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Our final stop with LAlit was Agra for 2 days. We arrived in the afternoon and after checking into the hotel we headed to the Itimad-Ud-Daulah or Baby Taj. This was built by the Mumtaz Mahal's grandfather and was the template for her own tomb, the Taj Mahal. The Baby Taj is smaller than the Taj Mahal, as the name implies but what it lacks in scale it makes up for in intricate detail. To end our firsty day in Agra we drove down to a viewing point on the opposite side of the river to the Taj MAhal and watched the sun set over it whilst it glowed orange in the evening sun.
The following day we went to see the Taj properly and much to our luck saved the entrance fee of 1500 rupees (about 20 quid) as it was national heritage day in India. All monuments are free on this one day and a week later all taxi drivers get free parking too. The Taj Mahal is amazing the view from the main gate down through the gardens is more impressive than any photo's we'd seen of it. We walked through the gardens and arrived at the Taj Mahal plinth. Following the droves of tourists up to the building and joining the enormous queue we waited for a look inside. To be honest the inside is not as breath taking as the exterior and the magic is ruined moreso with guards rushing you through and blowing whistles every 10 seconds when someone tries to take a picture. The experience was made even stranger when we got outside the Taj Mahal and an Indian guy thrust his baby into Heather's arms to take a picture.
After all the Taj madness we visited Agra fort where we took our time chilling in the gardens in preparation for the 10 hour overnight train journey to Varanasi...
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