Agra

This morning, I woke up at 6 and walked out to see the Taj Mahal in the dawn light from the roof top of the flea bag hotel where I spent the night. It's convenient to the Taj Mahal, but having spent the morning gazing on pristine beauty, I'm looking for a nicer place in town. I can't really begin to describe that building. Like all of India, what struck me the most was the contrast, of the poor district clustered around it's gates, and the 750 Rh fee for foreigners to enter. The building to so huge and gleaming, that you don't notice the thousands of tourists passing though at all. Interesting too that the current building is in many ways the work of modern artisans, as things are constantly crumbling and being repaired.

Spent the rest of the day washing clothes, talking to some nice German girls and an English couple on a 12 month trip around the world in the very clean hostel somewhere in Agra. There was a giant thunderstorm that evening, so didn't make it back to the Taj Mahal to see it by sunset. All the tourist only talk to each other, because most conversations with locals invariably devolve into the pet charity they would like you to give money to, the tour guide service that they run, or their past experiences with foreign women. Very polite and nice people, invariably couched in the most respectful terms, which makes you feel so awful about saying no. I am developing a thicker skin. Or maybe westerners are just weird about money, and the Indians take a much more up-front view of the whole thing.