My first impression of India has been pretty good. Its cleaner and less noisy than Nepal. THe touts aren't as aggressive but there are a lot of handicapped beggars in the streets. The main bazaar is a crowded mess of shops that sell nothing special. It was difficult to sleep in the heat. The power had surges and many sags all night. It was nice to get out of there. Our driver, Negi, showed up at 7:15am and we went to the train station. Many people were sleeping on the floors. It was easy to get our tickets and we were on our way to Agra. The streets of Delhi are so congested with bikes, tractor trailers, and loris (big trucks). It was a good highway once we got out of town. I saw a Vespa scooter hit a buffalo and the two riders flew onto the street. They got up and looked OK.
We stopped at Sidanchra, Akbar Tomb, and could feel the intense heat outside. An air conditioned car is essential to travel India. I had to get rid of the touts so we could walk around. There were big monkeys in the gardens. The main gate was very ornate (photo) inside the main building was a tomb. I can hear an echo from the chambers. Next we went to our hotel in Agra. After a rest we went to Agra Fort. This place was made of red sand stone. I could see the Taj Mahal from across the river. There was a camel feeding on the grass. A lot of chambers smelled of urine. I can't understand why people would defecate in a World Heritage site. I took a photo of the Jahangiri Mahal, an impressive building. The front gate stunk of urine and was very hot.
Next we went to the Taj Mahal "the Taj". It is an awesome sight. It has a peaceful tranquility about it. I must have taken a hundred photos. The Taj is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Ottoman, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. Inside, I saw the tombs of the wife and her husband who built it for her. I had to take my shoes off to walk in it. The white marble was very hot to walk on. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as an immortal tribute to the memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in 1648 AD. I took photos from doorways and with a wagon being pulled by the grounds keepers in front of the reflecting pond. There is a mosque beside it to the west. 
There is some impressive inlaid stone work. I got a close up photo of Inlay detail. We saw the sun under the clouds just before the guards chased us out. It was nice to enjoy the quiet sunset after all the crowds left on their tour buses. We had a good dinner with music near our place. We ate Thali. Our room was comfortable and air conditioned. It even got too cold for us at times. My stomach was feeling better after having an upset stomach since New Delhi.
The taxi drivers were rude and deceiving. Our driver wouldn't even take us to the hotel we asked, and dropped us at an expensive hotel near the one we wanted. We walked through the streets and found the Ajay guest house. It was a real dive! We were in Pahar Ganj, the Backpacker Ghetto of India. The room has holes in the walls, no windows, a urine smell, and a disgusting shower. The main bazaar was filled with activity. I was shocked by some of the severely handicapped beggars rolling in the dusty streets.
