​We arrived in Agra by a morning train from Jaipur. We dropped our bags in luggage storage at the station and headed for Agra Fort. This impressive building was home and prison to Shah Jahan, the husband to Mumtaz Mahal and the mind behind Mumtaz’s mausoleum the Taj Mahal. The Fort is very expansive and built of red sandstone and white marble. It’s impressive in it’s size and detailed decor.

On our way from the Fort to our hotel we befriended a kind rickshaw driver who took us to a picturesque garden across the river from the Taj Mahal. We watch the sun slowly set over the majestic building. It really was beautiful and so serene. The haze added to the atmosphere, making everything seem more subdued.

The next morning we attempted to watch the sun rise over the Taj Mahal. This didn’t quite work out. Not due to the lack of trying. We were at the ticket office in plenty of time and in the queue for the entrance with 20 minutes to spare. It turned out that open from Sunrise to Sunset really meant open 15 minutes after sunrise when the sun has already definitely risen. Even though we missed the sun rise nonetheless the Taj Mahal looked beautiful in the morning light, it’s precious stone motives glistening in the sun. We spent about two hours wandering around, taking photos and listening to the audio guide. We then returned to our hotel and then headed for the bus station. There we took the next bus to Kanpur, looking forward to seeing the T20 cricket match India vs. England the next day.

We passed the morning of the match lazily – tired from a long and at times uncomfortable bus journey (especially uncomfortable when the driver decided to drive against the traffic on a highway for 5 minutes) we needed the rest. Kanpur, a rather industrial place, also isn’t the prettiest city in India, although the lights hung up for Republic Day helped somewhat.

A good two hours before the match we took an auto-rickshaw to the stadium where we quickly entered the gate only to find that an Internet booking printout is not sufficient for entry. Of course none of the staff were able to tell us in English precisely where the ticket office was. We teamed up with an errant Aussie who had been in his own personal hell looking for the office for a couple of hours.. Armed with the address written in Hindi, which we flashed at random passers by, we found our way and picked up the tickets. On our return to the ground we even managed to skip the newly formed massive queue and use the shorter ladies queue (one accompanying gentleman allowed).

I’ve not been to many cricket matches before, but plenty was familiar to a regular attended of football matches. The crowd chanted Dhoni’s name each time he was bowled to, and even had a go at winding up Stokes and Plunkett when they came to field on the boundary. What was missing was any real enmity towards the opposition – when Joe Root hit the final single to win the match for England we were inundated with congratulations by the Indian fans, and had to pose for roughly 30 different selfies.

The lads next to us in the stadium talked animatedly about cricket in India, Australia and England with us during the innings break, and were near spot on as to when England would reach the required total. I was unable to tell them how it compared to Lord’s as they asked, having not been there, but I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere at Green Park.