"Live the Cover!" Contest: Thailand

Great Travel Moment

Since grade school, I always wanted to see the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Over 20 years later, my friends and I finally made it to the monument of love. As I made my way to Agra, I became dismayed by the thought that billions of Indians, like these Indian women, will never see the Taj Mahal. This picture was taken the day before I laid my eyes on the marble splendor. As I took the picture, I thought to myself,“These women are so close, yet so far!” I wanted badly to take these women with us and pay their $18 entrance fee, an amount that may take them a year earn. I wondered if their desire was as strong as mine or did they even care to see the Taj. They did, after all, insist that we pay them for the picture. We gave them 10 rupees ($0.25).