Agra ... Taj Mahal and Other Stuff

Firstly apologies for not responding to your comments along the way.  Internet time is so restricted I can only do the basics just now

More from me (Sue) … about time David got his finger out and posted something methinks!

When we left the village (by tractor cart again) We rejoined our coach for the drive to Agra where we stopped for lunch al fresco at a converted manor house (actually it was the most mediocre meal of the trip so far). I have eaten curry for every meal (including breakfast) since we arrived and I'm not tired of it yet ! Strangely, the food is all pretty mild and I'm not sure if that's the regional 'norm' or whether the hotels and lodges were 'dumbing it down' for the tourists.

Our guide spotted me adding a couple of chillis to my plate and thereafter I got special meals from the chef … wonderfully spicy (but not OTT hot)

This morning we visited the Glass Palace. It was foggy in Delhi so the first glimpse we had from the Palace of the Taj Mahal in the distance was really hazy. I won't post them as they aren't great.

This afternoon was spent visiting the Taj Mahal – the most stunning building in the World perhaps? Wonderful monument built by the Maharajah to house the body of his wife who died in childbirth – her 14^th! She must have been pregnant just about all her married life.

We stayed till sunset but sadly the sky clouded over at the last minute and the sunset wasn't spectacular.

The Taj Mahal

We bought some 'professional' shots of us taken in front of the Taj Mahal but I can't scan them onto the computer till back home

We didn't do the 'naff' thing like posing in front of the Taj Mahal and cupping our hands to make it appear that we are suspending the building from our hands, but David did take this photo showing the reflection of the Monument in my glasses:

This lovely lady looked fabulous in her sari – she's newly married and was visiting the Taj Mahal with her husband. The sari would have been one of the wedding gifts, and from a wealthy sponsor at that!

Most of the Indian visitors were dressed in their finest and brightest clothes – like these.

There were lots of parakeets flying around the grounds of the Taj Mahal – noisy creatures they are. They are really prevalant in all the places we visited. Also lots of large Kites/Eagles. This is one that I photographed in a tree in the grounds of the Taj Mahal. We bought a book to help us identify the birds we see and I believe this is a Tawny Eagle (or possibly a Pariah Kite)

Then whilst we were waiting for sunset, a little kingfisher flew down onto one of the ornamental fountain sprinklers in the lake in front of the Taj Mahal. This is a bit fuzzy, but he took me by surprise and didn't stay long enough to focus the camera properly.

Its the same variety we saw at the Tiger Park – a white crested Kingfisher

and a 'common myna' bird - loads of these around:

We turned down the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal again the next morning (by horse-drawn carriage) as it meant a 6.30am departure and we really needed to catch up on some sleep – its been a very busy schedule with little free time. Although we are spending a lot of time travelling by coach there is so much to see that it isn't a restful experience. David has managed a few snoozes on the coach though heaven only knows how he can sleep through all the horn blowing and shouting etc in the streets.

Those that did the second viewing had to be back by 9.30am as we then drove to Delhi where we managed to fit in a quick tour of the old Town and the Rickshaw ride which we hadn't been able to do when we first arrived in India because the town was closed to coaches and large vehicles: