I woke at 4.30 am to the sound of Ci in the shower. It was time to get into action, by 5.15 am the girls were downstairs, showered and dressed, waiting for the boys. I was disappointed as I had rushed the girls to get ready and there they were ambling along. It didn’t matter, however, as the West gate was practically deserted when we got there.
It was rather strange, walking through the gate into the courtyard, I thought we would have been able to see the Taj Mahal directly but we had to go through another building/archway first. It felt rather surreal to see the Taj Mahal for real and although I took some photos this is where my photo strike started. My camera does not compare at all to the boys’ ones and I just felt it was pointless. I therefore spent my time absorbing the atmosphere and revelling the fact that we were visiting one of the 7 wonders of the world.
The gardens were beautiful and lush and the actual white domed building was eerie inside. It was so ornately carved and designed but it was also so empty that it felt rather sad too, it was a tomb after all. Ch had fun trying to take a photo of the Taj Mahal reflected in my eye, it’s on facebook if you want to see it.
After a good 3-4 hours we returned to the hostel, our stomach groaning and gorged on omelettes, porridge and French toast (which was more fried than French but yummy all the same). We then decided to visit Agra fort before we left. Sadly I was already forted out, after the Red Fort and preferred to sit the visit out sitting on the steps, in the shade, avoiding the glances and ignoring the photos of passers by. Sometimes people took pictures of me so obviously that I really wanted to ask why they were taking them but thought it best just to let it slide. I got talking to a nice couple, and Indian and a Romanian. They told me if we had not booked tickets back to Delhi, we be better off going back sooner rather than later. I told the group this when they got back and we decided to head for the station, as the heat was also setting in again.
This time our tickets cost £1. This made us slightly apprehensive as we were worried we had bought tickets which would mean we would be stuck in a carriage with no assigned seats, crammed in like sardines. It was our luck however that at the platform we bumped into a French couple, who had been staying at the same hostel as us, the night before.
It was lucky for us as they really helped us to get seats on the train, we were in the same kind of compartment as before but there was less room, people were sleeping/sitting/squashed in the upper beds/seats. The French lady actually moved a woman’s legs so we could sit down. It was crowded and hot but we shared food, stories and a 6 hours journey. I even had to go to the toilet so desperately that I braved the train toilets, or rather the train “hole”. I could actually see the rail zooming by under me, and the worst bit was that it was all slippery on the floor, yet I had to have my feet on the assigned foot holds, which were rather far apart for my liking. I achieved the task well and was very happy when nothing got wet/lost/destroyed in the experience. Thank goodness for dry soap.
It was rather strange, walking through the gate into the courtyard, I thought we would have been able to see the Taj Mahal directly but we had to go through another building/archway first. It felt rather surreal to see the Taj Mahal for real and although I took some photos this is where my photo strike started. My camera does not compare at all to the boys’ ones and I just felt it was pointless. I therefore spent my time absorbing the atmosphere and revelling the fact that we were visiting one of the 7 wonders of the world.
The gardens were beautiful and lush and the actual white domed building was eerie inside. It was so ornately carved and designed but it was also so empty that it felt rather sad too, it was a tomb after all. Ch had fun trying to take a photo of the Taj Mahal reflected in my eye, it’s on facebook if you want to see it.
After a good 3-4 hours we returned to the hostel, our stomach groaning and gorged on omelettes, porridge and French toast (which was more fried than French but yummy all the same). We then decided to visit Agra fort before we left. Sadly I was already forted out, after the Red Fort and preferred to sit the visit out sitting on the steps, in the shade, avoiding the glances and ignoring the photos of passers by. Sometimes people took pictures of me so obviously that I really wanted to ask why they were taking them but thought it best just to let it slide. I got talking to a nice couple, and Indian and a Romanian. They told me if we had not booked tickets back to Delhi, we be better off going back sooner rather than later. I told the group this when they got back and we decided to head for the station, as the heat was also setting in again.
This time our tickets cost £1. This made us slightly apprehensive as we were worried we had bought tickets which would mean we would be stuck in a carriage with no assigned seats, crammed in like sardines. It was our luck however that at the platform we bumped into a French couple, who had been staying at the same hostel as us, the night before.
It was lucky for us as they really helped us to get seats on the train, we were in the same kind of compartment as before but there was less room, people were sleeping/sitting/squashed in the upper beds/seats. The French lady actually moved a woman’s legs so we could sit down. It was crowded and hot but we shared food, stories and a 6 hours journey. I even had to go to the toilet so desperately that I braved the train toilets, or rather the train “hole”. I could actually see the rail zooming by under me, and the worst bit was that it was all slippery on the floor, yet I had to have my feet on the assigned foot holds, which were rather far apart for my liking. I achieved the task well and was very happy when nothing got wet/lost/destroyed in the experience. Thank goodness for dry soap.
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