We assembled at 4:45 am in the Delhi pre-dawn murk to set off the railway station for the trip to Agra. At the station Kuldeep handled the porters who fought to take our bags, before finally two of them got the job and set off with two balanced on their heads and a third towed behind!
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| Each porter balanced 2 bags on his head and towed a third. Kuldeep hauled his own. |
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| The carriages were worn but comfortable. |
On the train we were served hot tea and a rudimentary breakfast. This was the express, and at times it reached high speeds. The journey time was about 2 hours. In Agra we found our hotel was quite flash, with a real swimming pool! It has gates and guards, and a metal detector we had to pass through at the entrance.
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| It was luxury to be able to cool off in a pool! |
Indian security measures are superficial. At this hotel and on other occasions we were directed through an airport-style metal detector, which beeped loudly as each person passed through. However there was no follow up at all, and we simply carried on with no further checks! At one site we visited the security man actually frisked me to check for concealed weapons or whatever, but then waved me through ignoring the backpack I was wearing.
Today we visited the beautiful "Baby Taj" in Agra, actually Itmad-ud-Daula, which predates the Taj Mahal but has many similarities to the big one. It is also on the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra.
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| Details of the Baby Taj. All created with inlaid stone of different types. |
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| The "Baby Taj", Itmad-ud-Daula |
At sunset we visited to Moonlight Garden, which is across the river from the Taj Mahal, to give us our first view of the real thing. In better times (less smog) the setting sun casts a warm red light over the Taj Mahal.
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| The Taj Mahal from across the river, in the Moonlight Garden. |
In the photo above is our local guide, who was very good. He led us around the Agra sites. On our tour of India we are accompanied all the way by our guide Kuldeep and by our driver. Local guides are used at various points to provide more in-depth commentary.
