Since Katie is going to be with us for three weeks we decided to take a little trip...or should I say a BIG trip!?!? THE TAJ MAHAL! Some people may not realize that the Taj Mahal in and of itself is a journey. It isn't close to anything so the trip to get there is quite the adventure! I had never been before but people have all sorts of stories about getting "Delhi Belly" and the horrid heat, the long drive etc. Well, I can with great happiness report that none of us got a case of Delhi Belly, we did however have to endure the excruciating temps & the long car drive but it is what it is. Do you want to see the Taj or don't ya?! ;0)
We had two other people join us on our trip. Jack & his cousin, Cara. Jack just graduated high school, has lived in India for two years & has already been to the Taj Mahal...TWICE! We was like having along a walking wikipedia and I'm sooo glad he was with us. Cara, like Katie, is in India visiting.
We started our morning with a flight out of Bangalore into Delhi. Not too bad. Just shy of 3 hours. As soon as we stepped foot off of the plane the intense heat grabs ahold of your throat by the juggler & the top of your head starts to feel like it's bacon sizzling in a frying pan! Instantly, I could also tell by the "looks" that we weren't in an expat infested area anymore and that some of these people truly could not look at us long enough. We were a unique lookin' breed of folks. Literally, I've never been on an airplane where you look at all the heads in front of you and all you see is a sea of black hair! Katie & I with our blonde hair definitely made for a lot of head turning.
Just in case I wasn't 100% certain that we "weren't in Kansas" anymore, my suspicion was confirmed when we climbed onto the bus that would transport us from the airplane to the terminal & an elderly woman was holding a small baby in her arms & I had a very unique encounter. We were close. I mean REALLY close. Tummy to tummy. Although she was a solid foot and half shorter than me! I shot a friendly smile at her and it was not returned. She just blankly looked at me. Then, in the extremely tight and crowded bus, I thought that the baby on her hip had hooked her little footsie on the hem of my shirt b/c it was slowly lifting up. I quickly reached for the seam to yank it back down bc SERIOUSLY! Nobody wants to be seein' my belly fall out from under my shirt & that's when I looked down and realized that it wasn't the baby at all....it was the OLD WOMAN! And instead of allowing me to finish adjusting my shirt so that my momma flab wasn't flappin' in the breeze she continued to pull my shirt UP!!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD!? Thank God - I caught Katie's eye (who was already laughing at me) and she had seen the whole thing happen b/c no one would have believed me and I'm not sure I would have been entirely sure what had just happened either! It just continued to get weirder.
So, although I'm not quite sure what happened, as best as I can figure, she was just so curious about what my belly looked like (I mean here you can see most women's tummies b/c they are wearing saris & mine was clearly tucked away nice & modest like). SO! When her curiosity got the best of her, what did she do!? She just pulled up my shirt & had a nice close and personal experience with the tall, white woman!? THEN! About another 30 seconds later, she grabbed ahold of my arm and she never let go. Again, at first I was confused and thought she probably just needed to hold onto something on the busy bus to keep her balance. Nope. I'm pretty sure she just wanted to touch the white woman. Again she never made eye contact, she just pulled up my shirt and latched onto my limb?! It was all SoooOOOoooo odd & goofy!? And with that we exited the bus & I began re-hashing the story with Jack, Katie & Cara. Quite frankly, I'm still stumped by it all but with that.....WELCOME TO DELHI! ;0)
Happily took a picture with me but then did not want the rupees I offered her...She wanted US dollars?! Not too sure where she'd be spending them?
Saw these circles EVERYWHERE along the roadside to Agra.
Our driver didn't speak very good English & so it took us a LONG time to figure out what they were....
Daddy, I think your phone is ringing?!
Roadside Barber
Shoe Delivery
I wonder if they've heard of Zumba®!?!?! Sign me up!!!
FINALLY! We have arrived at the Oberoi in Agra!
View of the pool & the TAJ MAHAL in the background!
SHUT UP! Someone pinch me already!
Four Fab Foreigners! ;0)
(and the TAJ is behind us!! ACK!)
We were BIG FANS of the pool!
Drinking our "Rana Specials"
The View from the Oberoi.
Tomorrow our view will be up close and personal!
WOOoooOOoOoo HooOOooOooo!
We had two other people join us on our trip. Jack & his cousin, Cara. Jack just graduated high school, has lived in India for two years & has already been to the Taj Mahal...TWICE! We was like having along a walking wikipedia and I'm sooo glad he was with us. Cara, like Katie, is in India visiting.
We started our morning with a flight out of Bangalore into Delhi. Not too bad. Just shy of 3 hours. As soon as we stepped foot off of the plane the intense heat grabs ahold of your throat by the juggler & the top of your head starts to feel like it's bacon sizzling in a frying pan! Instantly, I could also tell by the "looks" that we weren't in an expat infested area anymore and that some of these people truly could not look at us long enough. We were a unique lookin' breed of folks. Literally, I've never been on an airplane where you look at all the heads in front of you and all you see is a sea of black hair! Katie & I with our blonde hair definitely made for a lot of head turning.
Just in case I wasn't 100% certain that we "weren't in Kansas" anymore, my suspicion was confirmed when we climbed onto the bus that would transport us from the airplane to the terminal & an elderly woman was holding a small baby in her arms & I had a very unique encounter. We were close. I mean REALLY close. Tummy to tummy. Although she was a solid foot and half shorter than me! I shot a friendly smile at her and it was not returned. She just blankly looked at me. Then, in the extremely tight and crowded bus, I thought that the baby on her hip had hooked her little footsie on the hem of my shirt b/c it was slowly lifting up. I quickly reached for the seam to yank it back down bc SERIOUSLY! Nobody wants to be seein' my belly fall out from under my shirt & that's when I looked down and realized that it wasn't the baby at all....it was the OLD WOMAN! And instead of allowing me to finish adjusting my shirt so that my momma flab wasn't flappin' in the breeze she continued to pull my shirt UP!!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD!? Thank God - I caught Katie's eye (who was already laughing at me) and she had seen the whole thing happen b/c no one would have believed me and I'm not sure I would have been entirely sure what had just happened either! It just continued to get weirder.
So, although I'm not quite sure what happened, as best as I can figure, she was just so curious about what my belly looked like (I mean here you can see most women's tummies b/c they are wearing saris & mine was clearly tucked away nice & modest like). SO! When her curiosity got the best of her, what did she do!? She just pulled up my shirt & had a nice close and personal experience with the tall, white woman!? THEN! About another 30 seconds later, she grabbed ahold of my arm and she never let go. Again, at first I was confused and thought she probably just needed to hold onto something on the busy bus to keep her balance. Nope. I'm pretty sure she just wanted to touch the white woman. Again she never made eye contact, she just pulled up my shirt and latched onto my limb?! It was all SoooOOOoooo odd & goofy!? And with that we exited the bus & I began re-hashing the story with Jack, Katie & Cara. Quite frankly, I'm still stumped by it all but with that.....WELCOME TO DELHI! ;0)
No tint on our car windows-It was like riding around India
in a fish bowl!
First stop on our journey....A public Bathroom...
Definitely a reason they bring tourists here...
You had toilet paper & everything!
Phew! Feeling much better but SWEATIN' my buns off!
LOOK! The Train! Just like in the movie, right?!
Our driver didn't speak very good English & so it took us a LONG time to figure out what they were....
Looks like they made houses out of them?!...
Maybe even whole villages?!...
And such pretty designs too...
Soooo! We finally got to the bottom of this mystery. Made of poo! Oh, yes, they are! Isn't that the prettiest little poo-hut you've ever seen!? The circles are "patties" that are being dried in the sun. Once they are dried they are placed into the poo-hut for storage. People do not live there. Patties do. The flap-jacks are used for fertilizer, and fuel. They burn them for baking/cooking & also for heat. Now, is that resourceful or what?! You've got A LOT of cows in India....might as well use all that dookie for something worthwhile!
To say that the heat is "oppressive" is the understatement of the year. 114 degree heat! Here's a local form of "sunscreen"
 |
| SPF...30?! Hmm...maybe more like 15 because his face is not covered!?  Unfortunately, there are trash troubles all over India. Agra was especially bad.    Wheat  |
When we asked our driver about this his answer was simply, "Progress." We told him, "Progress is good!" and he was very happy with our response!
"Use Dipper At Night"...interpretation....Flash your lights so I know you are back there!
 |
| "Horn Please"...interpretation....Honk all you want I will not get upset with you! That's what we do in India! |
When traffic came to a grinding hault - We literally backed up on the highway and drove on the WRONG side of the rode!
Once we got close enough we were able to see that the source of the traffic jam was that this truck had lost its load! All of the steel rebar had fallen off his truck! We would have sat on the freeway for HOURS in the Boston waiting for them to clean up the mess. In India, we just joined the people on the other side of the road and made a two lane highway into one lane going North and the other going South. Voila! Problem-o solved!
The toll-booth attendants all came to wave & look at the wacky white people traveling through India! ;0)
Nap Time!
SHUT UP! Someone pinch me already!
 |
| Gorgeous!! |
Four Fab Foreigners! ;0)
(and the TAJ is behind us!! ACK!)
The View from the Oberoi.
Tomorrow our view will be up close and personal!
WOOoooOOoOoo HooOOooOooo!
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