We departed Delhi before sunrise for our first experience of the famous Indian railway Agra bound. With Imodium by new best friend I fought the need to try the Indian long drop toilets on the train and instead pebble dashed at our hotel for the night.

We begin our tour at Agra Fort where the Mughal Emporer Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal was imprisoned by his own son. It is a beautiful palace with rooms of white marble inlaid with precious stones that are blinding when the sun shines and views of the river and Taj Mahal.

We arrived at the Taj Mahal in the great heat of the afternoon and our guide, clearly feeling sorry for the wet and pink gingers in the group, took us in to the shade and told us the romantic story of the favourite wife and how the Taj came to be built. We were then free to explore the grounds with the many thousands of other visitors, the gardens are kept immaculate in comparison to the world outside. To some of the Indian visitors there that day we too became tourist attractions and were constantly being photographed, our pictures now adorn mantle pieces throughout India! The place is beautiful and rightfully considered to be a wonder of the world, the large grounds and setting on the banks of the river create a timeless setting.