Agra - Part 1 (The Sites)

We were told by everyone that India was difficult to travel in but we (or at least I) didn't really believe them. We were planning on leaving Jaipur the same day we arrived on an overnight train to Agra. It would have got us there in the morning and saved time - perfect! Of course, after about a half an hour of finding the ticket booth at the train station and an hour of waiting in line (crowded with people cutting in line, a very common thing to do in India), we found out the train was full and spent the night in Jaipur. We booked into a hotel, ate dinner and drank a bit of rum with a couple of Canadians (believe or not, the only Canadian travelers we ran into all trip). The next day we got the train and were in Agra by mid-afternoon.

This is the rooftop of our hotel. The first day we just chilled out. Look at that view! How many times have you seen this shot? Finally seeing it in person is really something. We went to the Taj Mahal early in the morning. As you can see, there were some people there but it wasn't really too crowded.
I must have taken about seventy shot of the Taj Mahal. It is truly one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. I knew beforehand that it was a mausoleum built by some emperor for his wife that had died. Lovely story. What I didn't know, is that the guy had three wives in total. There were two other little mausoleums on the grounds in memorial of them. To some people, this fact might make the love story of the Taj Mahal kind of bogus, but to me, I think it makes it a little better. If you are an emperor, you might as well enjoy yourself.This is called the Itimad-Ud-Daulah, nicknamed the Baby Taj. It's certainly nice but after the real Taj, it's just another building.

This is Agra Fort. I think it was many things in the past (including a military fort) but apparently it was a jail too and the emperor who built the Taj Mahal ended up there (his son threw him in there when he seized power from him).

Inside Agra Fort.

Here's the Taj Mahal at night. We walked down to the river to check out the backside of it. As you can see there are spotlights and fences all around it. What you can't see are four soldiers with machine guns on guard (actually you will see them...next post).