Bharatpur,
India
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
It was then back to a bit more sightseeing and we took a sleeper train to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. The sleeper train was another experience - the toilets were holes straight down onto the tracks and the wind rushed up them! The Taj Mahal is amazing and seems so much bigger than in all the photos we'd seen. It took 22 years to build which doesn't actually seem that long when you see how intricate all the details are. The inside is very ornate and is decorated with inlaid marble pictures all made by local craftsman. We also visited the Red Fort and some more temples and palaces in the nearby town of Fatehpur Sikri. I felt really sorry for guide as we were all knackered after the long train journey and struggled to show much enthusiasm!
It was then on to Bharatpur to have a quick visit to another park. Our guide, Sunil, also invited us to spend the evening with him and his family which was probably one of the highlights for me and Matt. They were all so welcoming and it was really interesting to have a small glimpse of their lifestyle.
