I am sitting in the lobby of Karan Villas. Jennifer is beside me reading the Age on her iPad mini. We have had a great morning. We had a surprisingly good night sleep, surprising because there was a wedding at the hotel last night. Weddings are loud and energetic affairs but with our earplugs pushed well in, the vibration of the floor and bed from the music lulled us both to sleep. After breakfast of omelette, chapatti and toast, we packed our bags for this evenings train trip. We had already planned an excursion to Agra Fort so in the morning we met the participants: Peter and his wife Anna, Ray the American Aussie, Nan and her mother Jiang. We rented tuk Tuks to go to Agra fort.
For much of the time under the early Mughals including Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, Agra was the capital of their empire; the move to Delhi was much later. The fort is a vast complex, and most of his it is exclusively used by the military. What is not used by them is still substantial both artistically and historically. We saw palaces, audience areas, harems, beautiful gardens, mosques of marble, pavilions of delicate carvings and inlaid precious stones, and in the haze and across the Yamuna River, the silhouette of the Taj Mahal. We spent over two hours walking around, reading the information of stone blocks, climbing narrow short stairs, seeing the prison of Shah Jahan, the throne of Jahangir, the towers of the the fort and so much more. It is an impressive fort and in the mornings is not too busy. On the ramparts and higher verandas, the cool breeze was refreshing. The fort is a very relaxing place with none of the bustle and pushing of the Taj Mahal.

Afterwards we had lunch at the Pushpvilla Hotel. Nan and Jiang decided to do more walking despite the dust and heat of the city. We took tuk Tuks to the hotel and restaurant. The venue is seven floors up, and is a revolving restaurant. However, we all felt nausea when it started moving around, so they kindly turned it off. It was an excellent lunch, and we took some of the leftover bread for breakfast on the train.
The train leaves at 8:30 pm tonight and arrives mid morning tomorrow in Varanassi. The train trip is 13 hours or more, and can be longer as it is notorious for a late arrival.

We will rest up this afternoon, reading and doing photo editing. I have found a new program which can shrink photos so I am hopeful that may mean I can include some images in the emails.