The Jewel in the Crown

---

The Taj Mahal !
What can I say? It really is the jewel in the crown!
We arrived in Agra at 8.30 am and luckily the hotel let us check into our room straight away.
After a rest we went out to explore. The hotel was literally five minutes walk away from the West Gate entrance of the Taj Mahal.
It was already mid day so we decided we would go the next day nice and early to beat the crowds.
The streets here are just as bad as in Delhi. Actually worse but as our hotel was just inside the area that was barriered off and guarded by police it was a little haven.
We wandered up and down looking for somewhere to eat. A few places advertised rooftop restaurants with views of the Taj , we tried a few but it was a con just the smallest glimpse if you craned your neck.

Then we hit lucky. Up a grubby little alley was a hotel tucked away , up the steps we went expecting to see the usual view. And there it was! In all its Glory. A perfect unobstructed view of the Taj. The sun was shining and the tables were covered in check table cloths with potted plants all around. We lingered over a long lunch taking in the view and soaking up the warm sunshine. before our next task was to search up and down for an ATM that actually had money. Never did find one, funds were running low but for now we had sufficient money.

Next day we set off early to see the Taj Mahal and were blessed with no queues. Once inside we encounter quite a lot of people who, like us, had come early. Getting the photo shots we wanted without hoards of people became increasingly difficult as time went on. Once through the barriers your time is limited to three hours to keep overcrowding down. It was a magnificent place to see but three hours was sufficient. After the dirty streets of Delhi and Agra it was pleasant to be in clean surroundings. We were provided with shoe covers to walk on the white marble floors thankfully.

At 11.30 am we called our driver to be taken to Fatehpur Sikri, a deserted town 40 Kms out of town. A city erected in 1581 that has been deserted for many years but still stands with very little signs of deterioration.

From there our driver dropped us off at Agra Fort. It would have been possible to have eslked there from our hotel but to be honest I was glad of the ride as we'd been on our feet most of the day. The temperature was rising and making me feel weary as we climbed the steep slopes up to the fort.
Our driver had arranged to pick us up at the big traffic roundabout at 6pm and asked us to make sure we were on time.
I understood why as we stood waiting for him with five minutes to spare. The traffic was chaos, cars, taxis, buses, motor bikes, bicycles and pony and traps all fighting their way round the roundabout while souvenir touts jumped at you from every corner pleading with you to buy their wares, telling you about how many children they had to support.

With great relief I spotted our taxi appear. Bang on time! He pulled up in the middle of the chaos just long enough for us to escape the madness.

To finish off the day we wanted to see the Taj Mahal from one of the rooftop cafes the one we'd found with really good views didn't serve beer. Most of the bars and restaurants here don't. Along the street an old man had been sat outside of his café and tried to get us in on several occasions with the promise of ice cold beer and views of the Tai Mahal. He'd practically pleaded with us to go up for beer the day before but we resisted knowing there would be no view. This evening he spotted us again and his insistence won us over. He followed us up the very steep steps to the roof café and took our order for one large bottle of beer and two glasses. He then put the menu on our table. It was badly torn and filthy, we weren't ready to eat anyway but if we had have been it wouldn't have been there!

While he got the beer we quickly rearranged the chairs so that we had clean ones to sit on from the best vantage point of the Taj Mahal which was, as we thought, no where near as good as the one we'd found at the café with the check table clothes and potted plants. He struggled, puffing and panting, back up the steep steps with our beer and glasses balanced precariously on a grubby silver tray but refused any help from me when I offered to take the tray from him.. He asked what we would like to eat and looked disappointed when we said we only wanted a drink. There was another couple sat at a table with one beer and two glasses and as we got talking to them discovered they were Polish. We thought it quite funny that they too had managed to find the only café in town that sold beer!

As the sun went down so did the temperature, we left and climbed back down the steep narrow steps, as we did so the old man whispered to us not to tell anyone about the fact we'd bought beer there. Obviously it was black market!

For dinner that night we located a café indoors as by 8pm it was very cold. We ordered Dahl Curry and enjoyed it even accepting more when they saw how quickly we'd devoured it. This was a decision we would come to regret!

Next morning we were due to check out of the hotel at 11am and our driver would meet us at 2pm to take us to the train station. With only half an hour to spare before checkout time the Dahl curry from the night before began to do it's worse! Within minutes of each other we were running for the toilet. It was a mad panic to get showered, again, and be ready to check out in time desperately hoping we would not be needing the toilet again any time soon. I didn't feel too bad but Stan began to feel very weak as we hung about around the reception. We were both glad when 2pm came and we could go to the train station. As we waited at the top of the street near the police check point for our driver the noxious smells from the overflowing sewers didn't help the way we were both feeling.

---