives almost all if not all tourists to visit the city of Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the management of Taj Mahal is rather embarrassing.
Firstly, we happened to be there during the moonlight viewing days and obviously jumped at the opportunity. They charge you 6 times the fee of visiting the whole Taj Mahal for unlimited time for a long distance view for a mere 30 minutes.
Second, what's with the high level security with men with guns escorting people in small batches to view the Taj from so far away?
Third, Phones were not allowed; so if phone was your only camera, good luck bringing back any memory. Tripod were not allowed either. I am not sure if anyone was able to get a decent photo at night despite having good cameras. The least the management could do was to introduce a picture of visitors even if for a fee.
Fourth, The security check was a complete farce because the staff had no idea what they were doing. There were two ladies checking people in and screaming at them to put their bags away in the locker. One of them was yelling at women to get 'body check' (frisking) done at a booth which they couldn't really see. When I tried to ask this yelling rude lady in police uniform if she'd need a proof for my 'body check' because clearly she wouldn't know if I lied (as there was no stamping or anything), she screamed at me and said 'go get your body check'done. It was hilarious and it didn't feel like we were there to view the most popular monument at the best time of the night but we were some kind of criminals. The funniest is that these ladies actually don't have a clue about the frisking side of security but she took it so seriously like her life depends on it.
Also, only still cameras were allowed but does anyone really own a camera which doesn't have video recording? We took our camera which could video record as well and they let everyone else do the same. So why not let video cameras in too?
It was such a chaotic process of screening but it made no sense at all because the next morning, we just walked right in without any security checks, with our phones, bags, tripods and cameras. For the huge fee for night viewing, the least they could do is to get decent, cultured staff who know what they are doing and make it easier for the tourists so that they have a nice positive experience. It's really a very old monument so it's rather surprising that they still don't have the basics in place.
Last, in the morning, we had our adhar cards as proof of id or something as it was accepted according to the website. The staff at the gate said she won't accept it and that we should go back to the hotel to bring something else like a passport or something. We were able to have her accept a digital image of the document she was asking for but she was totally wrong in asking for that document to begin with. May be ahe just wanted to feel important and powerful which is so ridiculous because it's really not a police station. She is just a guard who needs to follow the rules. It's so shameful that Taj Mahal has staff as unprofessional as these.
Oh and for such a grand monument, there isn't a single piece of paper like a brochure to share a bit of history and orient the visitors.
I forgot to mention the guy who was selling the boot covers inside instead of giving them for free (as per the rules). All he had to do was turn the 'free shoe cover' signage around so that visitors won't notice it. And even if you did, like we did point it out, he would be still take your money. And the guard we told this to just looked the other way.
The site lacks decency and professional staff every step of the way. Otter than that, it's free to roam. Going there early in the morning definitely beats the heat and the crowd. I hope they get some professional management company to run the show and make sure tourists were treated professionally and had a positive experience.
