Mr Singh picked us up at 9am on Wednesday morning. We’d eaten our fill at the breakfast buffet, expecting to have a long day driving about and seeing things. First stop: the Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal or Bust

As we approached the car park, Mr Singh told us what to do with the whole buying tickets and getting in to the Taj Mahal thing. Again, it was much like yesterday at Agra Fort. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t even say ‘no’. Don’t listen to anyone offering guide services or to buy your ticket for you or anything. We got out of the car and were instantly approached and sold to on the way to the ticket office. Mr Singh bought our tickets for us and then saw us onto the coach.

At the other end, we walked the gamut past the tourist shops and the offers to act as a guide and joined the queue to get in through the gate. One line for women, one line for men. We past over our tickets, got patted down (security is a big thing everywhere here – metro, hotels, tourist stops) and then we were through.

Being ‘early’ in the morning, the Taj Mahal wasn’t heaving with people. Definitely nowhere near as many as we’d seen the day before from across the water. We took our photos, laughed at all the people doing their poses as they tried, with varying levels of success, to ‘pinch’ the top of the Taj.

When we finally got to the Taj Mahal, we put on our shoe covers and entered the mausoleum, did a loop, and came out again. It’s a beautiful building and it’s amazing that it’s stood the test of time (helped now by conservation work that was going on while we were there). I loved the intricate pattern work on the walls, something that was easier to comprehend than the giant building in front of me.

Like the Mona Lisa, it’s something everyone’s familiar with. Seeing it in person is worth it, but it’s also not an awe-inspiring moment, at least not for me. Perhaps because I’m already familiar with it, having seen so many photos etc. I contrasted it to the step well we’d seen in Delhi and how thrilled I was at seeing this new and impressive thing. Don’t get me wrong, the Taj is great, but I’m not sure what I was expecting to feel by seeing the real thing.

I enjoyed taking photos of different angles of the Taj and its minarets, and like the other paintings in the Louvre, once most people have seen the main attraction, they lose interest and wander away. The two side buildings had barely any people in them, which is a shame as the sides give a great view of the Taj.  We wandered around the whole complex and then took the shady path back to the front, stopping to pose with some beautiful and soft Brahman bulls. I couldn’t get over how soft and still they were. Lovely animals.

When we reached where we came in, we decided we’d go back to the hotel for a rest. Christine was developing a headache and Glen and I were a bit over buildings for a while. We got back to the car, accosted again by street sellers, and then Mr Singh returned us to the hotel until 1:30pm.

The Rescued Dancing Bears of Agra

Rather than see more buildings – Akbar’s Tomb for example – Glen and I asked Mr Singh to take us to the Agra bear sanctuary on the outskirts of town. I’d read about this place briefly in a guidebook and then a friend on Facebook reminded me of it.

The drive took about an hour and a half because the traffic was so bad. Mr Singh had never been to the sanctuary, which is inside a forest which has a bird sanctuary also, so it was a new experience for him. And one which required a stop to ask for directions.

If you’re going to the sanctuary, don’t bother paying the 1000 rupee ‘photography’ fee. You can only take photos in the wild, forest part, not inside the bear rescue centre. We paid the fee, without realising, but as long as the money goes to helping the sanctuary, I’m fine with that.

We were given a guided tour through the sanctuary, which is home to over 200 rescued Sloth Bears. They used to be dancing bears but it’s illegal and now the bears have been given safe homes to live. The sanctuary is built into the forest with electric fences and some cement holding areas, but otherwise the bears live on soft ground with trees and climbing frames.

They such interesting looking bears, a bit like a person wearing a bear costume. Their shaggy hair makes them look so huggable, and their 7cm-long claws seem so ungainly. They’re beautiful bears though. We saw quite a few, getting up close to one in particular called Johnny. There were also a lot sleeping in the sun, or in a hole they’d built or lying down and grabbing their toes, or climbing about, or digging for food. So good to see them being bear-like, rather than with a metal ring through their noses and forced to dance.

In addition to the bears, there were a lot of deer living there too. Beautiful animals with such striking markings. There were also a lot of free-roaming macaques. Our time there lasted an hour, part of that including watching a video about where the bears have come from.

It’s definitely not on the tourist track but it was well worth the visit and they could really do with support from tourists.

Mr Singh then took us back to the hotel. I went to the gym and had a massage. Christine had a massage too. Glen broke the screen on his laptop and thinks he’s coming down with a cold. In the evening we had buffet again and had another early night.

Off to Jaipur tomorrow.