From Varanasi, we headed to Agra. Robin had an awful train journey, and wasn't feeling very well when we arrived at our hotel in the morning. We checked into our hotel, found some breakfast and rested for a while, before we got a tuk tuk driver to take us around the sites.
We first saw Itmad-Ud-Daulah AKA the "Baby Taj Mahal", which is an impressive marble mausoleum, which holds the bodies of a few people, including Mumtaz Mahal's parents. Going here first got us quite excited for the Taj Mahal, because the marble carvings were so impressive, even on the smaller scale. We went to a few smaller, less impressive mausoleums and temples, and then arrived at the river bank opposite the Taj Mahal for sunset. We stood at the site where there was meant to be a second Taj Mahal , made entirely of black marble. The foundations were made, and it would have been perfectly symmetrical, and line up perfectly with the white Taj. Unfortunately, it was never completed, because I can only imagine how spectacular they would have looked!
The next morning we woke up way too early and headed to the Taj Mahal for sunrise. The tuk tuk driver had told us that it is super impressive, and there are fewer people at that time, so we headed off. Turns out the Taj only opens the gates at sunrise. Luckily he was right about the crowds though, it was a lot less busy than I expected. We also got an unexpected surprise. Turns out that it was World Heritage Day when we went, so it was free entry for us!! Score!! We headed through security, and went through the gates, and the first thing I thought was, "Wow, I would have paid for this". There is a reason people flock to see the Taj Mahal. It is AMAZING! It is absolutely humungous, perfectly symmetrical, beautifully carved, and awe-inspiring! We were taken aback by it!
After the Taj, we headed to the Agra Fort (also free entry yay!). It was huge, with a mixture of sandstone and marble. It is about 2km from the Taj Mahal, and sits on a hilltop, so there is a beautiful view from the marble balconies (unfortunately it was too smoggy to get a clear picture from here, and judging by what we have seen in India so far, I think the smog may be a permanent fixture).
After we had seen the fort, we were supposed to go around the town and see a few other things, but Robin was feeling horrible, so we headed back to our hotel and had a sleep, before heading to the train station that night to catch our train to Jaipur.
