Days have been spent traveling. The pollution was so bad in Delhi that our flight was an hour late. We drove to Agra which is a five-hour drive, we did not arrive until after 6 pm. By the time we ate dinner we were all exhausted. However, on the way to our room we passed a puppeteer. Never one to pass up a puppet show, Shap and I watched while the puppets belly danced, danced with snakes and flipped from female to male. I am always fascinated by puppeteers and their ability to use all the strings. People were passing him by, but Shap and I laughed at the antics of the puppets as if we were kids. It was a relaxing gem after a long trip.

Up at 5:00 to get to the Taj Mahal before sunrise in order to avoid the crowds. I think it was also to beat the pollution, known as fog in India. The sun is barely visible all-day long. When we finally got to the Taj Mahal, it is truly one of the seven wonders of the world. The colors and angles that reflect the light are exquisite. Of course, if it were me I would have wanted this built before I died so I could enjoy it.

 

The craftsmanship is breathtaking, but the setting is what draws you to it. If it were not for the garden and water feature leading the eye to the building it would not be as dramatic.

Headed for Jaipur we spent time in a roadside market. We were quite the attraction and had many requests to have out picture taken or to take pictures.

We stopped at a city residence of the third Mogul in the 16^th century. He was the first to have three wives with three different religions.  This was quite an amazing residence and we ended up spending more time than we had expected.

 

Back in our van we will arrive late in Jaipur. I think we will need more than two nights here but it is on to the camel festival. Time is flying by and the sounds of India will forever be honking horns and the sound of breaks as a cow decides to cross the main highway. But then we arrive off a busy street in the wholesale area of Jaipur through a gate where the road in looks as if it were some dark dirty alleyway. In front of us is the Hotel Dra Mandawa a beautiful inn with a charming courtyard and rooms so large you could live in them as an entire house. Even an upstairs balcony with a meditation room. Charming wall stencils, block printed covers and an enormous padlock on our door. It could not have been a more perfect end to our day.