“A teardrop on the face of eternity” as one Indian poet described it, might be going a bit far, but certainly the Taj, reputedly built as a tomb for the beloved of a great Raja, is one of the World’s great buildings and a must-see global landmark.

To make a day of it I hired a bike (haggled a deal of Rs100 or about US$2.50 for the day at a bike shop) and headed through a chaotic mix of cows, rickshaws, hapless pedestrians, spluttering buses and speeding cars to the other side of Yamuna river to take a look at the building from the same vantage point as the cowherds, peasants who work the land here. Great views and intriguing backdrop, if you don’t mind a steady pestering by urchins – one postcard? one rupee? take photo? etc – even though I’d missed the very best light, which must be around dawn from this angle.

Pedaled back in the company of a Dutch girl who’d made the same trip but wanted male protection from local lads stone throwing stones at her (didn’t see any myself, but be aware) and back over the Yamuna via a railway bridge where we spent ages watching buffalo wallow (one herder was rather too lovingly cleaning the asshole of one beast!) and watching the dhobies bashing the living hell out of their washing by the river.

Back at the Taj complex proper, the entry has become aggressively priced for foreigners (Rs1000 – about USD$25), while Indians still slip in for Rs15. Still, there must be some justice in there. The gardens throng with a mix of foreign tour groups and hoards of holidaying Indian’s but there are still peaceful spots to be had. Forget taking a book to make a day of it though, all you have except cameras has to be checked before you go through security.

All these petty concerns aside, you’ll not forget the moment you first set eyes on the building through the portico of the final walled enclosure. It’s as magnificent and beautifully proportioned a building as ever there was, and watching the play of light change on is as the afternoon turns to evening a real spectacle. The sheer scale and grace is overwhelming.

But I’ve just read that the faint yellowing of the building (due to pollution) is to be treated with mudpacks, so before you, best check out the status of the renovations, which may temporarily spoilt the look – or maybe make it look even more chaotically Indian?!