Day 2- Don’t look the moneys in the eyes

An early train this morning meant a 5:30 wake up call. Feeling very groggy and tired we caught the train from Delhi to Agra. The train was pretty comfortable and actually on time! Due to the nippy morning even my bobble hat got some use!

On the train we were served a breakfast which consisted of a biscuit, some vegetable croquet (we didn’t know the name of these however this is as similar as it gets back home). We also got some bread and lemon juice. It was basic but it filled the hole.

The first stop in Agra was the Agra Fort. This was built in the late 1500s and is pretty substantial in size coming in at around 94 acres. The fort has been home to many emperors until 1638 when the capital of India moved from Agra to Delhi. It is absolutely beautiful with loads of detailed carvings and incredible architecture. It also had some pretty superb views of the Taj Mahal.

We even spotted a monkey too! We were told under no circumstances to look them in the eyes otherwise they will attack. Doesn’t stop them being adorable!

After this I took a tuk tuk to go and visit a church which has particular significance to me. It turns out that my great great grandmother was in a convent in the early 1900s. This church is associated with the convent. Behind the church there was a school which taught around 7000 boys and 6000 girls from the surrounding area.

Next up today was a building that really needs no introduction. The gorgeous Taj Mahal. This was commissioned in 1632 and took 22 years to complete. If you look at the picture below there are 11 domes on top of the building. This is replicated on the other side. Adding them both together gets you 22 domes. One for each year it took to build!

The Taj Mahal was commissioned by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife. The legend goes as his wife was dying she asked for three things from her husband;

1. He would never remarry
2. He would look after her family
3. He would build something that demonstrated how much he loved her.

It is wish number three that became the Taj Mahal.

The building itself is stunning with beautiful white marble that reflects in the sunlight. The inside is smaller than I expected and houses the two tombs. One being Shah Jahan and the other being his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Unfortunately it was no pictures inside!

Also, who could forget the Diana bench. This is the bench that Princess Diana sat on when she visited the Taj Mahal in 1992. Of course I had to have a go .

We stayed and watched the sun set over the Taj Mahal which created the most beautiful glow on the building.

Finally we rounded off the day with a good hearty vegetable curry. The dinners so far have been excellent.

Agra fun fact- Agra is the largest manufacturer of shoes in India and the second largest exporter in the world after China.