I’m at sort of a transition point right now. I should be finding a job. I’m in the process of getting a job, we want to buy a house, and I want to travel and visit family and friends. But for now, I wanted to give myself a bit of break since it’s been 19 straight years of school. It’s basically been a mix of relaxation and stress while trying to compile my work and get my life headed in the right direction (whatever that means).
Needless to say, I’ve have a hard time accomplishing much lately. I’ve been touching up some images for portfolio purposes and that can take quite a while. I’ve been trying to actually organize all those boxes in our closets and keep my school work neat and accessible. But I’ve also been working out and just breathing for once. I can be a pretty anxious person, so it’s been refreshing.
I’ve kind of hit that point today where my brain can’t focus on one thing long enough to be productive, so I’ve decided to take a break to focus on something fun: travel. I already have a lot of travel ideas for the next year or so: various trips to the Midwest to see family and friends (including holidays), and shorter trips to Miami and Atlanta. But I don’t want to worry about the details of those trips, so I’ll be consulting 1000 Places to See Before You Die for today’s imaginary travel.
My travel hopes and dreams pretty much include the entire globe, so I think I’ll just open to a random page…452 it is. I got The Taj Mahal!
Taj Mahal © M & G Therin-Weise via UNESCO
One source of information I have utilized before when daydreaming about world travel is the list of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Sites. They classify sites as cultural, natural, or a combination of the two. It is no surprise that the Taj Mahal makes the list of cultural heritage sites. Situated on the bank of the Yamuna River in a large garden, it is a mausoleum built for Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife. It is an architectural beauty, and is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, which combines Islamic, Persian, and Indian architecture. It is located Agra, which is in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
A good starting point for planning a trip to the Taj Mahal would be to travel along the Golden Triangle: From Delhi to Jaipur to Agra and back to Delhi. There are good roads as well as trains that connect all three cities in North India. It is a common travel route, but I think it would be good for my first time traveling to India.
Just thinking about travel makes me smile. It’s nice to dream…
V
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