January 24th Delhi to Agra
A very early start today 4am! Caught the 06.00 train to Agra and arrived on
time at 08.05. Delhi station wasn’t as
manic as the previous Saturday but there were still a lot of people milling
around even at that time. Agra itself is
not much to write home about. We had
high hopes of the Taj Gateway hotel but it was pretty average & a little
tired, although the service was good. We
had a good breakfast there before starting our tour of the Red Fort.
The real problem with the hotel however was the shops in the
hotel. Now you would have thought that
in a five star hotel you would have been able to browse the on-site shops as
you wanted, but no, the shop keepers stood outside each one as if in a bazaar
and harassed you all the time. As a
result we didn’t go in and didn’t buy anything. In Agra we christened the street hawkers
etc. as vations. Agravations.
The Red Fort was quite amazing and in the time we have here
we could not hope to describe all the sites and views that it provides. It was really a city on its own for the court
of the 2nd Murghal Emperor.
It was back to the hotel to check in and have lunch and then
at 3pm we boarded our coach for a visit to the Taj Mahal. Nothing you have read or seen regarding the
Taj can prepare you for the reality, it is simply an awe inspiring sight. However this was its quiet period and it was
still manic. When you go to look round
the interior you get pushed around by the attendants who are inconsiderate
beyond belief! Nevertheless one of the
greatest sights we have ever seen.
The traffic in and around Agra was a nightmare and we didn’t
get back until 6.30pm, just enough time to get ready for dinner at 7.30pm. Everyone was absolutely exhausted and we
were looking forward to our bed.
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