Taj Mahal & Snake Charming

Our driver, Rajeev, picked us up at our hotel, showed us our vouchers to prove he was legit then we hit the road for Agra. It took an hour just to get out of Delhi with all the traffic (and by traffic I mean cars, buses, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, cows, pigs, camels, elephants, pedestrians, dogs). We almost hit a pig crossing the road but Rajeev has cat-like reflexes.

Our first stop in Agra was at Akbhar's Masoleum. It was a neat building and some local ladies showed us some cool echo effects. It was about 100 degrees so we had a quick look before retreating to the air conditioned car. We checked into our hotel, had lunch, then went to the Taj Mahal. I asked Rajeev if there were guides available for hire and low and behold two minutes later our guide hopped in the car with us. Our guide did an excellent job explaining the beautiful love story behind the Taj Mahal and he knew all the cool angles to take pictures from. Of course we did the token 'hold the top of the Taj' picture. For some reason whenever it was my turn for a solo pic he wanted me to cross my arms in front of my body or put them in my pockets, really posed. But Sarah was allowed to do whatever she wanted with her arms. Not fair. We had a good laugh looking at the pictures later though. The Taj was beautiful, inside and out.

After the Taj our guide took us to a store to see how the marlbe and gemstone inlay work is done. He gets a commission from the store for taking us there. We knew this ahead of time but went anyway since I was interested in buying a marble piece. After some help from my bargining buddy Sarah I bought a small marble table top with gemstone inlay work. Its so pretty and even though Ill have to tote it around for 3 more weeks it was worth it. As long as they don't charge my credit card multiple times.

The next morning we were supposed to go to the Red Fort in Agra but Rajeev said in the night there was a big fight between the police and some muslims groups so he said it was safer if we just left right away. He had also called the hotel several times during the night to tell the staff not to let us leave the hotel. Nice guy, I feel safe with him as our driver and guide.

We drove 6 hours to Jaipur, the pink city. 90% of the buildings in Jaipur are painted a terracotta pink which looks really cool. They also have a beautiful pink wall going around part of the city. Once there we went shopping. We looked at a few textile stores and a jewelry store. In the 2nd textile store we each ordered custom made, hand stamped fabric for curtains. Mine are white with silver stamping work. Sarah got grey with silver paisley stamps. We also each bought a queen size comforter overlay that has hand-cut designs in it. Good thing we aren't living together anymore or we'd have the same looking room! The work is beautiful and so cheap. We also each bought a pair of Ali Baba pajama pants. And I said I wouldn't be caught dead in genie pants....but hey, When In India! Plus they are modest and keep me cool. I also bought 2 wrap around long skirts for $4 each. Nice.

We had dinner at a restaurant that had traditional musicians and dancers. The dancers pulled me up from my seat and made me dance with them. Kinda embarrassing but then again its not like I know anyone in Jaipur, India.

The next day we went to Amber Fort where we hired a guide and even got to try our hand at charming cobras! Then we went to City Palace. Good sightseeing, and it wasn't too too hot.

Both nights in Jaipur there were power outages which sucked cause that meant the a/c kept going out, but what can you do. This morning we left Jaipur at 8am and drove 3 hours to Pushkar. So here we are now, in an internet cafe. Tomorrow we drive to Udaipur where Rajeev said is the best place to buy saris! Yay!