The maginificent Taj Mahal

---

Before heading to Agra we were able to stop on the way to visit a village secondary school. The children start here at the age of 13 and parents must pay about 150 rupees a year to cover uniform, lunch and book costs. While we were there the children were all sitting an English exam. They had been split up into different years and placed in rows. They were all sat on the concrete floor and no-one uttered a word. They were so well behaved and I felt very sorry that they had all these crazy British people talking and taking pictures of them while they were trying to sit an exam. It was a shame that we couldn't have spoken to them or sung some songs but the exam lasted three hours.

After a late lunch stop we headed to Fateheur Sikri Palace where are very enthusiastic guide showed us around. We were all very hot and tired but I did find it funny that for entertainment the men would play a massive game of Ludo using the women as the pieces!

Leaving out hotel at 5.40am we arrived at the Taj Mahal just before sunrise. I was not really sure what I was expecting but it was much larger that I had imagined and didn't look quite real. The workmanship and detail were amazing and it is hard to imagine creating something on such a large scale over 400 years ago. It took 22 years to complete and the temples built on each side were simply placed there to help frame the Taj Mahal. Even the entrance had been raised so you could see the building through the archway. Amazing.

We all enjoyed posing near the Diana bench (not on the exact one as it was too crowded) and everyone was very snap happy at this wonderful building.

After breakfast we headed to the Red Fort of Akbar, third of the Moghul emperors. Another magnificent building which gave us a view of the Taj across the river. It was very sad that Shah Jahan (who had commissioned the building of the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife) spent his later years imprisoned here by his son, Auragzeb who was worried that all his inheritance would be spent if the second Taj Mahal, made of black marble went ahead.

---