This is my last day in India. It's been great, and I wouldn't rule out coming here again.

A couple of days ago, at about 5am, we set of to the Taj Mahal. About half way through the coach journey there (two hours in), we stopped for breakfast. The cafe was such a tourist trap! The drinks were over twice what they have cost in other places, and the food was over the top, but that is the cost of going to a touristy area! I ordered a cheese and tomatoe toastie, and was surprised to find an extra slice of bread added between the cheese and the tomatoe. However, it was very tasty and satisfying, so it wasn't all bad.

Just before we arrived at the Taj, a man flagged down our minibus, and said he was from "the company", and he was our tour guide, and we should let him in to the minibus and he would take us to the Taj, and we wouldn't be able to get in without him. We said "no", and drove on. He got on a motorbike, and drove to the car park, where he tried this again with us, and this time also said we should leave all our iPods and other electronic (valuable) items in the minibus. He seemed to us to be nothing but a con-man. We did not let him go with us.

When we got to the ticket office, we found a friendly official tour guide, who didn't even charge for the tour. The buildings around the Taj, and the Taj itself were quite nice to look at. There isn't much inside the Taj though, apart from the tombs of a king and queen (I think - the tour guide's accent was a bit hard to follow). There was some nice artwork though, and of course it was quite fun to go to such an historic site. Such a big building for nothing but a tomb though!

I would say more about it, but I need to get out of the internet cafe soon!

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I had some "South Indian" food for perhaps the last time, and had an interesting time haggling in the market. A guy pretty much begged me to go to his shop, in the alley way, saying people don't see it so he has to ask people to come in. I said if he saw me on the way back from the rest of my shopping, I'd go in. I went back and he seemed to have been waiting for me, as he saw me on the way back, so I went in to his shop, which had much of the usual knick knacks the rest of the shops have. I wasn't interested in any of it. Just as I was leaving, I spotted something that I thought could be a good gift for my sister, so I asked how much it was, and eventually managed to get him 30 rupees lower (after almost walking away, he had to call me back). I heard him mumble under his breath "you're hard work!". He called me back in to his shop to pay. Just as I handed over the cash, he asked me: "you like to smoke?", and smiled. It seems the whole shop setup is just a loss leader for harder stuff!

As probably my last post in India, I'd just like to thank you again for following along with my journey. I'll be able to say a lot more about what we've been doing once I get back to the UK. Please stick around for that. I'll probably be a bit busy when I get back (looking for a job for a start!), so it may take some time to say everything I want to say, but it will come, eventually.

I hope you are well. Thanks again.