Agra

We returned very late last night from Agra. We had a huge list of sites to see, but because of corrupt government taxi services, only managed three. Which was actually ok, because it was pretty hot and after you've seen the Taj, well... every other site seems lackluster.

We started at Akbar's Mausoleum, which was the best site in Agra. The grandfather of Shah Jahan (who built the Taj) was religiously "enlightened" and married many women of different faiths, incorporated their faiths into his own and founded his own religion- the name of which translates to "One God." He built a beautiful mausoleum surrounded by lawns on which antelope and apparently bison roam. We never saw the bison, however.

No one was there. We were some of a handful of tourists and the beautiful site with its lovely grounds had not yet reached 110 degress, so it was pretty nice.

Second, we traveled to the Red Fort to knock it out of the way before lunch. We did this fast- kept moving- cause of the serious heat, and our hunger (we'd gotten on a train at 6 AM and woken up at about 4). It is an impressive site and in much better condition than the Red Fort in Delhi. There are palaces inside- all open Moghul palaces with water running through (hypothetically. There is no water in the fountains or canals). Unfortunately, all signs were in Hindu so we were not sure what rooms were what although those signs might just as easily been explaining "stay off the steps" or "no urinating."

After lunch we were hassled for several hours before we saw the Taj. There were more people than we've seen at any sites, although it must be a fraction of the numbers during decent seasons. The site is beautiful and well kept (of course, its actually pretty new by European standards). We were supposed to swoon over the love story and complied.

There were more white people than I've seen in a month and I felt terrible for some parents of two small beautiful red-headed children (the ONLY white children I've seen this whole month) because rude Indians/Nepalese were grabbing them and demanding pictures with them. And the girl was crying and crying as women forced her head toward their husband's camera. The dad was saying "Oh, she's shy. Let her be. She's shy."
I would have hit them with their own cameras had that been my child.
Luckily, it appeared they were with a cruise or tour or something, so this may have been their only Indian experience.

The Taj is amazing because it is surrounded by all that is rural India. Directly behind the Taj on the banks of a river are camels sitting and naked children swimming. Monkeys climbed the wall and were seeking shade under benches.

Anyways, I could go into the major hassling we experienced, but you can ask me personally. I had to go into super high octane bitch mode getting off trains, into cars, walking, breathing. And be forceful and throw several fits during the day over many things hindering our having a safe travel.

At the same time, we are constantly told by men that we are not safe. And there is a culture of "can I take you where you need to go, madame" blah blah. While there is some danger, I actually think alot of the information is truly paternalistic propaganda, designed to intimidate women and, thus, provide jobs for men. Women here are scared to do anything alone, and we threaten that system by flaunting our married independence. We are collectively sick of being told what, how, when to do everything by men with "our best interests" in mind.

OK, that's all for now! I'm sorry about no photos. I may try later!!