Agra

We came into Agra, the second leg of the ‘Golden Triangle’ yesterday, on a train leaving Delhi at 06.15am. Painfully early start, but on the plus side on the train we were served breakfast – which scarily consisted of a strange potato thing in breadcrumbs, bread with jam, and a do-it-yourself tea kit – tea bags, sugar and creamer complete with a little flask of boiling water! Weird.When we got into Agra we visited the Fort in the centre of town yesterday, which is big and impressive, with beautiful views of the Taj Mahal over the river. And lots of monkeys chasing each other around the walls! Then of course today we went to the Taj itself. Another early start (groan) as it’s supposed to be best in the early morning light (and there are fewer tourists). I think the best word to describe it is elegant – big too. And very well preserved at the moment compared to the other monuments of its class we’ve seen (such as Angkor Wat and the pyramids – but the Taj Mahal is a lot newer).It was great wandering around, and then wandering the 2km or so back to the hotel. We did get hassled by a few touts on route of course (mainly rickshaw or tuktuk), but to be honest these touts are amateurs compared to those in Egypt! Nowhere near so annoying or persistent! Anyway, better go, as we have to book train tickets to our next destination – Jaipur. Speak to you all soon.