DAY 2: Agra, Shanti Lodge Guest House

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Took a 5 hour bus journey from Delhi to Agra for about a fiver. Got to Agra just after lunch time. Walked up to the roof top restaurant of guest house to see the Taj Mahal from our own backyard! Couldn’t believe how close we were to it. We had some lunch then decided to miss the main lot of tourists and get there for 3pm. Given that we were a 5 minute walk from the entrance, you’d think that nothing could go wrong- only me and Laura took the wrong turning and ended up getting lost! How can you get lost to the Taj Mahal?? We ended up down some windy streets with horses and carriages and people laughing at us because we were actually that stupid! Anyway we got in there eventually and it was gorgeous. Good weather too so took some great pictures.

You have to get used to random animals taking over the roads- cows are everywhere. Laura, the country bumkin was expecting them to chase her about (I actually think she’d quite enjoy that) but they are so used to people- brushing up against them on a narrow road is quite common. There’s rubbish in the streets everywhere and Laura told me that she had heard rats on our little balcony when we were asleep, but didn’t tell me incase I screamed- probably for the best.

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