34th

Today we saw the Taj. Annu was treated like a major celebrity and was the subject of many photographs, some women 'clickers', but mainly men. I expected the queue to be massive as it was a sunny Saturday but I was proved very wrong. The Indian queue was big, but manageable for Sabya, and the foreigner queue was nothing! I know you can't see anything in India without other people there, but I wish the Taj had been empty and I'd had some personal time to enjoy it. As it went were shuffled round it in some kind of order with little time to appreciate the little details.

List of prohibited items on the golf buggy to Taj. 'Helmate' is my favourite

Annu posing in the sunshine

The Indian queue, and Sabya in it

The visual illusion of the Taj through the entry arch. The closer you get the smaller the Taj's arch gets rather than bigger.

First full view

Crowds and crowds and crowds

Beaut

Check the stance

Explorer Annu

Celebrity Annu being asked

... and then clicked

Glittering marble

Another fan

Some more fans

I hate to say it but this photo looks like Rossetti's The Beloved

Final shot on the way out

Finally! An honest window sticker.

We left the Taj and had another alcoholic lunch with Sabya. The food was excellent, and not even too pricey considering its location. Although I can't really judge that because he paid. We had a few hours to kill before our train was leaving so we went to the school that Sabya had built and that he will be opening in April. While we were with him he was constantly taking calls from prospective students and staff. I hope it goes well for him.

Front of Orchid School

'Agra's Sunset Boulevard'

Annu on her top bunk

Riding in style - Sleeper Class

When we got to Delhi I was panicking about missing our station (I didn't want to end up in Punjab) so we got off early and had to jump back on while the train was starting. Thank goodness for the doors being open during travel.

33rd

The next day we woke late, bathed and got ready for a big day. Sabya had said we were going to the Taj but it is shut on Friday as there is a mosque on the site and Friday is the Islamic Holy day. Instead we went to three sites including Agra Fort and a site called the mini-Taj which is just down the river. I can't remember the name of the other one, but all of them were amazing. The trouble with seeing so many sites in one day is that you become a bit numb to the amazing aesthetics. Next time I'll do one a day I think.

The running of the donkey. Not a tradition unfortunately.

So many tombs, so many beautiful arches

Deer living in the gardens

Indian squirrel

400 year old lamp and frescoes

Ornate lattice work and Annu

"Take a picture of the jilted lover!" "How do you know she's a jilted lover?" "There where two people there before and now she's crying!" Obvious really.

Fully kipping.

Mini Taj

A brave sleeping manoeuvre

First sight of the Taj from Agra fort

Akbar's imprisonment quarters - in full view of his wife's tomb (I think it's Akbar)

Inlaid semi-precious stones in marble

Marble maintenance squad 

Celeb Annu (the first of many people who wanted a random pretty white girl in their holiday snaps)

Fountain at Agra fort

Annu and Sabya

We left Agra Fort feeling thoroughly tired so had a short rest until Sabya came to pick us up for a party at his house. His wife was there and we had drinks and saw his paintings and he got his hookah out. His work is very good, he's got this technique for painting the most realistic bubbles I've ever seen. He showed me a recipe for a simple yet lovely Bengali fish recipe. Oil, cumin seeds, yoghurt, chillies, fish, pressure cooker. Done. We had lychee juice and vodka cocktails and then moved on to the Hennessey. Too much.

A man proud of his zoom

Sabya and Richa (?)

Mind over match trick

32nd

I am going to post the photos I have taken in chronological order by day for the sake of my memory. Hopefully this will mean I will be able to recount stories from each day which will be more entertaining to read now (for the people that read this blog) and later when I look back on my time here.

This was the day we went to Agra, and thus was the day that I stopped posting regularly as we were away from the internet for some time. I was a little apprehensive because we were in the hands of a host I had only met once and, on that one occasion, only very briefly. Getting on to the train was as hectic as expected and we saw more white people in one session than I've seen since I got off the plane. When we finally got to our seats it was quite heavenly. We were both still very ill from the night before and, to all intents and purposes, it still was the night before. The train left at 6 am. It was very comfortable and the sun was rising throughout the  journey, with India flashing past on each side. We were given free bottles of water, a newspaper, and then a whole meal with tea - which I think isn't half bad for 4 quid each!

When we arrived our house took us straight to our hotel which was a million times better than Hare Krishna, and told us we weren't to pay for anything. We weren't staying at his because his friends had been over the week before and had thrown up so much in the bath that it was still blocked. Nutty West Bengalis! We had a little rest then he took us to Fatehpur Sikri, a city built by Akbar just outside his capital city. It took a while to get there but there were lots of crazy traffic experiences on the way and the site itself was definitely worth it! So many palaces for so many wives!

Our host Sabya (in the camo) getting ready to pay for us to get in. The guy in front was a nice New Yorkian that was travelling alone. He had a 10 year visa!

"The old women I don't mind but the kids are all scoundrels."

The tomb of an Islamic saint. A place of pilgrimage.

Hives on the ceiling of the biggest arch in India

Crazy multi-directional traffic in Old Agra