Day 68 (Wed 13 Sep) - Delhi / Agra

We stopped for breakfast at about 6.30am. Not surprisingly the bus was running very late; we should have been in Delhi for 7am but instead we were nowhere near.

We finally drove into Delhi at 9.30am. As we drove in we passed a very polluted river. It was disgusting and very worrying to see people and animals washing in it.

When we arrived at the bus station we were mobbed by the usual rickshaw drivers but we pretty tired after our 18 hour coach journey so we were in no mood for their scams. We thought we'd found an autorickshaw driver who didn't speak English, well that was what he said, and we thought he wouldn't try to take us to his brothers shop or uncles restaurant on the way. However he quickly learnt English during our trip and tried to convince us that there were no more trains to Agra today but luckily we could stay in this hotel he knew. He was pretty persistent but finally took us to the train station where we were able to book on the 12.50 train to Agra!

As we sat waiting for the train we struggled to keep cool. We had got used to the pleasant temperatures of the north but now we had to get used to hot weather again. Jo luckily had her trusted hand fan which helped a bit.

We got to the platform in plenty of time but there was the usual confusion as to whether we were on the right platform. A train arrived and we just dived on and found our seats.

As we drew out of Delhi we witnessed some pretty disturbing and upsetting sights. People seemed to be living in huts amongst rubbish and animals we just sitting stunned in filthy water. It is probably the poorest area we have been through.

We arrived in Agra just after 4.30pm and were very surprised to see a chap standing on the platform holding a sign with Sarb's name on it. We'd booked a room at the Shanti Lodge a coupe of days previous and because we were not too sure what time we would arrive, we declined their kind offer of a pick up. Clearly this was lost in the translation as this poor chap had been waiting for us for some 3 hours.

Anyway we boarded his rickshaw and set off towards Agra old town. As we left the train station the auto rickshaw didn't sound very healthy and it finally broke down at the traffic lights. We had to laugh as we sat waiting for the chap to try and fix his rickshaw. He finally gave up and flagged down a fellow rickshaw driver who promptly turfed out his passengers and told us to get in. Who were we to argue.

We finally arrived at Shanti Lodge where Jo decided to check out the rooms. She wasn't very impressed as they were filthy but then remembered the reason they were staying at this delightful place was because it was meant to have a roof top restaurant with stunning views of the Taj Mahal. We checked in, dumped our bags and headed up to the roof top to catch our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal before sunset.

When we reached the roof we were expecting to see the Taj Mahal in the distance but we had a really amazing view. We were so close. Of all the other hotels with rooftop views it looked as though we had bagged the best one. The Taj Mahal was stunning - it seemed to glow in the early evening light. It was a lot more beautiful and imposing then either of us had imagined it would be. We sat mesmerised by it as the sun set. Even when it was dark we could see it's silhouette against the sky.

We had a bite to eat, Sarb decided to take an arty nighttime photo from the rooftop, and then headed back to our room to bed. Jo slept in her sleeping bag liner but Sarb braved the bedding.