If you live without a job for such a long time, you simply don’t know what day it is any more… Monday, Friday, Sunday – all the same to you.

However, if you book a trip, in that case to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, you should at least check if, on the one day that you’ll be there, the object in question is actually open to visitors.

Which, in case of the Taj, it wasn’t.

It’s closed to visitors on Friday, as the Mosque is used for prayer.

Big, big bummer. We were just in the middle of a 16-hour-horror train ride when we figured out it might just all be in vain.

Honestly, I was a low point, where I felt all I want to do is spend the rest of the days here in my hotel room, and only go out for food, till I board a plane to South-Africa.

But then, you can’t let it get to you.

 

We figured out to visit the Agra Fort instead on Friday. It’s a massive military fort, and was then transformed partially into a Palace, by India’s powerful Mughals.

We were really surprised. The Fort is pretty much overlooked as everyone heads to the Taj, but totally worth a visit in its own right.

It is here that the builder of the Taj was kept prisoner by his own son, who overthrew him, in part because of the massive costs for the Taj. The former ruler could see the tomb he had built from his prison, and died therein.

The white marble and the red sandstone have been used to best effect and a huge palace area has been created with marvelous carvings and ornaments.

From there we took a Tuk-Tuk to the other side of the Yamuna river that flows through Agra, and spent some time in the quiet Mehtab Bagh Park that lies opposite the Taj Mahal.

 

We waited for sunset to bathe the building in some colorful, golden light, but alas, Indian sunsets are rarely spectacular, at least during this season.

The grey veil of mist, dust or smog that hovers over the country makes the sun disappear well before it hits the horizon, and most of its light is swallowed by it too…

Still, it was a beautiful and serene sight. We celebrated our arrival in Agra despite the Indian Railways, and the beautiful day with a delayed Thanksgiving dinner in a fancy restaurant…. Delicious Indian cuisine!