I have had THE MOST INCREDIBLE DAY. After only three hours sleep (because of course our early night was called off when Nathan suggested drinks at My Bar - I knew that would happen!) we got up at 5am to catch the 6:14am Bhopal Shatabdi train from New Delhi station to Agra. I've been on trains before in India but they've always been a) 11 hours long and b) downright awful so this quick 2 hour journey complete with a lovely breakfast as standard was a lovely surprise. We even arrived on time which NEVER HAPPENS. We found ourselves a rickshaw driver, Hamed, a lovely man who agreed to drive us around all day and set off for the Taj Mahal, arriving just before 9am. Despite being advised against 'hiring' a guide (anyone who's read Slumdog Millionaire will understand why!) a young guy named Hasan was so persistent that eventually we somehow said yes instead of no. It didn't take long for us to realise he was an absolute asset to the tour though. Men and women have to queue separately (and just like toilets the ladies line is always longer) but he grabbed me and brought me to the front of the queue, pushing me in front of around 30 very confused looking women but we appeared to get away with it. We then realised just how knowledgeable he actually was when it came to the Taj Mahal. He was born just outside the grounds of the Taj and played in the waters and on the lawns within the grounds of the Taj when he was a child. He literally lives and breathes the Taj Mahal every day and you could see on his face and from his tone when he talks about it that he considers it to be home.

I couldn't possibly start talking about all the historical detail he gave us about the Taj - it was like being in a three hour lecture that was constantly fascinating. My first glance at the Taj was through the west gate but as you're approaching the gate you really have no definite idea what's waiting for you on the other side of that entrance. Now I know that the majority of you are aware that I'm a total cry baby (you don't get a nickname like TC - Town Crier without being a total wuss. Thanks again for that Rodge) but when I walked through that gateway and saw the Taj in its' glorious entirety my breath literally caught in my throat, my eyes welled up and I was speechless for a few minutes. It really is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Dad and Nathan (who have both previously visited the Taj) were talking on the previous night about how no photograph has ever done justice to the Taj Mahal and that although it is an image that you can immediately conjure in your mind, it cannot be compared to when you stand looking at it for the first time. It is simply magnificent. From that distance it almost looked like a mirage, the absolute symmetry, clean lines of crisp white marble against the hazy morning sky - it was completely overwhelming.

Hasan's incredible commentary of what we were looking at was intermittently interrupted by him arranging us for photographs in various spots along the way. These included the typical shots seated with the Taj in the background mixed with silly ones with us looking as if we're holding the Taj with the tips of our fingers. It was at this point that various strangers began asking for photos with me and dad. I soon learned that saying yes to one person with a camera meant agreeing to have photos taken with a hundred other people! Hasan joked that they possibly thought I was some kind of celebrity (hilarious) but I honestly have no idea why we were singled out. Aside from tourists, tour guides and heavily armed police officers, the grounds of the Taj are also home to lots of dogs, birds and even some monkeys - one of which I quickly ran away from after photographing it when he ran at me with a pretty scary look on his face! They're bigger than dogs out here (ok so I mean bigger than my little Chihuahua dogs but they're still pretty big!). It really does seem like a kind of paradise within those walls and there's magic all over the place, from the dumbfounded looks on people's faces when they first arrive to the optical illusions that are scattered all over the site. Floor tiles that change shape before your eyes the further away you look at them; clever architecture gives the illusion of features doing things they absolutely are not, making the Taj 'chase' you in one of the alcoves of the Royal Guest House. I'm sure none of that makes any sense but it really was incredible! The craftsmanship that has gone into the Taj being built (which took 22 years in total) is absolutely staggering. The walls are filled with precious and semi precious stones, the carvings are so intricate, every detail on every wall of every surface of the Taj has been painstakingly planned, designed, hand crafted and polished to leave you wondering how on earth they managed to do it. If you look closely (and by look closely I really mean have Hasan the guide point it out to you!) you can see the signatures of the architects and various craftsmen all over the grounds - it really bring a personal element to it, like you're being let in on a secret. So many people helped to create such a beautiful thing and their work will be there as long as the Taj is.

Leaving the Taj was almost an impossible thing to do. I kept turning around for one last look and only stopped when I realised it would not be the last time I visited this incredible place. I could honestly go again tomorrow. We said our goodbyes to Hasan after visiting a marble shop just outside the Taj where they kindly showed us how the intricate precious stone marble work was done - it's the most incredible process. Some pieces literally take years to complete and it's all done by hand. They even gave me a bindi made of lapis lazuli, a semi precious stone that is used in abundance all over the Taj Mahal.

A lunch in the garden of a restaurant (we asked if we could eat outside thinking there were tables out there - it turned out there weren't so they built us one!) was followed by a visit to the Agra Fort. The sheer vastness of this fortress cannot really be seen all in one go - the compound stretches for around two and a half kilometres, reaches a height of over twenty metres and it's all built from a striking red sandstone which makes it all the more impressive on first witnessing it. We found ourselves another guide, Kamal Kana, whose enthusiasm was matched only by his knowledge of the Agra Fort. He explained with great fervour that enemies were welcomed by a moat filled with crocodiles, a second (dry) moat filled with tigers and then a winding driveway (this is only if they get past all that first!) up to the main fortress that allowed the occupying army to pour burning oil through holes in the wall and throw large boulders down the hill to meet the unsuspecting enemy. The Agra Fort is by no means as beautiful as the Taj but the two cannot really be compared as they serve entirely different purposes. Whilst being a lot simpler than the Taj however, the stonework of the Agra Fort in equally as spectacular. The stories Kamal told us of life in the fort when it was originally built (incidentally it took around 95 years to complete the fort, four generations) included tales of the Muslim King having his own vineyards within the walls as he loved wine so much and another of a cannon ball being fired into a courtyard from a nearby bridge, cracking the King's seat into two and bouncing off the wall - I took pictures of the consequences of this failed attempt to destroy part of the fort. As we descended the steps into the northeast corner we came upon the Shish Mahal - the Glass Palace. What happened next is possibly the greatest moment of any trip I've ever been on. My rough guide to India, page 256, states the following:

"The Shish Mahal (Glass Palace), where royal women bathed in the soft lamplight reflected from the mirror-work mosaics that covered the walls and ceiling; unfortunately the building is currently locked, so you can only peek in through the windows."

Peek through we did and it was explained to us that it was completely closed to the public and had been for a while. Only VIP guests were ever allowed to enter, Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni being the last to gain entry to it. Kamal however, half joking and half seriously (although at this point I genuinely thought he was messing around) approached a very serious looking guard, suggested that I was some kind of famous actress from England and that we should absolutely be allowed entry discreetly and that we'd be happy to pay a little for the privilege. After some initial confusion we realised that he had in fact pulled it off and we had to hide around a corner until the groups of 'window peekers' subsided so we could slip in unnoticed. Once inside, with only two small candles lighting the way, Kamal and the guard took us through the three hidden rooms within used for royal women to bathe - the cold water room, hot water room and massage room. I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it in my life. The walls and ceilings are covered entirely in a mosaic of mirrors and with every movement of the candles, waves of light rolled out across the otherwise pitch black room. I managed to take some photographs which clearly show the detail of the walls (flash helped) but the other photos and a video I managed to record really show just how it looked when we were inside in the pitch black and shows the beautiful thing we were inexplicably able to witness. The effect of the candle light on the walls (and even our own shadows when standing in the right places) was like nothing I've ever seen before and the whole time I was keenly aware that we were in a section of the fort that is totally sealed off from the public, witnessing something that literally no-one else is lucky enough to see. Mind blowing doesn't even cover it. Sneaking out of a smaller door in the third room was much more difficult that sneaking in. The guard literally had to wait until the coast was reasonably clear and then Kamal, dad and myself were pushed through the doors and appeared as if by magic in the far corner of a courtyard. A few tourists definitely did a double take but I think we just about got away with it!

Our next encounter within the fort involved a group of chipmunks that some Indian tourists were feeding. Kamal marched straight over to them, demanded some ground up biscuits on my behalf and before I knew what was happening he'd coaxed a chipmunk over and onto my hand. They honestly are the cutest creatures, I don't think I've ever seen one up close before and despite the crowd that gathered he stayed happily munching in my hand long enough for dad to take about thirty photos of me with a look on my face of total shock and awe.

We said our goodbyes to Kamal and thanked him for a truly incredible and unforgettable visit. I'm still not sure I didn't imagine the whole thing! We ended our Agra day trip with visits to the baby Taj and the gardens on the opposite side of the river to the Taj Mahal itself. Both places were incredibly peaceful, lacking in hoards of tourists and provided a much needed calmer environment to take in all the wonderful things we'd seen today. We watched two youg boys diving into the river (which we both agreed didn't look sanitary AT ALL but they seemed to be enjoying themselves!) and ended the day watching the sun set over the Taj from across the river. That image is now imprinted on my mind and I smile every time I think of it.

We're now on the Taj Express back to Delhi, arriving into Hazerat Nizamuddin at 10pm. After having my first dosa this India trip (yummy food) and writing all of this I'm completely exhausted and ready for a decent night's sleep before it starts all over again with another day in Delhi tomorrow.

BEST DAY EVER.