Out of bed by 4.45am this moring! That's right, the middle of the night! Left the room about 5.30am and woke the manager (he was only sleeping behind the counter, didn't actually get himout of bed!) to check out of Hotel Smyle, before our most peaceful walk down Main Bazar! It was still dark and all the shops and market stalls were shut (good for Sarah's lack of will-power - she'd been eyeing up a pashmina!) and we only got asked for a rickshaw ride about twice - about 1/20th of the usual amount!

We arrived at Delhi train statin at about 5.50am, which was as chaotic as the previous evening. We got through 'security' with no problems and straight onto the train, where Laura's 'Safe Travel' bracelet snapped (hope this isn't a bad omen!?!). We left the station shortly after 6.15am. After the horror stories and rummours of the state of the trains, etc, we were rather impressed - they were comfortable, spacious and we felt quite safe. We were also given coffee, buscuits and a small hot meal (potatoe and veg croquettes and a few fries)!

We pulled into Agra Cantt station approx 8.45am. After attempting to use a phone in the empty international tourist office and being conned into using a phone by a guy in a booth (which he made us pay for even though we couldn't get through to our hotel), we braved it out of the station, where we were instantly mobbed and followed by a group of Indian men telling us to use various taxies. We found our own auto-rickshaw, Sultan, our driver, tried to coax us into a tour of the city, but we already knew Agra Fort was the only other place worth seeing, bar the Taj Mahal, obviously (!), so we kindly denied his offer, which he was not too pleased about (he even showed us his customer comment book in an attempt to impress us!). Sultan got us to Hotel Sidhartha quick and safely, we checked in and headed straight out towards Agra Fort.

The 2km walk was the most peaceful we've had in India, so far, as there is a motorised restriction within a certain distance of the Taj Mahal. En route, along the road surrounded by woodland, we saw donkie, cows, camels and horse-drawn carriages with painfully thin horses.

We found the entrance to Agra Fort easily and paid the 250 Rupees entrance fee. The fort is a huge complex with gardens and labyrinth of worship rooms, beautiful white marballed rooms, various hallways, passages and other red sandstoned rooms, all decorated with beautiful intricate carvings. The views over to the Taj would have been spectacular, had it not been for the thick layer of smog coating the skies.

On our way round, we were acosted by three young Indian men, who wanted their photos taken with us. Before we realised the first guy took Sarah's hand for another photo, which made her feel much more uncomfortable! The other two approached her for the same but we said no and made a swift exit, only to be approached by more men outside, whilst relaxing on a bench in the gardens. Could you imagine if it was the other way around back at home!? We wouldn't mind so much if we were actually famous and had the pay packet to match!!

Due to the amount of hassel, we left sharpish, after our last group of fans. We took a rickshaw to the bus station to make sure we could leave Agra for Jaipur tomorrow. We got times and costs and made our way back to Taj Ganj, where we had a walk around the area and found Sheela's, a nice, chilled looking hotel and restaurant, for a bite and some refreshments (spinach and potatoe curry for Laura, egg curry for Sarah with chapatis to mop up).

After a brief stop in a shop where we got postcards and free Taj Mahal snowstorm keyrings (because the young lad liked our eyes!) and a chat with the couple we stumbled upon from the train journey, we made our way back to the hotel for a chill out. Another early start tomorrow to see the Taj at sunrise.