Agra, Uttar Pradesh

From Udaipur we took an overnight train to Agra, home of what is widely considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world - the Taj Mahal.  

The train ride was thirteen hours overnight and we managed to get in a sleeper car. Unfortunately, only one of us was confirmed, the other was the first on the waitlist. That meant we could both board the train but would be sharing a berth for the night unless someone was a no show in our class. That would not make for a pleasant night! When we boarded, we were sorry to see that the bunk we were allocated was the worst possible one for us to share – the upper berth along the side of the train. The roof is curved sharply and we couldn't sit up let alone lie down together. Luckily, an Indian man with a lower bunk, who was also traveling to Agra, agreed to swap with us, so we could at least share a slightly larger berth. At some point after midnight, the conductor came to tell us one berth was free further down the carriage. So, in the end, we managed to have a berth each for at least a portion of the trip and got a few hours rest.

We arrived in Agra somewhat disheveled and very tired, but we were leaving again the following afternoon and the Taj Mahal awaited so we set out immediately to see the sights. The Taj Mahal is as gorgeous as everyone says it is. It was built between 1631 and 1653 as a memorial to the Maharaja's 2nd wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She certainly deserved one after having given birth to fourteen children in the space of nineteen years! The main building is made of a translucent white marble carved with flowers and inlaid with semi-precious stones in beautiful patterns. The translucent nature of the marble means the Taj changes color throughout the day depending on the angle of the sun. Inside the main building, lie the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and her husband who built the memorial (though he wasn't supposed to have been interred there as his tomb ruins the perfect symmetry of the structure).

The buildings around the Taj are also quite stunning and include a Mosque and an identical "rest house" placed directly on either side, and a few impressive gates made of red sandstone.

During our short stop in Agra we also managed to visit the "Baby Taj" as well. The Baby Taj is a memorial to Mumtaz's grandfather and thought to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. Early in the morning the Baby Taj was practically deserted compared with the hordes of people at the Taj.

We also went to the other side of the river to take another look at the Taj Mahal the next morning. Being a Friday, it was closed to non-Muslims so we could get some good photos with no people standing around it!

The other main attraction in Agra is Agra Fort. This was the most impressive fort we have seen in India. Its defenses were quite thorough including a crocodile filled moat (back in its heyday). If you were unlucky enough to try and come through the main gate, the approach was a long slow slope with high walls on either side that allowed the forces inside to rain arrows and roll boulders down on the intruders. Inside the fort, the palace rooms are empty and in some places the inlaid semi-precious stones have been removed from the marble, but it doesn't take much to imagine the beauty of this place in the times of the maharaja.

After the Maharaja built the Taj, he supposedly began planning construction of an identical black memorial across he river for himself. Not wanting to see the realm bankrupted, his son had him arrested, assumed the role of Maharaja, and imprisoned his father in Agra Fort. To add insult to injury, the room where he was imprisoned for the rest of his life had a great view of the Taj:

We had an even better view for our afternoon beer though :)

After our short stop in Agra, we boarded the train again (this time with confirmed seats) for a seventeen-hour ride to Amritsar in the state of Punjab and a look at its famed Golden Temple.