The Savage Guy and his Trusty Sidekick: Nice Graveyard

Since I last wrote, I wrapped things up at work and hopped a plane up to Delhi before i head back to the states. My friend, Sapeksh, picked me up at the airport around 6:45 on Friday and we quickly headed to a local microbrew pub while happy hour was still going. Our mugs were quickly filled with a very nice summer wheat while we munched on some insanely hot Chinese chicken. I kept sipping beer to cool off my mouth, only to find that with each additional swig the pain only got worse. Thankfully, as I reached my breaking point the waiter arrived with our egg rolls, which had enough bread to instantly squelch the inferno.

We then hopped into the car to head back to his condominium that he shares with his parents and younger sister. They were eager to meet me, and perhaps even more eager to feed me. So, I politely ate as much as I possibly could on an already-full stomach, and greatly enjoyed the meal. Sorry honey if I come home with more "baggage" than I left, I'm sorry. Between the "bad" food and not being able to eat much fruits and vegetables here, my options are thin. Plus, Indians seem to like to feed others a lot.

Sapeksh's parent's do not speak English very well, so conversing with them is somewhat difficult and tough to find a rhythm. However, they are very nice people and were extremely nice to have put such a nice welcome together. His father was very interested in the election (India just chose a new Prime Minister on Friday), so we spent a good chunk in the other room with the T.V. and made his way over to visit with us every so often.

We awoke early on Saturday morning to get an early start to Taj Mahal. It's not terribly far away, but after accounting for traffic it quickly swells to a 3 or 3.5 hour trip. Additionally, a movie filming was taking place next to a vital bridge which inspired much gawking, and it made for lots of time in the car. Time I could spent taking pictures of cattle, for example. Lots and lots of them in this city (Agra), just hanging out, walking around on the roads.

I could really go for a burger right now

When we arrived at Taj Mahal, we were immediately assaulted by an onslaught of vendors offering a buffet of services: rides from the parking lot using camels or rickshaws, personalized tour guide, photo prints, slippers for our feet, etc etc. That is when I saw a side of Sapeksh that I have never seen. Though Sapeksh was born and raised in India, he has so many Western tendencies that it is sometimes surprising to me that he is actually Indian. However, I found his deep rooted heritage in his ability to negotiate/haggle with the merchants. Perhaps it was more awe inspiring since it was in Hindi, but even his sister was clearly enjoying watching him confidently and consistently wear down the salesmen. A 1km ride to the Taj for the 4 of us, 50 rupees (less than a dollar). Personalized guide, 220 rupees (about $3.60).

The guide was full of all sorts of information which was difficult to track. There were so many names of kings, wives, second wives, etc, but here is the basic gist: Taj Mahal means "Crown Palace." However, it is not a palace at all, as it was built to be a mausoleum for the Mausal (group of Muslims) king's third wife who died in 1631 during childbirth of their 14th child! The Taj construction began in 1632 and completed in 1653. It is supported by red sandstone, and covered completely in white marble that was brought in from some 250km away. Covering the marble in detail, inside an out, are extremely detailed inlays of various types of stones. Anyway, here is me and Taj:

Weird guy at the Taj

Apparently my left leg is longer than my right

After Taj, we did a little shopping and hopped on an auto-rickshaw (called "autos" for short) to get us back to our car. I was excited as it was my first time in one of these death machines, so I checked it out to make sure it was road-worthy before we left.

we went to this monstrous fort called "Agra Fort." It took forever to walk around it, after which I learned that 80% of it is closed off to the public as the rest is used by the military! Wow. It is basically a huge walled palace that the Mausals built and kept adding to during their 500 year reign. It's so big that I can't really capture, but I was especially impressed by the outside fortifications. I can't imagine trying to mount an attack on this place, surrounded by high walls, a moat filled with crocodiles (it is currently dried out), and many posts for archers to easily shoot you while coming in.