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We are taking a few days off to do the tourist thing at the Golden triangle, we flew into New Delhi which had a surprisingly Western feel with well maintained roads and malls. The traffic was horrendous-cars took no notice of lanes and our driver narrowly avoided being hit by cars inches close to him. In between dodging the beggar girl doing cartwheels for money at the traffic lights and the cows strolling into the road, it was quite an experience! We saw all the sights and then drove 5 hours to Agra where we are now.
We were up at 4:30 a.m this morning to be at the Taj Mahal for sunrise at 6:00 a.m. We had envisaged the sun coming up over the Taj but our guide said it was just to avoid the crowds and for the best photos! Walking up to the entrance from the West gate we were surprised to see the locals playing badminton, doing yoga and sitting in he park, all in the dark to avoid the heat of the day!
The Taj Mahal was magnificent, it was handy to have a guide who posed us in all the famous spots and told us things we would never have learned from a book. The Emperor build it for his wife who died in childbirth, he spotted her in the market place when he was 22 and she was 19 and he fell in love. She was just a commoner and went on to give him 14 children (6 survived). On her death bed she was said to ask he never remarry, treat their children all the same and build a monument to remember her by! 22 years, 2,000 craftsmen and a small fortune to build for what is just a mausoleum!
We are having a fab time hanging out with our 2 young Bethel mission leaders- Justine and Katrina. They are full of energy and life which spurs us on! We are off to Jaipur today (another 5 hour drive). Thank goodness for Costa coffee and their Wi Fi! Photos to follow. Ann xx
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