Confusion, best seller in India.

Friday, October 14, 2016
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
So we got to experience our first train trip in India.
It took us almost an hour to get to the train station, and inevitably double the cost that we were quoted for .
We get to the train station, but now what?, there are 3 stations.
Asking for which station gets us to Agra would have been hilarious, if it wasnt so frustrating.
We asked four different people, got 4 different answers.
Eventually, after going upstairs, downstairs, almost got conned into leaving the area completely by a tout, we found an info counter, and even tho we were supposedly still at the wrong place, he just made out a ticket for us.
Now to wait 2 hours for the train!
Comes the time to board, and its like a rats nest of walkways, and levels, and to find the carriage, the usual story, one guy says this way,the other says that!
Eventually we board, and its not too bad.
The local folk, tourists, are very friendly, and helpful.
We got to Agra, found a tuk tuk, found our GH, right opposite the Taj Mahal.
Its Friday today, and the Taj is closed for prayers,etc.
WE went to the Agra Fort,sadly they omitted to tell us that the temples/forts inside were all closed for renovation, but were quite happy to charge us the full exorbitant fee .
The view of the Taj Mahal from the fort was beautiful.
Sadly Ive lost all my camera photos from the 1st 4 days in India.
Luckily had photos from my cell phone.
The squirrels here are too cute for words.
They have stripes on their backs, and are half the size of our squirrels.
The following morning we were up early to go see the Taj Mahal.
Queues of 100s of folk, security checks, etc to get in.
Wow, what a beautiful temple.
I was a little tearful to think that this man loved his wife so much that he built her such a beautiful temple.
After seeing the main sites, I walked away from the crowds, down the side walkways of the impeccable grounds, and found total peace.
Many, many trees and unusual birds,raptor birds,old architecture.
The bird calls made me feel like I was in a jungle.



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