Amar Agra

... home, we are now almost up to Indian time. It is 9.5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. My body is approximately 9.2 hours ahead of EST and Lisa's is approximately 7.9 hours. It looks like I am going to win!

To be continued...

So, we saw the Taj Mahal! and it was magnificent. It was very calm standing across the gardens from the Taj Mahal and walking up to it. It was pristine and amazing. The only problem was with the tour agency ...

... I want to get a henna tatoo... you know those brownish/redish designs on your hands or feet that last about 5 weeks. Excited!! Tonight I think we have dinner with Steve's boss and his wife. Ok, well we'll update the travel blog with photos at the end of the week. We're catching an overnight train on Friday to Mumbai and will spend 2-3 nights there before training it again down to Goa. Much love!! Erica & Kristian.

... unmissable connections. Either that or just never booking ahead. Better to have the time just to drift.

So just in summary. Agra was ****. **** getting to, **** being there and **** getting away from. Was for me anyway and this in my diary so thats how it will be recorded. By all means go and have a look. Just don't say I didn't warn you. I think Agra is a dirty, polluted, disease ridden mud oven. If you want to see the Taj, google it.

... although many Indians started turning up as the morning wore on. Thus we (incredibly) managed to get good snaps with no tourists in them. The monument itself did not disappoint, despite having seen hundreds of reproductions of its image over the years. It is truly one of the man made wonders of the world. With nothing more to see in Agra, we decided it was time to get the hell out of dodge before Agra's reputation decided to rear its ugly head ...

... him, was placed uder house arrest. When he was dying, his last wish, to his daughter, was to be buried at the Taj Mahal. She carried his wish out t the letter. She carried his body down the river, by boat, and took him to the Taj Mahal. There he rests. For Janpal's birthday, which was today, he wanted to see the Taj in the moonlight. We did, and it was really quite pretty. Apparently on full moon nights, only at midnight, and only for a minute, all the cornelian ...

... sunglasses on. The large spacious gardens surrounding it are immaculately kept but unfortunately the two red sandstone temples that flank the Taj are not in quite such a good state of repair. Anna and I had heard so much and expected so much and perhaps after seeing so many incredible sights such as the Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat or the swathes of magnificent statues of the Buddha we really weren't ...

... in the commutor rush, our carriage was empty. Oh what a carriage. It was completely made with metal, with no upholstery, no glass, no plastic. Just metal. Even the windows were just open apertures with a metal grill over the top. The doors to the carriages don't close, allowing people to jump on or off as they please, ensuring they reach the most efficient place in their journey. Everyday, on average a dozen people are killed on railways just in Mumbai ...

... what age I am?" I roared at him. "I'm 40! I'm old enough to be your mother! Is that how you speak to your mother? Is that the respect you show her? Is it?"
Clearly figuring he had a female Incredible Hulk on his hands, he backed away before I expanded and began to take on a green hue.



But my anger and frustration had not dissipated. A minute or two later I found and used a public toilet, only to find the entrance blocked by the ...