Taj'd to the max

   

Indian trains.
Seem to invariably plan to leave in the early morning..6.30am..no problem sir..we'll wake you at 5...wtf....and then they, equally invariably, leave late and get progressively later. Most worrying when on a long haul exercise and you have no idea of where you are and hope that you should get off soon rather than a little while ago. Whilst I’m on this little rant. Forget watching the countryside as you meander through on the train. The windows are invariably opaque. The whole exercise made only bearable by some of the friendly people you meet on the way…..but I digress (although possibly not enough to ever do a long haul in India by train again).

Agra, 9 years after our honeymoon visit. Thankfully this time in winter, so my life was not threatened by someone who prefers cool weather and, possibly, hadn't been told to full story about Rajasthan in April. What’s wrong with a temperature range of 36-45 celcius. There’s always warm beer.

Staying on the road leading to the Taj Mahal. The town has certainly cleaned up its act over the past few years. No petrol engines anywhere near the Taj. A big visitor centre about a kilometre from the main entrance. Electric shuttles going to and from the Taj. our hotel (called, unsurprisingly, “Taj View”) was even closer to the monument than the visitors centre. Full of enthusiasm we dumped our gear and strolled the 20 mins or so to the front gate of the Taj for an afternoon viewing and immersion.......but the ticket booth has been moved from the Taj to the visitors centre...so close, to have the cup of anticipation dashed from our lips. It’s much less romantic sitting in the back of the electric shuttle to go and buy a ticket and then come back.
Inside there has been a huge clean up as well. where once commerce ruled supreme in the front courtyard there is now only the courtyard and the vegetation has been helped along rather than competed with. The scale of the whole complex with the courtyard cleared is even more awe inspiring.

 Not sure what you can say about the building itself...a couple of hours just disappears as you wander around the grounds, seeing how many angles you can see the dome and the minarets..how many colour changes as the sun hits it slightly differently.

Sit and be surrounded by sensory overload.