India Day 2 - Agra

We got up in order to leave the hotel at 5am to catch a 6:40am train from the station. It was so quiet in the streets, and we were shocked to realize there were cows grazing in the middle of the road! We took tuktuks to the train station (tuktukwalla I think is the full name? They are smaller than smart cars and seat 2-4, although we've seen some with at least 10 Indians shoved in there). They piled all our luggage on top of the tuktuks and slammed on the gas. I was worried our bags would go rolling off as they screeched around the corners but luckily we all arrived with all our possessions! The train station was filled with sleeping homeless people - it was quite sad. Also we noticed all the Indians were carrying their rolly-luggage on their heads, often stacked 2-3 items deep. Crazy!!!

Our train arrived on time and we had assigned seats so we were off to a good start. Apparently our tickets included a meal and bottle of water, and the ride was only 2-3 hours so we didn't have to find out how the washrooms compared with Italian trains (where it's just a hole and you pee directly onto the tracks).

When we left the train station in Agra we were accosted by hordes of Indians, some of whom were being held back by security guards with sticks. There were small children asking for money, and a little girl who must have been 3 carrying a baby. We were told to just say no, keep our hands in our pockets and just walk.

We checked into our hotel and went out for some adventuring - first the Red Fort (it's huge, it's mostly red, except the marble sections) and then the Taj Mahal (it's also huge, there are swarms of people, and it's just a really really really big tomb for a beloved wife. Must have been some wife!

We went to the same restaurant for lunch and dinner and it was really great Indian food. Except for a strange Korma with random fruit in it. Won't be making that mistake again!