The Taj

A long train ride, 2 hours of sleep and the most expensive rikshaw ride we've taken later ... we arrived in Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal at 3 pm. Our itinerary was a short one, with only the one night to spend and having to wake at 4 am again the next day to catch our train to Varanasi. As mentioned, we hadn't planned on visiting Agra, and this combined with the the lack of sleep, our lack of 'sightseeing' personalities and the price of admission to the Taj (our daily budget) we had decided to bunker down in a guest house (which all have views of the Taj) and get a free Taj experience with a bottle of beer, head to bed early and move on.

Two bottles of beer later, we realized that we could never face our families with the truth of negating the Taj, and decided to go for it. By this time, the gates were closing within 20 minutes - we had to take a rishshw to an ATM (we hadnt planned on this train ride, so we had minimal money with us for the overnight train we were originally planning on taking) and reached the gates with minutes to spare.and you know what? we arrived just as the soft light of sunset was enveloping the white masterpiece of the 8th wonder of the world - and we were immediately grateful for our decision. The universe has its ways, doesnt it?

 The Taj is worth the hype, the entry fee and the milling of thousands of people on the grounds. We spent the remainder of the day walking around the beautifully manicured gardens, attempting to take photos with digital camera my parents bought for me 6 years ago, and soaking in the atmosphere.
(we will post pictures when our memory card is full, all at once)

When the day was done, we returned to our guest house to enjoy the BEST FOOD WE HAVE HAD IN INDIA while enjoying a continued view of the Taj. Another 4 am start, and we were on our way to Varanasi.

We are now in Varanasi after experiencing a most uplitfing train ride (in a berth with 6 english speaking Indian chaps) and will post again when our experience here is complete.