Our “escape from India” ended and we returned to the “ambiance” of Delhi and Prem Sagar Guest House where I promptly slipped on the stairs coming out of the bathroom. It could have been a trip-ender, maybe a life-ender, but all I ended up with was a nasty cut on my elbow and a bruised back. And ego.
We splurged on a taxi from Delhi to Agra, yet another dirty, dusty, over-crowded Indian city – this one made famous by the Taj Mahal. Hotels in Agra run from cheap to opulent palaces fit for a maharaja. We are booked into the Crystal Inn, somewhere in the middle with a hazy view of the Taj Mahal from the rooftop restaurant.
Inside Agra Fort
Delhi and Agra both have “Red Forts.” Both are 16th Century World Heritage sites. While Delhi’s Red Fort is a sandstone monument of used-to-be – it used-to-be the seat of Mughal power, it used-to-be surrounded by a moat and it almost was the capital of the Mughal Empire – it is now almost derelict, an embarrassment to the UNESCO program.
Hazy view of the Taj Mahal
The Red Fort, Agra Fort, on the other hand, is fantastic. It is a sandstone and marble maze with something wonderful around every corner; a garden, funky doors, a mosque for the shah’s concubines, inlayed marble. It is also a photographer’s dream in the soft morning sunshine with the Taj Mahal appearing ghostly through the haze.
