The Real Hindustan!

I had quite the past 24 hours or so!

Last night we went to a really good restaurant, but made the sad mistake of ordering Chinese food with naan. While the garlic naan melted in my mouth (Yes, it was just that good), the Chinese food was pretty horrible. I should have known this much, but anyway, lesson learned: Indian Chinese food is horrible.

Today I slept in too late so we rushed thru breakfast and hopped in the car and headed out to Agra. A few notes from the car ride...

Outer Delhi: As we drove out, we got to see the outskirts. Unlike American cities, there are no suburbs here, as the wealthier people live in the center of the city. We saw the construction of the new Delhi Metro that crews are working on 24 hours a day to complete before the Commonwealth Games.

Rural India: Driving thru rural India we were able to see what I would call the real India. Until this point I could not understand why people had described India to me as a place that was nothing like they had ever seen. I now know why. Cows roam thru the streets freely as so people carrying food and baskets on their head. My personal favorite was seeing a snake charmer outside of the entrance to the restaurant where we ate lunch. (I never knew that those existed, it was really cool!)

Beggers: While we have had a number of beggars approach us in the past week, we really got swarmed at the border to enter the state (In India, drivers must pay a tax each time they cross this state line.) We waited in the car while our driver went out to take care of things. Immediately we were surrounded by people trying to sell us things. After they left we had to beggars come up and start banging on our windows. Usually these people are either crippled or are woman with young children (apparently, they rent these children from neighbors because they will make more money). It was very uncomfortable all together. Although I was slightly amused by the kid who put a monkey up to the window of the car after we ignored him. I am not quite sure what the point of that was...

Anyway, after a very eventful journey we reached the Sikandra Fort, which isn't actually a fort, but a memorial. After going inside we were approached by a tour guide who led us around the sights. (At all of these sights, the tour guides look for white people and start to show you around. They are very knowledgeable, but expect some sort of payment at the end. I think anything between Rs300-500 is acceptable). We learned about the tomb of Akbar and his three wives; one was Hindi, one was Muslim and one Christian. The tomb is absolutely beautiful and incorprates different types of architecture from all over the world in honor of his wives.

We recently arrived and checked in at our hotel, the Gateway. The hotel looked pretty in the lobby but our room leaves me at a loss for words! We have a beautiful suite on the top floor with sweeping views on Agra, meaning a straight on view of the Taj Mahal. I think the bathroom here is the size of my apartment!

Tonight we are going for a traditional North Indian meal right in our hotel. The North Indian food here is what we think of as Indian food in the states. It is very heavy and a lot of it is fried. (My goal is to find a South Indian restaurant in the City, because Dosas are just about the best thing!)

Tomorrow we will be seeing the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort.

Namaste. नमस्ते.