I couldn't come to India and not take this photograph, could I? And yes it is just as impressive in the flesh (or should I say marble). Not much more I can say really. I am on a flying visit only to Agra, sandwiching it between two sleeper trains, so tomorrow I will wake up in Rajasthan.

There are other attractions here, such as Agra Fort, which I visited this afternoon. It's a huge fort, but suffered a lot of damage at the hands of the British when they turned it into barracks in the 1800s. It is where the architect of the Taj Mahal (Shah Jahan) spent the last six years of his life imprisoned in a tower from where he could only see his creation from a distance. When he died, his body was moved into the mausoleum next to his wife Mumtaz for whom the Tay Mahal was built of course.

I've been advised by several people not to actually spend the night in Agra, hence the quick visit. The rats scurrying around my feet on the railway platform this morning confirmed that this was wise advice!