2 October, Agra

Is it wrong not to have the will to get up at a cruel hour to see one of Wonders of the World? I asked myself this question as I snoozed my alarm at 5.30am this morning. Finally, convinced that the Taj Mahal will be here tomorrow like it has been hundreds of years I slept until 9am. I shall not be shamed. (At least Barbara will have sympathy, wont you Barbs?)

Anyway, we arrived in Agra yesterday and settled into the Tourist Rest House (Rs400/£5), a very popular place with the Lonely Planet crowd. Not surprising the rooms are very clean, well- ventilated and overlook a court yard cafe where regular Indian fare plus some Chinese and continental food is offered.

We had a huge nap and had dinner on one of the rooftop restaurants that overlook the Taj Mahal. Some pics of the view and surrounding streets attached..

I’ll definitely go early tomorrow morning to catch the Taj at its earlier, before the crowds. I am going on my own. Wouter is firstly not much interested in seeing it up close (that’s worse than not wanting to wake up for it, is it not?) and he thinks its a rip-off. Rs750 – nearly ten pounds for westerners to go in, compared with Rs20 for locals. On one hand I figure we pay nearly 38 times more because we probably have 38 times more spending power than most Indians. On the other hand, our travel budget is only £10 per day per person, so it is expensive. Plus we're unemployed! ;-)

Will write more once I’ve been there and I have more pictures.