Agra

Me on the "Princess Diana chair"

Okay, have to catch up on a few days. After some confusion over the trip, home we finally headed "home". Driving at night through Punjab was interesting. I loved being able to watch the daily lives of people out the window. I swear, about five TATA trucks that had been rolled over, smashed, or flipped on the road but there was not a hijacker in sight, which was nice. They say the monsoon has hit but for the life of me, I could not find a flooded road or a drop of rain anywhere. After spending the night in Hauz Khaus a group of us volunteers took a 3-hour drive to the dirty, rather slummy town of Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The drive was more or less a constant stream of slums, people and a random scattering of camels, ox carts and bears (yes, I said bears). As you have probably heard the Taj Mahaul was built for love and yes indeed, it is a sight. The marble work is unsurpassed and the beauty of the surroundings is undeniable. Never the less, the 120-degree heat made it hard to reval in awe and wonder for more then a few seconds. After a few moments of staring reverently at the place your mind was brought back to earth by the fact that your feet were slowly frying on the intricately designed marble steps and the gallons of sweat that were pouring down your face was making it hard to see. Despite this, it was an inspirationally magical place and I would definitely recommend anyone going…. once. I had expected that it would be bigger inside. The outside promised of lavish rooms and beautifully decorated halls but there were non-to be found. There was a medium sized mosque to the right and a tomb or building of some sort on the other. To the back of the Taj was a beautiful view of a river; although it was mostly dry by the time I saw it. Our guides name was Raj (I think he just said that so we could pronounce it alright because just about every guide seemed to be named Raj). He was a stone and jewel designer; smooth slick sales guy type who would not hesitate to rip you off if given the opportunity. Agra itself was certainly not my favorite city. LATER I just have one more day before I am off to Jaipur for 4 days and then I will be starting my final leg of my work with CCS in Delhi. I will sure miss this place. This evening I left Huaz Khaus for a rather mediocre hotel (The New City Palace) in old Delhi near Jama Masjid. I have a feeling this was a bad idea. I have a filthy bed with a broken air conditioner and bad TV reception for just 350Rs. Pulse it is in the heart of Muslim land to boot. Smart one Monet. The room does have an excellent view so I guess that is worth something. I have sat most of the say looking down from my window at the people below. Its funny how no one ever seems to look up. Well that is all for now. Byee