Had planned to visit Jaipur for the weekend, but both myself and Rich were violently struck down with the dreaded Delhi belly!!!! So that pretty much put pay to that. Spent all day yesterday feeling pretty awful and just lazed around the appartment all day!!!! Feeling a bit better today (not much mind you), we ventured off to Agra and the majestic Taj Mahal. Had hoped to catch a bit of sleep on the 3.5 hour drive, but Pawan's overenthusiastic horn-honking destroyed all hopes of that happening!!!! Every time he over/under took another car off it went, and not just a short sharp blast either, but a gert long one!!!! Really started to get to me after a while, but it's the norm out here!!! And he drives quite fast too, so we were passing cars all the time!!!! Anyway, we arrived at Taj Mahal at 12 noon, only to find that it's closed 'til 2 'cos of a VIP visit from the PM of New Zealand!!! We thought we'd try Agra Fort in the meantime, but that was closed 'til 2 also. So Pawan took us to an air-conditioned hotel to cool down and grab some much need ed refreshment!!! Today has been the hottest day so far!! When we finally got in, past the fighting crowds, our guide taking us through dodgy back streets and dark stairways, pushing us to the front of the queue and persuading the armed guards to let us push in, we were amazed at this stunning building. You see it through the archway of the West Gate and you can't take your eyes off it as you walk through!!!!! Our guide (unofficail of course) did us proud. We were in within minutes, not the hours it might have taken if we had queued properly. The crowds were huge. Not only had it been closed all morning, but it was also a Sunday!!!!! Our guide took us round showing us all the best spots to take photos from and again pushed us to the front of a very long queue to go inside the Taj itself to view the replica Tombs - the originals are on the lower level and not open to the public. And because it was so busy the rooms around the Tombs were open to allow an alternative exit point. Apparently this is rarely done - this was Rich's 8th visit and first time he's done it!!!!! A few more photo opportunities follow, before our guide takes us to his families souvenier shop where we get the hard sell. We walk off paying our guide. We agreed Rs 100 at the onset, but he asks for Rs 475. We give him Rs 200. Afterall he did do well. We had run out of time and didn't get to Agra Fort, which was a shame. But nevermind seeing the Taj Mahal more than made up for it.