THE GREAT TAJ MAHAL PHOTO CHALLENGE

A first glimpse through the gateway…ahhhh!

I did my best to take original shots of the world’s most photographed building. It isn’t easy.

INDIA: THE LIVE SHOW

Both this man and his moustache are professionals. It’s what they do for a living, we’re told.

It may be a bit hokey at times, but this Maharajas Express train trip is pure theatre, and we love it.

At every whistle stop, before we board the bus to take us around each town, we’re greeted by troupes of local musicians and dancers.

MAHARAJAS IN TRAINING

Welcome aboard, madam.

We’re doing this trip in considerable style on the Maharajas Express Heritage of India tour.

To be honest, I didn’t know such luxury trains existed. I assumed that the best available would be First Class, which in India may not mean much other than getting a seat to yourself, with your private cockroach swatter dangling above you.

This train is more like we imagine the Orient Express to have been, in the mythical good old days when extremely rich people could get murdered on it.

FACES OF RAJASTHAN

A demonstration of turban tying. The hand is faster than the shutter.

It’s been a busy few days, and on the Maharajas Express train internet access is often limited, though everything else is there in generous quantities.

But this morning we’re parked at a station long enough for me to load a few pics onto the blog. It’s a fabulous place to have a camera. It’s hard to take a bad shot and there are so many faces with some impressive facial hair…

“EVERY DAY YOU SEE SOMETHING AMAZING” – Mumbai streets

Sharpening knives by pedal power.

“The locals still call it ‘Bombay’. Mumbai may be politically correct but it is the politicians’ name,” says our guide Pankaja.

As new kids in town with only a couple of days to explore a city of possibly 20 million people (nobody knows for sure), it helped to have a car, driver and guide organised, to smoothly transfer us through the traffic jams to a few of the main attractions. Thanks, Abercrombie and Kent!

Of course to really see Mumbai we needed to leave the air conditioned car and proceed on foot.

And we expect the unexpected in India…

BEDAZZLED IN BOMBAY

Welcome to the club lounge used by Oprah, Alfred Hitchcock, Gina Lollobrigida and Shane Warne – perhaps not all at the same time.

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel services directory has a ‘Destiny Planner’ available at the business centre. That’s an astrologer, in other words.

I wondered whether to dial 3372 and ask when our lost luggage would arrive. Singapore Airlines didn’t seem to know. Was it our destiny to spend the next fortnight buying new clean shirts every day, or would the missing cases turn up before we left the city on Saturday?

At least we could wait for them in considerable comfort.