Yesterday we took the train to Agra , the ride on the train seemed ok to start but turned into a nightmare, the seats -not comfortable, the train crowded and on top the fog made us stop every half hour so a trip of four and half hours took six. We spent the night at the Radisson, a western hotel that felt like a palace.
The weather prediction for morning fog was true so no Taj at sunrise. We started the day at the AgrA Fort, a beautiful fort build by the shah Jahan ,it is an Incredible structure , geometric designs.
At noon it was time to see one of the seven marvels of the world , The Taj Mahal. We entered through the east gate, as we got tickets in advance we used the vip line, went through security, only cameras allowed , got water and surgeon slippers to cover our shoes.
We then proceeded to the North gate, which by itself it a work of art with writing from the koran. As we pass through the magnificent of the Taj Mahal appeared . The symmetrical gardens are perfect and the marble white structure with the four towers symbolized the four corners is truly incredable. All skepticism aside , It is an incredible achievement that was build in mid 16 century by shah Jahan as a memorial for his third wife, mum tax mahal who died giving birth to their 14th son, there are stories that his hair fell from sorrow. How interesting it is that “we” create/build momentous buildings for the dead as if to immortalize them.

India is a country of extremes, the Taj is a pure drop in a sea of sorrow , a rich element in a poor place.
So let’s enjoy the beauty and the purity and remember the suffering and the poor.
We returned to Jaipur and this time the train was on time , the seats more comfortable and it only took 4 hours.