Agra - November 17th

We leave Delhi by train at the ungodly hour of 06.15.  Because New Delhi station is so big we wanted give ourselves time to get there, but in fact as the train to Agra is one of the show-case trains for Indian Railways (with all the tourists on it) it goes from Platform 1.  So we actually end up waiting a bit longer than we needed to.  It was worth it, as the train journey is very good, fast at only 2 hours for 200 Km, and not only do we get a free breakfast, and free water, we get biscuits and sweets as well.  For a 2 hour journey.  Nothing like it in the UK.  The only part of the journey which is not pleasant is leaving the station at Agra where the taxi drivers crowd you, even though it is a prepaid booth.

We can’t get a taxi all the way to our hotel.  This is for a good reason, it is in the no car zone surrounding the Taj Mahal.  It is literally 50 metres away from the entrance gate.  Yet it only costs £5 per head.  What is more, it has a beautiful courtyard restaurant that is away from all the noise.  OK you can’t see the Taj Mahal from the courtyard, but it is so peaceful you don’t mind.  Checking into our hotel takes a while because of our early start, in fact we have to wait almost 1½ hours, so I have time to walk the 1km and back to the ticket office (which is back at the car park where the buses pull in).  Eventually at about 11:00 we set off for the highlight of the whole India trip, the Taj Mahal.

There really isn’t much I can say about the Taj Mahal that hasn’t been said already.  Quite simply it is the most beautiful building I have ever seen.  The entrance gate to the complex itself is pretty impressive, and we have seen some good gates already in Delhi, but the real sight is what lies behind.  The gardens are magnificent, and the whole thing is very symmetrical, with a mosque on one side, and an ‘anti mosque’ on the other side (a mosque facing the wrong way, just for symmetry).  The main building itself is actually white, unlike say the Sydney Opera House, so some care is being taken to ensure pollution isn’t dirtying it.  The only problem was the crowds, but what do you expect when you are at one of the Wonders of the World.  I’m going to leave the rest of the talking to my photos.

After the Taj Mahal we walk back to our hotel.  I can’t stress how close our hotel is, it took one minute.  It is still time to be hassled by some street traders, but it could be worse.  After lunch we go to Agra Fort.  This is another UNESCO world heritage site, and in any other city would be an impressive thing to visit, but it plays second fiddle here.  Still it actually takes longer to go around than the Taj Mahal because of its sheer size.  Again like the Red Fort in Delhi, it is a series of palaces within a fort, but I think I preferred this one.  The linking of the different palaces is pretty good, the different style palaces sort of blend into each other, so you are never sure when you have moved from one to the other.

We finish the day in a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Taj Mahal, for a very good meal with a great view as the sun goes down.

(Like with Aya Sofia this is longer than normal, but it is the Taj Mahal).