After our flight from Lhasa and meeting up with the rest of our gang, the flight from Kathmandu to Agra, India is an easy two hours. We zip through incoming security and hit the buses to our hotel.

Now, India is a place of mysticism to me. I have always so intrigued by the dichotomy of its beauty and the abject poverty still maintained by their caste system. Our drive through Agra…

And arrival at our hotel only confirmed my thinking…

This hotel, The Oberoi, is the closet allowed to the Taj Mahal, and each room has an incredible and close view of the TM from the balcony…

C and I decide to take a R & R day and lounge about the nicest pool I have seen, happily waited on hand and foot.

An excellent lecture from Jack Daughton on the TM precedes dinner, then all retire for our sunrise photo shoot at the TM. The Taj was built in the 1600’s as a burial monument to the wife of Mughal Shah Jahan. His wife died at 39 having their 14th child. It is constructed entirely of ivory-white marble and is a marvel of construction and one mans love for his wife. (The Shah’s son however did not feel that kind of love for his father, imprisoning him for the last seven years of his life so he could assume his position).

Early the next morning we board electric buses, no machinery with a gas engine of any kind is allowed within a 2 km perimeter of the TM. We stand in line with the others waiting for picture taking and/or religious observations.

We come in through the east gate, then turn right into full view of the Taj Mahal, and I audibly gasp. For the third time in my life I am so taken by a site of immense size, magnitude, and majesty that I live the term “breathtaken”. The other two on that list are the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Niagra Falls.

What is really surprising is the absence of the normal vast hordes of people that visit there every day, and year. They will make there way eventually that day but initially we were treated to some alone time with the mausoleum on this morning.

One could spend days just with the intricate level of detail in the calligraphy and relief carvings that adorn every wall space. The first 14 chapters of the Koran are inscribed on the walls inside the memorial where the headstones and crypts are, and pictures are not allowed…

A further part of the experience is a fantastic sunrise…

People from the world over are there for as many reasons as people…

The vast grounds are also home to a wide variety of other animal life…

After this incredible morning we are off to a quick shopping trip, nothing purchased, and then I work a bit on my blog…

and get some more pool time…

That evening the staff prepares an Indian-themed party fo us, so all the guys got turbans, and the gals got scarves and henna tattoos…

Dancers and drinks allowed for a great group event, especially as the group just continues to get closer and closer…

Party time over, another breakfast to die for, then it is off to the airport through Agra. On the way we see a regular day under way, especially with the children heading to school…

We head to the airport, and our trip to the Serengeti, a highlight on everybody’s itinerary.