The mosquitos ate me alive during my DMC with Dom. I wake up to eight new bites on one ankle and six on another. I've scratched them in my sleep too so they're red and sore. Lovely. We have a private minibus driving us to Agra today, departing at 10:00am. Also, it's Heritage day which means free entry to all Heritage monuments. With that in mind, Raj suggests we go to Fatehpur Sikri on our way to Agra as it is en route and worth it. 90 minutes later we arrive at Fatehpur Sikri, our minibus isn't allowed to drive up to the main entrance so it drops us off at the car park and we have to take an official site minibus up the short track road. As the minibus pulls into the car park sellers rush to the windows selling sparkly pens, fridge magnets, wood carved travel chess sets, fans and cold drinks. The youngest being 10-11, the oldest middle aged, all male. We move from one bus to another and arrive at the palace gates. There are men tending to the grounds, both the gardens and the stone work, in the heat, washing, scrubbing and fixing. Raj points out a red stone slightly raised in the grass and tells us that the stone was used to crush men's heads under the foot of the rulers favourite elephant as punishments. There's a public audience square, a private audience square, a bedroom with a ten foot high raised bed for Emperor Akbar, three buildings for his three wives, a building for his favourite warrior, stables and temples. The gardens were luscious and green, and intentionally built lower into the ground so that when you were walking the boughs of the trees would be at a height where you could pick the fruit, like in the gardens of heaven. It was a work of art. A buffet lunch was the cheapest and quickest option afterwards and then on to our hotel in Agra. Once checked in and bags in rooms, we made our way to the Taj Mahal. Our hotel is a 15 minute walk away. There's no queues, despite it being World Heritage Day, but a very thorough security check; metal detectors, body scan, bag check. I don't think even the entrance to the Taj Mahal is given enough credit. We entered through the East entrance, the Taj to the right of us, the largest dome peeking over the top of thick red walls. Large red stone walls with even arch ways carved into them were on each side of us, the walls to the right meeting at a huge red square arch way. This arch had further arches carved into it with white and black marble detailing. Koranic verses and floral patterns lined the main arch and along the top eleven white domes with red spires. As you stand dead centre infront of the arch and peer toward to the Taj Mahal a perfectly positioned and proportioned archway can be seen of the Taj, framed by the arch of the red entrance. Raj briefed us on the history of the creation of the Taj Mahal and then left us to wander through the arch. It is magnificent. The pearlescent white marble almost glitters and when you know the love that went into designing and creating it you can't help but be totally convinced that it has to be the most romantic building on the planet. Tall, thin, finely preened, bushes line the shallow water way, leading to the monument and benches are positioned on the perpendicular pathways that come away from the paths on the outside of the bushes. Everything encased in those red walls inside and outside of the Taj Mahal is symmetrical, with the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal in the centre, apart from the final addition of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s tomb inside so that he lies along side her. An unnecessary  amount of selfies later, we all sit on a bench in the shade and enjoy the grounds, trying to find a potential wife for Dom. He's decided he's moving to India and wants a beautiful Rajasthani wife.  Chipmunks run around everywhere, green parrots fly overhead and geckos scurry along the floors. It's certainly the most serene and clean place I've visited so far. After watching the sunset against the left of the building we make our way back to the hotel. We’ve also reached such a comfort level within the group that we compare the sweat patches we've left behind on the floor, so that's nice. The street sellers in Agra are the most aggressive I've experienced. They don't really take no for an answer and will hound you until you have passed their shop, and then another seller starts. One guy really wanted me to buy a fridge magnet, I told him I didn't have a fridge magnet but he wasn't deterred. Dinner was at a local restaurant on a rooftop, an open grill, with blue fairy lights, and musicians playing drums and the sitar. Dom and I sat playing ‘would you rather’, all I'm going to say is that he is gross. Dinner finished we get onboard our minibus and head back to our hotel.