Agra

I find myself taking less and less pictures as centuries old imposing mountain scaling walls, monkeys swinging on old buildings, old men laying around on the streets, bazillions of little side store retailers, and kids riding 40 pound bikes and jumping off massive piles of rubble just don't pop out with that old wow I'm in India factor they did six weeks ago when I first got into Delhi. Sure I'll pause when I see a shepard guiding his sheep with a stick and talking on his cell; hold my breath when a bus is almost run off the road by a stray camel; and yes, even bust out my camera at first sight of a slum house with nothing but tires and dried shit for walls, but, you know, it's all starting to normalize with me.

^Our bus got held up by some slow moving elephant traffic. Naturally.

Went to Agra this past weekend. Highlights include a ten hour bus ride up to Jaipur, followed by a charismatic bus sales agent who hooked us up with a second eight hour bus ride into UP, and finding both a sweltering 108 degree midday sun and great views of the Taj within the Agra city limits.

Something I realized while in Agra: the Taj Mahal is big. Like really big. The pictures in every Mahm & Pahp Indian lunch buffet cafe stateside really don't do it justice. Tack on miles of ornate white marble carvings, inlaid gold lacing within said white marble carvings, and the three gate entryways each bigger than the Old Capital, and you have yourselves one of the (New) 7 Wonders of the World.




About the only other thing to see in Agra is the so called Red Fort. I gained a small victory here by hiding my eyes under my aviators and having to pay less than the 'tourist' ticket price (though still more than the Indian price... I had my own rate. The clerk was clearly confused.)

About the only other thing to do in Agra is go to the bars. We had a blast (no joke) at the clubs (all guys there, interestingly enough) and danced to 90's eurobeat hits all night long! My memories fuzzy, but I believe Bara requested 'In the Rhythm of the Night' about sixteen times.

After a 90 minute detour through dirt village roads, during which our bus knocked down a power line, we took the 8 hour journey back to Jaipur for a night- enough time to dine at the surprisingly upscale Pizza Hut, watch bad 90's movies at the comfy Arya Niwas hotel, visit a few forts while dodging the unbearable sun, and hop on the bus back to Jhalawar for Monday class.