Agra, India

I took a 15 hour train from Varanasi to Agra - the location of the most famous building in the world… the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately Agra is a horrible place and it was surprising that such an ugly and run down city exists within a few meters of the Taj. It was raining on the first day and after visiting Agra Fort, I didn’t have much to do. There wasn’t even a nice place to eat or drink, so I gave in and went to a 5 star hotel on the outskirts of Agra where I spent the rest of the day relaxing on their sofas, watching TV (for the first time in 4 weeks) and drinking expensive chai tea. It was bliss!

Fortunately the next day was dry and I went to the Taj Mahal at 6am before the tour groups arrived. No matter how many times you see pictures, it’s much more impressive in person. It was constructed ~ 350 years ago and made almost entirely of white marble it stands 300ft tall. It’s actually a mausoleum for the Indian Emperors wife who died giving child birth.

After seeing the Taj, I took a one hour bus to another town called Fatheipur Sikrit, which has a vast palace complex and some fascinating ruins.