Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

This moment was a favorite during a four-month trip around India. I'd started by volunteering in southern India and then made my way by myself around the subcontinent until I ended in Delhi. On this morning I set my alarm to wake me before dawn so I could photograph the Taj Mahal and the rising sun reflected in the nearby river. In the predawn morning I followed the boatman ? pointed out by a kind local ? down a long, dark, and deserted road alley until we finally reached the river, where he silently rowed me across and quietly pointed out the best location to take photos once we?d reached the other side. I had a few hours of quiet glorious sunrise ? just me, my camera, the Taj, the boatman off in the distance, and a bunch of shore birds ? in one of the most populated, hectic countries on earth.