The Taj really is the proverbial lotus in a swamp. As a city, Agra has to be the filthiest city in India, if not the world. The tourist guides are the nastiest, greediest bunch I have ever met, and the shops drive up prices through the roof as soon as they realize that you are an NRI. One wonders how they must cheat palefaces? A tiny marble inlaid box for Rs. 75, 000 ($ 1300)? That is laugheable. I wonder how many they sell. The air is foul, the streets foul and infested with garbage, and rooting pigs - and no one seems to care. Visit the Taj (even more glorious than any picture can give it justice), ignore the touts (if possible), make a foray to the spectacular Agra Fort and enjoy a packed lunch on its lawns, and leave. It is a pity that one cannot fly out of Agra any more, because the drive out of Agra makes you yearn for the relative squalor of Lagos or Kinshasa.