You can't visit India and not take a trip out to the Taj Mahal, so being the sheep I am I chose to do just that. The plan was to take a taxi to Noida then meet up with a friend Harish who'd then join me, and drive me down to Agra.
Early on in the trip I decided that the manic driving patterns were actually a safer way to drive. Delhi changed my mind with crashes occurring all over the place such as a truck knocking down one of the few traffic lights in the city. Our driver commented that the pressure of driving to a deadline meant that a lot of the truck drivers take drugs...whether that is true or not I don't know. Caffeine I could understand.
This is part of the city's metro construction where they're building a line that circles the centre of the city.
Drivers who have their car based in Delhi have to collect some paperwork to enter Noida. I'm not sure why that is or what the paperwork is so don't be too surprised if your driver does this.
Whilst that was going on, I just took pictures of some wild dogs.
After a 90 minute drive down a very empty toll road we arrived in Agra where on parking the car we were mobbed with locals offering to be our tour guide. We hadn't ordered an official one so agreed a 200 rupee rate with a random one. This is a real gamble but I think we did OK. Tour guides must carry an official tour guide card. Check it thoroughly.
Our guide got us through the ticket gate nice and quickly, but you need to be aware of what you're allowed to take into the park. Cameras, water, wallets and phones were fine. A stuffed marmoset toy hanging from my bag was not. Our guide had to run and take that to a locker.
This is the main gate into the Taj Mahal and would be stunning on its own. The fact it's just the gate you walk through is bizarre. Our guide kept using the phrases "optical illusion" and "symmetry" to describe everything.
Walking through the gate towards the Taj.
Obligatory "standing in front of the Taj Mahal" photo only I decided to intentionally block it. I also avoided doing the finger on the roof thing that a few tourists felt obliged to do. Our tour guide seemed quite relieved that I wasn't up for that.
I knew the Taj would be big but its only when you get there that you really just how immense a structure it is.
The building is a massive mausoleum that a ruler Shah Jahan built for his third wife. I have no idea what he had built for the previous two but I'd guess this was his favourite wife.
Across the river is the foundations to what we're told was intended to be a second black Taj Mahal building which didn't get to happen due to Shah Jahan being put under house arrest within the Agra Fort. This may be a myth however.
Truly stunning, and well worthy of being one of the new seven wonders of the world.
This was the queue when we left which was way longer than when we arrived. Clearly it makes sense to get there early. Our guide collected the stuff toy and walked us back to our car before we headed off for lunch and then the Agra Fort.
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