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Published: November 1st 2009
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Day 12 - Agra
We woke up on our sleeper train to find that everyone in our compartment had a resonable nights sleep espicially Nicky who had taken a sleeping tablet and said that she had the best nights sleep of the holiday so far. We hadn't been up long before we were treated to the sound of the chai waller coming along the carridge. This is a man with a large tea urn which contains the hot spicy tea who goes along the train shouting "chai chai chai chai" as he goes. Not wanting to miss out on a nice cup hot Chai at the extortionate price of 5 Rupee (around 1pence) , we bought a cup each and laughed as we wondered why British trains don't do something similar.
We arrived at Agra and once again got into tuk-tuks and were whisked to a hotel. We were not staying in Agra but Puja had arranged for a couple of rooms for us where we could leave our bags and freshen up a bit and have breakfast. Breakfast was served on the roof of the hotel and from here we had a good view of the Taj Mahal it
was a little misty as the sun hadn't burnt off the morning cloud, but still we were excited to be soon going to see one of the worlds most recognisable buildings.
After breakfast we were first going to see the Red Fort before heading to the Taj. This place was heaving with tourists although most seem to be from India we did feel a little apprehensive about how many people were going to be at the Taj. Our guide got our tickets and took us though the impressive gateway into the complex where he explained the layout of the structure and told us a little about the history of the place. Luckily for us there were plenty of shaded spots to stand whilst he was explaining the different buildings etc as the heat of the day was doing it's utmost to melt us like an ice cream. The Palace had been built by the ruler that built the Taj Mahal, and included the clever use of concave glass to replicate mirrors in the rooms. They are currently renovating some of the Fort as part of the Commonwealth Games preparations.
We had been told that there was to be
a VIP visit to the Taj that day, which would mean that it was to be shut until 3pm, however as we left the Red Fort, we were told that the visit was off and we were to go straight there. We were advised that there is very strict security at the Taj, and you can only take your camera into the complex, no liquids etc for fear of a terrorist attack. There is an exclusion zone around the building and cars can only get so close, so we had to walk for a short distance to get in. Russ was even stopped from taking in his gorilla tripod. They give you a small bottle of water to take in and shoe covers for when you enter the mauseleom. Slightly surprisingly, there is a courtyard and gateway before you see the main building, something which is not represented in the photos you see. When you enter through the gateway, the Taj really is as magnificent as you imagine it to be. It's also very white, which is a marble finish on top of brickwork. Everyone's goal was to have their picture taken on the bench that Princess Diana sat on,
but to be honest it was far too busy. Once we had taken a good look round and taken far more photo's than is necessary, we strolled back to our meeting point to find that Puja said we could now have some free time which was a little fustrating as we could have just stayed at the Taj for another hour and enjoyed the relaxing gardens etc. Nevermind we thought, and opted as did most of our group to find an intenet cafe and attempt to catch up on life at home or for us anyway on a few days blogs.
After a good meal at our rest point hotel we took to a taxi to the hotel in Bharatpur. Once there we had to move hotel room, as ours had a major ant infestation going behind our bed into a hole in the wall! But we slept well in our new room as once again an early start was on the cards (quickly becoming a theme of the holiday). The next morning we were to visit a local bird sanctuary on cycle rickshaws and as everyone knows the early bird catches sleep deprivation.
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Violeta
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the bench in from of Taj Mahal
http://www.robsville.com/hon/P1080622.JPG