It had to be done! A classic visit to the Taj Mahal, and it is beautiful! I'm sure every word imaginable has been used to describe how wonderful it is but it seems to float etherealy between earth and sky and doesn't quite seem like it's really there! Later I also visited a workshop where they use the same techniques as those in the original construction with inlaid semiprecious stones in translucent marble, carving each piece by hand and chiselling the marble in intricate patterns - no wonder it took fourteen years to decorate the Taj after just eight to build!

Just had dinner by candlelight in the leafy courtyard where I'm staying (the electricity had cut out!) then off to Jaipur tomorrow bright and early - on the 5.10am train! - travelling for only 87 rupees (1 pound 50) for the five hour trip...althoughthe lack of air-conditioning might prove interesting!