Hello from Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.

My last day in Dharamsala was nice. I walked to Dharamkot which is a short but steep walk uphill and had a nice lunch on a patio overlooking the valley. The drive to Pathankot was much faster than the drive in four days ago and it was nice to see more of the countryside and smaller towns.

I had several hours to kill in Pathankot and that was difficult because there is not much to do there. One of my guidebooks doesn't even mention the town and the other has only 1 paragraph. I did have an enjoyable dinner and I finished reading my book. I spent the last two hours in the First Class Women's waiting lounge with a couple of families, another western traveler (who slept the entire time) and at least one mouse (maybe two, not sure if he was just fast or there were two of them). It was interesting to observe the women in the waiting room. The culture in India makes the women very communal and close knit.

The train ride was comfortable and pleasant again. I highly recommend the air conditioned sleeper cars if you are traveling in India.

I arrived in Agra around 2pm. The city is smoggy and smells like smoke everywhere and except for the monuments doesn't seem to have anything remarkable to distinguish it from the other towns I"ve been in or through in India. The vendors are equally persistent, the men equally rude, and the air quality very bad.

 My hotel is great though. Its a Hilton with a pool and airconditioning and a great restaurant. The lunch buffet was excellent and the afternoon by the pool was exactly what I needed to refresh myself.

Then I headed out and walked to the area around the Taj Mahal. I had heard the Taj was beautiful at sunset so I went to a rooftop restaurant and had a great view of the Taj. The smoky sk may have interferred but I didn't see the Taj turn different colors as they said it would. But it was a nice view and now I know where I'm going tomorrow. I'm going to try to be there when the gate open at 6am so I better get to bed soon! I"ll tell you all about it tomorrow.