Day 8 - Mini Taj, Agra Fort and Stage Show

The day started with a lie in! We all had an extra hour in bed then headed down to breakfast. We had a lovely breakfast then headed out on our bus tour of Agra. It had rained hard all night and this continued throughout the day but this didnt stop us as we are hard core brits we used our array of brollies! The locals set off late to work today because it was raining! We are all going to try this excuse at work next week.

We went towards the Mini Taj but on the way we saw an alley where the monkeys met as they were often fed.

We walked up towards the Baby Taj. This was a spectacular building made of marble. When we walked towards it we could see the beautiful grounds, the symmetrical building and the range of wild life. The monkeys were playing in the gardens, swinging from the trees and splashing in the water. The parrots were very green swooped around the Taj.

The baby Taj was a copy of the real Taj Mahal but on a much smaller scale. Now we have seen this we are very excited about going to the real Taj tomorrow. We all enjoyed this trip as it was quiet around the baby Taj as there were not many locals visiting the area.

We then headed to the Agra fort. The army were behind the fort and the soldiers were looking over at us. The fort was huge and a spectacular site to go to visit. From a balcony inside the fort we had a look at the largest mosque and a glimpse of the Taj Mahal. In the fort we used our brolly as a shield from the local paparatzzi!

The next stop was the marble factory. We watched a video showing how marble was mined, prepared and delivered to the factory. Whilst sat in a very small and dark room we had a power cut! We then went to the factory to watch some workers chiseling the marble and shaping the gem stone. This was a demonstration of how the marble was created for the Taj Mahal. We could then browse the shop and look at the marble pieces. Our tour guide, Shiraz, realised it was Beth's birthday and bought her a marble keyring as a present.

We then headed to a restaurant to eat a delicious lunch. There was some street sellers outside the restaurant selling magic item. We had an impromtu magic show which would give Paul Daniels a run for his money! He looked very disappointed when we didn't buy anything.

The afternoon was ours to relax. At 5:50 we met to go to a show. This was the Agra Light and Sound show. We all had a headset to listen to the show in english. The show was 'interesting' it was strictly mets bollywood in a primary school end of year production! This show told the story of the history of the Taj Mahal. Even Widdow Twanky made a guest apperance.

Early start tomorrow for the Taj Mahal

Night all.