Taj Glory

As I was unsuccessful at uploading Taj photos from Agra, I wanted to try from Jaipur, where we are currently.

I am not a photographer to Kimie's degree (I can't wait to see her photos!), but we got some good ones.

The marble work was amazing.

inside the mausoleum

We spent quite a while taking some "fun" shots.... (earning us some funny glances from other toursists!)

I love this one of Kimie!

Kimie with double reflections...

(we didn't photoshop this, I swear!). The view just got better and better as we approached...


"The baby Taj"

We successfully made it (via a $110 and about 250 km taxi ride over some terrible roads) to Sawai Madhopur for a brief afternoon "tiger" safari yesterday. However, we had torrential rains ("bad luck" said the hotel manager) and were entirely soaked by the end of the trip in the open air canter. We saw no tigers (wisely hiding from the rain), but did see some herons, antelope, and a black bear, so (other than our drenched clothes!) it wasn't a total wash. We stayed in some basic "swiss tent" accommodations outside and weren't eaten alive. Rather than having the chance to repeat the story, we (with a lot of rickshaw-driver-help) successfully got on local-class seating for a train to Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital.

We love it here! We have an awesome Lonely-Planet recommended hotel, and this old "Pink City," with its old sandstone walls and palaces, is very charming. We spent the afternoon wandering the Old City, and visiting the City Palace, which holds some impressive textiles, ammunition, and the world's largest silver jars. The nearby observatory was also very picturesque as the sun was descending...

Tomorrow, we are in search of, not tigers, but ... CAMELS! The famous Pushkar Camel Fair starts this weekend and we are headed to the action. I have decided that K needs to ride a camel before we leave India :)