Agra - Jaipur

Today was the day.

Early in the morning (8:00 am start, said the guide), we were off and running. Destination, the famous Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world, and the only such building to be erected solely for love. The sun was still burning off the ever-present mist as we arrived, but during our visit (which only lasted about an hour) most of the mist had cleared, revealing the beauty of white marble contrasted with the red sandstone which is so common in these parts. Many elements of Mogul architecture, including the marble lace which surrounds the actual tombs of Emperor Jihan and his beloved, and the inlaid precious stones which adorn the outer walls of the Taj make this a true engineering wonder.

Getting to and from the Taj involves great fortitude for the traveller must encounter the hoards of beggars, who want to sell all manner of trinkets and souveniers. In the words of our guide, "Prepare yourself to do battle" even before you exit the bus. If this was the worst of our worries, then we had nothing to worry about.

Leaving the Taj, our driver next set his sights on the settlement of Fatapur Sikri, a historical city created by Akbar, the Mugal emperor (1570-1585). Once again our guide regailed us not only with the details of the site, its development and its history but also with just the right amount of humor to make it all quite enjoyable indeed.

Fatapur Sikri is located 40 km west of Agra and on the road toward Jaipur, our next stop. Along the way, I noticed that the driver stopped the bus, just before passing under a train bridge. He appeared to be watching as a train passed above, and did not budge until it had almost completed its passage. I wondered why ... perhaps supersitition, perhaps somehow he was conscious of the train derailment which took place between Agra and Jaipur just a few days ago (we saw the wreckage en route today).

I've written previously in this week about the famous tuktuks (the yellow-topped taxi cabs which are all pervasive throughout Delhi). Well, we encountered what had to be the longest line of tuktuks all awaiting their turn to get refueled (with natural gas) that I've ever encountered. It's a good thing they burn clean fuel because I couldn't imagine what the skies would look like otherwise.

Other interesting sights today:

• water buffalo. Apparently India gets 70 percent of its milk from these creatures, and not from cows (which are sacred in the Hindu religion)
• very efficient mass transportation. It is the habit among the people of the place to jam as many people as possible into the smallest of cars. It's not uncommon to see 8-10 people in a tuktuk racing down the road ... variety is the spice of life
• toll booths dot the major highways in India. Most of them have booths where automobiles are expected to stop and pay their requisite deposits, but some of them have obviously been abandoned for far longer than they would care to admit.

Lots more to recount, but so little time to do it. Stay tuned for news about the mogul princess who is in our midst! Just imagine how lucky we are ... but that's a story for another entry.