I think it happens to often that one arrives at one of the world famed tourist sites and is inevitably let down by something, either the scale, access, cost, dirtiness, maybe the mere presence of such hordes of people as to render it meaningless to see.  For so long the Taj Mahal is held up as a symbol of India, it is THE tourist site, the place you must go to despite the horror stories associated with Agra, the city in which it sits.  It was thus to my surprise that the Taj not only met expectations, but managed to exceed them.

We  spent most of the day exploring the grounds of Shah Jahan’s monument built in honor of his favorite wife after her death.  He was one of the Mughal rulers that exercised control for a spell about 400-500 years ago.  The grounds themselves are likewise expansive and serve to dissipate the heavy flow of tourists around the area, allowing us the chance to feel some peace and quiet as well as ample room for a number of absurd photos.  It was a wonderfully relaxing, fulfilling day and it was sorely needed.

The following days we went to nearby sites, such as a fellow Mughal ruler’s ruined city, Fatehpur Sikri, some hour plus to the west where we were mobbed by people trying to sell us stuff.  Surprise surprise.  Needless to say we were a bit nonplussed by all that and it set a bit of a damper on our explorations of the ruins and later in the day of Akbar’s mausoleum, another grand edifice near Agra.  The last day was spent at Agra Fort,  an engaging place that was entirely different from the endlessly delayed, uncomfortable locals bus ride 200 km north to Delhi.  Don’t let the distance mislead, it was a solid five hours spent covering so short a span.

Delhi, the capital, is suitably large and much bigger in area than Mumbai, one of the other megacities here, an exception owed to its relatively unconstrained geographic birthright that Mumbai was not so lucky to share in.  For me, the highlight is of course the Delhi Metro, and it feels like stepping forward into a time machine when one goes from honking, gas-spewing autorickshaws and cow turds to smooth electric trains elevated above the whole mess.  I don’t think Tori or Brett were as enthusiastic as I, but at least I think they enjoyed the convenience.

Delhi itself is home to a plethora of sites, though the Baha’i Lotus Temple was mobbed as it was Republic Day, and we did not bother fighting the lines to go in.  We were more successful in seeing Humayun’s Tomb and the Red Fort, along with a stopover at the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India.  I feel unprepared again to process what I’m seeing but none of us have the patience or willingness to reward the self-appointed guides with money for their pushiness, so we wander the varied grounds and enjoy it as the scattered information signs allowed.

An unexpected pleasure and a site of pleasing tranquility (and useful exposition) was the Mahatma Gandhi Museum, a simple, free exhibition across the street from where he was assassinated.  It chronicles the life of the man and displays a wealth of artifacts and pictures relating to him.  It was great to see it and was the highlight of yesterday for me.

Gandhi aside, food has been up to now the consistent winner, the most reliable thing we can point to when some of the more taxing aspects of traveling here start wearing us collectively down.  Last night however Brett and I went out for some street food snacks which struck back at me with a vengeance, culminating in an early morning date with the toilet bowl which has me a bit drained today but relaxing and happy to have whatever bug it was forced out of my system.   Tomorrow Brett departs and Tori and I will resume our trek east to Varanasi, to see the Ganges River there.