Delhi surprise

Everyone had said how horrible Delhi was, and we had decided not to visit and go straight to Varanasi. The great super highway of life had a different plan though and one grim day we found ourselves there, dazed and confused, but pleasantly surprised!

The city itself is actually quite decent. Modern amenities and some pretty good shops. Lots of hassle as usual which wasn't made any easier by the fact that we were both feeling awful and very tired. Still we dragged ourselves out and had two days worth of shopping (which definitely wasn't enough!).

One morning we woke up and made a monumental decision which could alter the rest of our lives and maybe even the space time continuum (or something like that) ......

Exceeds expectation

They call the Taj Mahal the greatest monument to love in the world. We have been disappointed with most things in India, but when we saw the Taj for the first time we definitely weren't disappointed. It cost the equivalent of US$ 300 million in today's money to build and is worth every cent. We crossed the river yesterday and saw the Taj from the back - no tourists and great light. Today we will visit the red fort and 'little' Taj' and tomorrow go and walk round the Taj Mahal.

Agra is a poor city - one of the poorest we have seen. We wondered where the money (ten pounds for tourists) goes to - definitely not the people.

There a few other sights to see in Agra including the Fort and a few old churches. The Red Fort was impressive, but we'd seen so many by this time that it was just another big, red, old, building! The weather has become more stifling and the heat oppressive.