Agra

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This morning we discovered that you cannot pay your bill with a credit card in this part of India- the ATM was not inclined to assist either. Luckily we could borrow some cash from the others and are relying on getting cash from the airport tomorrow.
We piled into the wagon for another road trip - this one on good roads and at an increased pace. Once again the antics of other drivers was amusing and at times a bit alarming- seeing a heavily laden truck steaming towards you on your side of the road is a bit off putting at times. We drove past groups of men squatting or sitting around fires, families loading dung pats up on the roof to dry in the sun and morning ablutions at the roadside wells and in the fields. There were flocks of goats being herded along the highway to graze and Samba deer grazing in fields of bright yellow mustard flowers. At one part of the journey there was a collection of tall, smoking, chimney stacks staggered amongst the mustard fields firing bricks made of the red clay.People from the villages were heading to the townships to sell milk carried in old fashioned aluminium cans on motorbikes, bicycles and carts drawn by donkeys and horses. Children were lining up for the school bus. Everyday we see games of cricket in dusty brown pitches. Women dressed in bright saris seem to do a lot of the work including being part of roading gangs and construction gangs moving large rocks on their heads and hoeing and digging while the men direct proceedings-(this is my perception of what we saw anyway). Finally we arrived at the Taj Mahal. It was spectacular. Built by Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife who died giving birth to their fourteenth child, it is known as a monument of love. It is created out of marble and took twenty two years to build from 1631 until 1648. Entering through the north gate, you see the Taj Mahal, glowing pristine white in the sun at the end of a pathway of fountains surrounded by paths and gardens. It is breathtakingly beautiful and was very peaceful to wander around ( we did need to be aware of pickpockets- some of which stalked us in the mausoleum). We took our time to really explore the Taj Mahal which means " Crown Palace" and this experience has been the peak of our visit to India so far even though we had to brave the gauntlet of hawkers determined to sell us their wares. We elected to spend all out time at the Taj Mahal so there was no more sightseeing. Dinner at Mcdonalds and then guavas washed down with a wine or beer on the rooftop garden- very pleasant- then off to bed for a 5am start in the morning.

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