Agra and the Taj Mahal

December 20 Delhi-Agra-Jaipur
Still sans baggage, our strungout quartet boarded the train to Agra at 6 a.m., somethings borrowed, somethings blue. Red sun rising caught Kalli's attention. we avoided the tea an watered down juice -- day 3 in India and all still healthy. Agra, we meet our driver Arif, helpful if somewhat pushy about taking us to his favorite shopping stores. After a day in authentic working Delhi with Nigel, the relentless selling of India begins to wear on us--inlaid marble store, (more on The Marble Salesman later), the gem store, the cloth store. The workers deforming their fingers carving marble is horrific, the contrast to the final intricate beauty surreal.
THE TAJ. i had no idea I could still be impressed by a building. The Taj appears thru the main archway as an object floating in mist. Some fog remained to add the effect of looking through muslin. We clear the arch and there it is and you can't believe it. It sparkles for us, the sky turns blue, it fills up and we leave.

The Red Fort is next. And the fateful story of Shah Jahan, who envisioned, and had built, the Taj