This,BiG nOt sO biG wOrLd: A solo ride to the Taj

I remember sitting in office on a normal weekday, working, when I checked upon my calender, only to realize that an extended weekend was coming up on account of Good Friday. For long, I've been itching for a trip. And deep inside, I knew I wouldn't miss this opportunity at any cost. But this being my first ride, I knew I didn't wan't to push the limits too past. Added to that, was the fact that I wanted to go solo.
The epic thing was however, that in the midst of all this planning and programming, I hadn't even decided my destination yet. My friend recently did his solo to Taj. I remember visiting the Taj when I was very small. Infact, it was so long back, that even the faintest of it's memories seemed to have faded away.
So I decided, why the hell not.
Thursday night I got my tank fully filled ready to leave the next day. Friday Morning however, the weather looked anything but clear. Waited for 2 hours when the rain stopped. And off I was.
Here, I'd like to mention, that I didn't take the Yamuna Expressway. Yes, I know it's fast, I know it's without traffic. But trust me, nothing can beat the romance of the highways and the occasional fragrance of Eucalyptus filling your nose.
One thing I'd like to mention here is, I didn't take any pic of the journey so far. I took a break on one of the dhabas.
Another thing that I'd like to point out was the vice of crosswinds. There were at times when I was literally fighting to keep the motorcycle straight against the crosswinds, with the added woes from the miserable patch work done on the roads. Riding at north of 100 kmph, it was difficult to keep the motorcycle stable in those winds. But it was fun nonetheless.

There I did click few pics. here they go.

I was really grateful for the overcast sky. It was really comfortable riding in this condition. However, at times, faced heavy rains too. But that was acceptable given the cool conditions.
The next break I took just at the outskirts of Mathura.

Just another 58 kms.

My beauty, my heartbeat.

Yes, it was still raining.

Once I reached Agra, The scene altogether changed. I mean people have no sense rules whatsoever. Navigating in that traffic was really a pain.
In the mean time, while managing through this traffic, I came across Sikandra. I heard about it from my friend, so I thought, why not.
And the best part was, it was a World Heritage day that day. Ha ha ha...

Here are few pics from there.

It was from here, that I came to know that the Taj remains closed on Fridays. So, my plan now was to just get a hotel, and visit the Agra fort. Now, the painful part began. From there I started my search for hotels.

It was the most painful part of the whole journey. Plus, the people there were funny. It was an well learn't lesson.
Guys, never ask a local about directions. Because either they have a really screwed up sense of direction or they just enjoy confusing people to wander here & there.

With nothing much to do at hand, it was time to hit the bed. I kept the target of getting up by 5:30 in the morning to get the early morning view.
Next morning, it was the same story all over again. It was drizzling again. But I knew I had to go, so went out any ways.
One important thing here. Please note that the entry ticket for Taj Mahal is not sold at the gate but a km or 2 away from there.
So, after having purchased a ticket to self ( INR 20 for Indian Citizens, INR 750 for Non-Residential Indians).

So, without further ado, here follows the pics.