Delhi, Agra and the Rajasthan region of INDIA
I realize that this is somewhat of a LONG post ... so feel free just to skim it quick if you choose. Mom and Dad, who are always so supportive and excited to hear about my world wanderings, requested a copy of my photos. After Tiffany, Jamie and I combined our photos, we had way over 1,000 (boring, if you weren't there). I figured that this method would be most interesting for them and hopefully for you... to catch a glimpse of my experience in India.
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AGRA
TAJ MAHAL a wonder of the new world
We awoke early in the morning before sunrise to join the masses of tourists who had come to visit the Taj at sunrise. The Taj Mahal is described as the most extravagant mounument ever built for love. It was constructed by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife.
We were able to spend several hours exploring and taking many many pictures of the ornamental gardens, mausoleum (which is acutally what the Taj is.. a tomb), minerets and mosques. The Taj is constructed of white marble and is decorated with inlayed semiprecious stones in various designs. It was beyond incredible. 
In each city we visited, we were met by a guide. Here we are with our Agra guide, Rameesh.
We also visited the AGRA FORT (above), which sits across the river from the Taj Mahal. This huge red sandstone fort was where Emperor Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal) was imprisoned by his son. The son considered his father crazy for spending lots and lots of money building the Taj Mahal. In addition, Shah Jahan was in the process of constructing a black marble Taj Majal for himself direcly across the river from the white marble Taj Mahal. Today you can just see the foundation for what he hoped to be his black Taj Mahal. Wouldn't that have been a site, two identical Taj Mahals, one black and one white?!
Above is the view of the Taj from the Agra Fort. This is what the imprisioned emperor saw daily from his prison cell.
It was here at the Agra Fort that had our first of what would be many photo shoots with the local Indian people. Everywhere we went, people wanted their pictures taken with us. In the beginning it was just women and girls or families, but soon it was groups of men... hmmm.
One thing I loved about India was the beautiful colored SARIs. Women don't just wear them for special occassions, but they wear them in everyday life. The sari is a single piece of cloth that is skillfully wrapped and folded and voila, you have a skirt, shawl and scarf in one. I think I would be afraid that it would fall off.
No, this thankfully wasn't our taxi nor driver that we had for two weeks. Our taxi had doors, air conditioning and seatbelts. This is us taking a ride in a tuk tuk. Driving in India was CRAZY!! let me say it again CRAZY!! First you drive on the left side of the road, which gives me a headache anyways, but if there were any traffic laws or speed limits... I didn't see or experience it. Roadways are packed with cars, buses, tuk tuks, bikes, motorbikes, pedestrians, camels, and cows (yes holy cows.. they are everywhere munching on trash.) If there is even a foot of space, you honk your horn or flash your lights and go. Straddling lanes or driving down the shoulder of the road, the median or even toward oncoming traffic is commonplace. Surprisingly, I only saw one little fender-bender and practically no road rage, except from Jamie, who was in the car with me.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JAIPUR
Jaipur is the known as the Pink City. This is because the buildings and walls surrouding the Old City of Jaipur are all constructed out of the same pink colored architecture.
In Jaipur we visited the AMBER FORT. We rode elephants from the courtyard up to the massive fort.
I shared my elephant ride with our Jaipur guide, Mr Money. He was an interesting character. He called himself a poet and would sing or chant poems to us in the car. He also really liked Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.We were in India during the elections (we all voted early.. if you are wondering). Everywhere we went people would ask us where we were from, usually after they wanting their picture taken with us. Once they learned we were American, their next comment would be about our new President Obama. My favorite is when someone said, "oh Osama is your new president". We had a good chuckle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------OLD & NEW DELHI
Delhi, which consists of New Delhi and Old Delhi, is the HUGE, incredibly populated, polluted capital city of India. Here we visited forts, government buildings, shops galore, and temples. Above is Tiffany and I outside the INDIA GATE, which looks very similar to Paris' Arch de Triumph, however isn't quite as old. The India Gate is a war memorial and is located on the National Mall, much like the mall in Washington D.C.
We adorned ourselves with a bit of henna body art while we were in Delhi. Don't worry, it was temporary and only lasted a few days upon returning home. All the handwashing at the hospital took care of my tattoos pretty quickly. I had designs on both of my hands and wrists. We paid only a couple of dollars for a girl to freehand us a funky design in the streets of Delhi near the India Gate.
While in Old Delhi, we visited India's largest mosque: Jama Masjid in the historical Muslim quarters of the city. Since we had some bare skin showing (yes, our arms and legs) we got to dress up in bright Indian moo-moos. Very glamorous. As if we didn't already draw attention to ourselves, we really turned some heads here.
We toured the windy, bumpy, crowded narrow streets of Old Delhi via rickshaw: carts pulled by a bicycle (though you can't see the driver in either of the above photos).
I couldn't help but post a picture of an electrical wire web in Old Delhi. Can't imagine that is quite up to code.
In New Delhi we visited Qutb Minar, considered to be the most perfect and ornate tower in the Persian World (above).
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PUSHKAR
Pushkar is a small city out in the arid countryside of the Rajasthan region. It is considered a holy city, home to the only Brahma (one Hindu god) temple. All devout Hindus strive to visit here atleast one time during their lifetime.
Every year in November the small town hosts the famous camel fest. People from all over the Rajasthan state come to buy, sell and trade camels, horses and cows. Not only is the town full of pilgrims and tribal folk, but it also is a magnet for hippies, yogis, and tourists.
CAMELS. CAMELS. CAMELS.
I literally saw thousands of camels. It was fascinating. I absolutely loved my time spent in Pushkar. Here we didn't have a guide, so we had a couple of days to do, see, explore and shop as we pleased.
We saw camel races, camel dancing and camel decorating competitions. I even ate camel milk icecream and honestly, it wasn't too bad. We took an afternoon camel safari. Sorry I don't have pictures of me on my camel to post yet. A picture of Roby's head and our shadows with have to do for now.
Our accomodations in Pushkar was at a safari tent camp. Each day we took multiple trips on sandy dirt roads to and from the camel fair and town on camel cart taxis.
Below we are pictured with Tomar, our wonderful taxi driver who was stuck with us for the full 2 weeks. Not only did he safely maneuver us through the wild roadways and traffic jams of India, but he managed to skillfully fit all of our luggage into our little car. Let's just say this was not an easy feat. We did quite a bit of shopping. By the end of the trip Tomar was patiently advising us not to make any more purchases, at least not any big purchases.
Here is our tent in Pushkar. It was actually pretty nice and made me feel right at home, after living for 3 summers in canvas tents at Philmont. I think its mostly the lovely smell of canvas baking in the hot sun. (Susan will know exactly what I'm talking about).
Our tent was a two room suite. First the bedroom consisted of three beds in a row, one lamp, a little table and two chairs. We even had our own private bathroom complete with flushing toilet and running water. The water was not hot, or even luke warm mind you, but it was running water. Morning showers which involved cold water and a bucket. I'll let you use your imagination. Funny thing is that the drains and toilet just emptied into a series of holes dug out a mere foot or two behind the tent.
In Pushkar we became acquainted with some cool friends, American and British. Each had their own unique story: one had a grant to research camels in India for a year, one was on a year long spiritual journey throughout the world, and the other was a free lance photographer. They were curious as to why three Mormon girls had come to India... and many others have asked the same things since I have returned home.. thankfully safely home. My answer.. why not?? Exotic sights, an opportunity to behold a wonder of the world, fabulous food, treasures to be purchased, diverse cultures, interesting people, religious birthplaces, camels, elephants, history galore and another stamp in the passport.
