Stuck in Agra

Im still in Agra, unfortunately. I was supposed to meet a friend yesterday, but suddenly he couldn't come due to some college things. Anyway, nevermind about that, I'm off to Rishikesh tomorrow, planning to spend Diwali there. It is supposed to be a chilled out place, something I really need after about a week in Agra!!!! I should infact get a diploma for surviving so many days there...hehe.

This morning I went and saw the Taj Mahal properly. It is absolutely stunning, unbelievable beautiful. A friend told me to go see it, even if I had seen a million pictures and postcards of it and that was so true. No photo can convey the beauty!



Not much else is happening apart from the normal everyday hassle from the rickshaw drivers and their more or less standardized questions that are beginning to drive me slightly mad:

Where you from?
What's your name?
How long here?
Which hotel you stay?
How long India?
When come?
How like India?
I have a cousin in Norway!
Want to see shop?

etc..etc....then multiply these questions by about 2000 and you get the average times you will hear this during one day. No wonder a lot of travellers/tourists end up sounding a bit rude in the end!?

Anyway, on Friday I went to Fathepur Sikri. It was supposed to be a day trip, but since the place was so relaxing, I met some nice people, watched the sunset, had some chai (a lot in fact), played backgammon etc...in the end I didn't catch the last bus back to Agra and had to stay overnight in a hotel there!(If I hadn't been expecting this friend to come to Agra on Saturday I would probably have stayed on longer...well maybe I'll go back there sometime later.
It is definitely worth a visit if you are in Agra!