We took the Thai Airways red-eye from Melbourne via Bangkok to Delhi. Passage through India immigration was smooth, thanks to our e-visas, baggage collected, and headed out. We were collected at the exit by an agent who got us out to a small bus. It’s only a few km from the airport to Nizamuddin railway, but it took about 90 minutes driving. The roads are a chaotic anarchy. A lot of the time we were at walking pace, or stopped. Vendors and beggars came past hawking for trade when we stopped at intersections. Flanking the road was an amazing mix, from modern steel and glass commercial buildings to habitations made from rusty corrugated roofing, or even plastic sheets. Despite the snail pace, we made it to the station in plenty of time, and grabbed lunch in the café that the the agent recommended. It was more of a small food court, but we managed to find some victuals that looked like they were safe to eat.

Finding the train was a challenge. Most of the signage was in Hindi, and the staff were somewhat unhelpful. We found the correct platform, but then we had to find the correct carriage. The trains are amazingly long … we walked the length to left and right – must have gone about 300 metres in each direction. First-Class AC carriage located we clambered aboard and found an empty compartment. By luck, it was the correct one. These trains do long runs. Our trip to Delhi – Agra was only 3 hours, but the train goes on and on, through the night, so one can fold down beds to make the compartment into a 4-bunk sleeper.

Agra, and we caught a taxi to our accommodation. Where we stayed was an easy walk to Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. In the morning we headed out for an early morning walk, and ended up sending the whole morning in Agra Fort. A lot of the construction is a local red sandstone so it is also called Red Fort. Lots to see and do. The place has a complex history, with successive developments and re-developments. A lot is in need of renovation. Only about 25% is accessible to the public, but it is hours of fun for the photographer.

From Agra Fort it’s only a couple of km line of sight to Taj, but the air was so thick that the Taj Mahal was hardly visible. By midday there was better visibility because of the changing sun position, but I really am glad we don’t have air that bad in Melbourne. Ever.

We headed over the river, visting the “Baby Taj”, another mausoleum on a much smaller scale but still very grand, then to the sunset lookout, south of the Taj, where we had nice views across the river. Sadly, the thick layer of pollution masked the sun by the time it got down near the horizon and made for a rather weak sunset. It was lovely nonetheless.

First thing in the morning we headed to the Taj to arrive before dawn. Already there were long queues. We managed to bypass the queues by hiring a guide, so we rushed in and got a few snaps with the soft dawn light (softened by the thick air … there is a repeating theme here) before the place swarmed with people. The place gets 60,000 visitors per day!

Next day we hired a taxi to Mathura for an overnight stay. This town, the guide books assured us, was THE PLACE for Holi. And the main Holi festival was the next day.

We dumped our gear and headed out for a random walk. We found took a few wrong turns, heading through a slumish area beside the railway, complete with dead pigs in the open drain, and cows basking in knee deep rubbish.  Another turn, somewhat predicated by our attempts to avoid being colour bombed by some kids on the balconies beside the street, took us down to the river where we took a 20 minute boat tour.  Then, in further endeavours to avoid the Holi bombers took us up further side roads, where a friendly local “rescued” us, taking us to an ancient temple site where we had fantastic views over the town. 

Then we headed back through small back streets where there were many pyramids of dried cow pats (fuel for bonfires to celebrate Holi, it seemed like most intersections had one.) With good fortune we got back to our apartment without further colour bombing.

Next day was Holi. We enjoyed that from our balcony overlooking one of the main Holi streets. Ideal viewpoint. Our neighbours went out in the street. They came back absolutely plastered with pigments. They were clearly braver/more foolhardy than us. We don’t know what pigments they use in the powders, but some of them seem rather permanent. Our neighbours spent an hour or more in the shower scrubbing away, and they were still mottled with colour. Their clothes were ruined.

Lots more photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/crKDZ3jssFzlbgPo1