Well, we did it. But we resisted the urge to sit on the Lady Di seat and have our photos taken. We had arrived by train from New Delhi and joined the queues late in the morning. The first view of the Taj Mahal as you enter is the jaw-dropping delight we were promised; it carries an enormous emotional charge. So we wandered the site as moony-eyed romantics, taking a long time to examine the detail of the inlaid finish. Afterwards, we visited the craftsman who work through the monsoon season on the site, repairing stones inlaid into the marble.
Our second visit was to the Red Fort from which Shah Jahan was forced to view his monument from the rooms where he was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb. This too is stunning in so many respects again through its use of marble finishes.
We had a real surprise with the Itmad-ud-Daula - the "baby Taj" - which is suggested to be the model for the Taj Mahal. It's a stretch, we thought, but reacted better to its other nickname - the jewel box. The mausoleum itself is perfection, another thing of real beauty, and the site gives a real opportunity to explore and discover the design of an Islamic garden.
We ended the day on the banks of the Yamuna river to watch the sun set over the Taj.
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