Day 4: Agra

We finally caved and purchased internet at the hotel. Since Delhi we have visited Jaipur (via a 4-hour delayed plane,) and drove from Jaipur to Agra yesterday. It has become painfully obvious that without a guide and a driver, we would be hopelessly lost. I don’t think even New York taxi drivers could survive the streets of India. The speedometer is a new thing here, and at least three times a day we see a well-sized truck heading towards us on the wrong side of the road in a two-lane highway, barrier and all. It’s amazing how despite the fact that millions of people are squashed into such a small area, India always smells amazing. Everywhere we go, the air smells like incense and burning wood. Pigs, cows and goats are always on the side of the street rooting through trash - Mom and I think this is why there’s no foul stench, even though we see at least five men a day relieving themselves on the side of the highway. Maybe NYC should get some pigs of their own... No street food for our delicate tummies, but Indian takeout during finals week is a surprisingly good representation of the restaurants in India so far.

In the winter, India is blanketed with fog except in the mid-afternoon when the sun peaks through. This means that our morning visit to the Taj Mahal was more like sneaking up on a shark in muggy water, where suddenly this enormous structure appeared through the mist, domes, turrets and all. At every major historical site we have visited, there are always young boys running forward thrusting cheap jewelry and postcards under your nose for purchase - yesterday Mom finally just caved and bought a few postcards so we could keep moving. Though I expected that Mom and I would stick out like sore thumbs, it still is my least favorite part of the day when I have to walk through the streets pretending to be a penniless, deaf mute. Though I am truly enjoying our tour through India, I am getting more and more excited to finally arrive in rural Kirtipur where not only can I finally see the stars through a fogless sky, but I won’t be so easily pegged as the tourist “Madame.”