Agra

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After an early start and only one flat tyre we arrived at Delhi station in time to catch the train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. As part of the "responsible travel" ethic of the company we were travelling with, our transport around Agra was by Vikram, a non-polluting electric version of the auto-rickshaw which fits about 6 people. Non-polluting they may be, but speedy they aren't- sounds like they are powered by sewing-machine. Anything to keep the Taj clean and white!

We had lunch at our hotel and got our first glimpse of the Taj- on a bit of an angle but nevertheless immediately recogniseable. Saving the Taj for later we went to Agra Fort first- this is where Shah Jehan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in a small room with a view of the Taj so he could look at the place where his beloved wife Mumtaz (one of 13 wives I believe) was buried after having died in childbirth.

After emptying our bags of anything the guards might get upset about (even playing cards and pens are no-nos apparently) we made it through security and into the grounds of the Taj Mahal. I had a similar reaction to when I first saw the Pyramids and Angkor Wat- I had to stop every few steps to take another photo. It is truly a magnificent building and doesn't disappoint at all- whereas the Sphinx was a lot smaller than I had imagined it the Taj was actually bigger, and more glowingly white than I had imagined from photos I had seen.

To get up onto the main platform and go inside the mausoleum you have to either take your shoes off or put paperbag-like covers with drawstrings on over the top of them- we chose the more environmentally-friendly option.

Waiting for the sun to go down we sat down on the platform as many others were doing and feeling a bit stiff from all the travelling, started to stretch a bit. This is apparently another no-no at the Taj as we had soon attracted the attention of two men in khaki uniforms who were
carrying big sticks. We were told to stop our "alien activities" and since I never argue with guys with big sticks, we stopped. Although it would be nice to take photos of yoga poses with the Taj as a backdrop, from this experience I imagine it isn't an option.

The colour of the Taj gradually changes as the sun goes down from white to yellow to orange to pink, and although I couldn't really see it at the time, looking at photos later I see this actually did happen. Once we had our "Pink Taj" photos we left, avoiding the many sellers of postcards and mini-Taj models along the way. They were quite aggressive which put me off buying anything, but in hindsight I really wish I had got a snowglobe with the Taj in it!

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Photos

First view
The Taj in the distance from the roof of our hotel

Mausoleum
Shah Jehan and Mumtaz Mahal are interred in the main building