Agra: The Taj at sunrise

The only reason we decided to brave blistering hot Agra, was to feast our eyes on India's number one tourist attraction, The Taj Mahal. It was absolutely worth it!! We forced ourselves out of bed at 5am in order to see the sun rise on the Taj. Many times, when you actually see a famous structure in person, it ends up being anti-climactic, but the Taj was exactly the opposite. It was the most beautiful building either of us had ever seen. We couldn't help but to stop and stare at it in wonderment. We were amazed that a man-made structure could evoke such strong emotions. Our guess is that its perfect symmetry and beautiful curves make it naturally appealing to the eye. Here are a few of our favorite pictures:

Rip-roaring through resplendent Rajasthan

Boy, was Rajasthan a blur! We wanted to see a handful of cities in this Indian state, but every day seemed to be hotter than the last, so we accelerated our timetable and spent just 2-3 nights in each place. Here's a rundown of the best and worst of each:

• Jaipur: After being conned off of our bus too early by a conniving rickshaw driver and then witnessing another driver be bitch-slapped by a crowd of his peers, we safely made it to our wonderful guesthouse, the Explorer's Nest. Arvind, the owner, was incredibly sweet and accomodating and our room felt like one you'd pay hundreds of dollars for at a B&B in the States. We were walled into our room the first night by a cheeky monkey who just wouldn't let us down the stairs. He eventually relented, and this was the first in what has been a series of monkey incidents since. After a nice walk though the colorful bizzares of the Pink City and a hike up to a fort atop a mountain, we were ready to move on to our next stop.

• Pushkar: This city is considered holy and many Hindu pilgrams come here in order to wash their sins away among the ghats of the sacred lake. Ironically, however, this was also where we encountered the most unholy of things: fake priests conning people out of their money for "a family blessing," the sacred lake a polluted mess and the holiest of animals, the cow, allowed to starve (forced to eat the trash and drink thier own urine while peeing- gross!). Business men were cheating fellow shop owners, we were constantly approached by drug peddlers and it never was easier to get an illegal beer (referred to as "special juice" on the reciept). Despite all this, we had one of the best views yet from our balcony - it's still a breathtaking city - and we also had a great time hanging out with the group we'd formed with Vanty, Katy and Danielle.

• Udaipur: We instantly took a liking to Udiapur, perhaps because it's the most European-feeling city we'd been to yet. We weren't hassled by touts like everywhere else, and we saw cows being fed fresh greens (our new barometer for how friendly a city will be is how healthy the cows look...accurate so far). The architecture was really pleasant, with nice mixes of in and outdoor areas and rooftops providing great views of the city. We caught a boat ride to Jalismir Island and enjoyed a traditional Rajasthani dance performance.
  

• Mt.Abu: We traveled to this city atop a mile-high mountain in order to take a meditation class with the Brahma Kumaris. Neither of us took a liking to the town itself, which felt like an Indian version of the Jersey Shore. We had planned on staying to complete the full introductory course, but by the end of our first session, we both had decided the organization was not for us. Our teacher was lovely and very open to our feedback and the organization seemed to be legit and involved in some great community and environmental activities, but the religious aspect didn't gel with our beliefs, so we ended our stay and began our loooooong bus ride to Agra.

Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Rajasthan-Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Rajasthan%20-%20Nick/

Delhi: Home of 101 OFFICIAL Government Tourist Offices

We didn't realize how spoiled we were in Mumbai and Goa until we arrived in Delhi. We were immediately accosted by touts: Indian men aggressively trying to sell us everything under the sun. We couldn't walk more than 5 steps without someone approaching us about taking their rickshaw, coming into their shop, or "helping us" to find our way. And they gave a whole new meaning to the word persistent - one or even several no's would not dissuade them from following us and insisting we take their offer. One of the most common reasons for their approach was to get us to come with them to the "one and only official government tourist office" which was always in a different direction depending on who you talked to. It was all quite exhausting and definitely affected our ability to fully enjoy the city.

But like with everything, Delhi wasn't all bad. We went around Old Delhi by auto-rickshaw and perused its many markets, most impressive of which was the spice market. The odor emitting from the barrels of pungent spices was enough to bring on tears and a fit of coughs and sneezes, even from the shop owners who are exposed to it daily. We visited the largest mosque in India, Jama Masjid, which was great for people and pigeon watching. Another favorite was visiting the Gandhi Smriti, the place where Gandhi spent his final days and was assassinated. It is a memorial of his amazing life and you can actually retrace his final steps there.

Delicious as we both find Indian food, eating it twice a day was getting to be a bit much, so we finally caved and gorged on the most Western meal we could find, at none other than TGIFridays. Our lamb bacon cheeseburgers (remember, no beef here), washed down with a 2 for 1 vanilla milk shake, was just what the doctor ordered.

In the end, we're glad we experienced wild Delhi, even if just for the purpose of making the rest of India seem a bit tamer.

Check out videos of the spice market and our rickshaw ride:



Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Delhi-Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Delhi%20-%20Nick/

Goa: relaxing beaches and throwing color

We originally planned to spend our 11 days in Goa beach hopping down the coast, but after we arrived in the northernmost beach of Arambol, we just parked and put on the emergency brake. It was perfect: sandy beaches, clear blue water and totally laid back. Most of the people there were hippies who had been staying there for months. We rented a motor bike twice, once to visit the famous Wednesday Market in Anjuna, a neighboring beach, which happened to also fall on Holi Day, a celebration where multi-colored powder is thrown and rubbed on, well, on everyone and everything, including the cows! It was a wild day! Our next moto-trip was to the capital city called Panjim, a city chock full of Portuegese architecture remaining from their colonozation many years ago. It was nice to have a bit of a routine within all the chaos that traveling so often provides. We had a great time lounging with the few tourists and cows seaside, taking long beach walks at sunset, and were sad to leave it behind.





Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Goa-%20Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Goa%20-%20Nick/