India at a Glance

Natural resources: dirt, chaos, sketchy men, wild dogs
Time: 9 ½ hours ahead of EST
Number of hours Americans still have to wait after the new Harry Potter becomes available in India: 3
Current average temperature: probably 95 or so
Humidity: 75894723584728572319%
Ratio of men to women: 10:7 (according to Rajan)
Cute children asking for money: zillions
Random power outages per day: 3 or 4, maybe
Cows in the street: yes
Unusually colored boogers: see April 18th's entry, Everything You Wanted To Know About China (But Were Afraid to Ask)

This past week I’ve spent just acclimating to India and sightseeing. We spent the first four days in Delhi, then went to Jaipur and Agra for 2 days. I’ve already forgotten where exactly we went in Delhi, but my main impressions were that Delhi has got some pretty sweet architecture. Beautiful temples and serene gardens are in sharp contrast to the noise, dirt, and chaos of the city in general. We saw a Baha’i temple today that was shaped like a huge white lotus with 27 petals! It looked kind of like the Sydney Opera House, only more symmetrical.
Another salient aspect of our sightseeing experience was the constant attention we got from Indian people. Unabashed stares and constant requests to take pictures with the white people – shades of China! Only here I had more people ask to take pictures with me in one day than I did in my whole four months in China. At several places we developed crowds of men who followed behind us, and, any time we stopped, would seize the opportunity to come ask for pictures. It was kind of a bother, because when I’m sightseeing I’d like to move slowly and stop to admire things and take pictures, but when there’s a crowd behind, you have to keep moving or you’ll be accosted. Arrrr.
The trip to Jaipur and Agra was definitely a good choice. Jaipur had a couple of pretty palaces-of-something-or-other, but what we liked more than palaces was the amazing rooftop restaurant we went to after lunch and the bazaar we went to afterwards. There was tons of pretty stuff, and my China-honed bargaining skills did not fail me; I succeeded in buying some skirts for less than half the price the French girls paid for them, and I got the design that was longer and made of nicer material. I am highly satisfied. Another interesting feature of Jaipur: camels and even a couple elephants on the road! (in addition to the usual cows) Agra didn’t have any elephants, but there were monkeys! Agra was actually kind of ghetto compared to Jaipur, although it contains the Taj Mahal. Seeing the Taj was the main reason for going on the trip, and it did not disappoint. I hope my pictures came out all right. I forsook getting the new Harry Potter at its release time in favor of going to the Taj Mahal, and I’m not sorry. I bought the new HP that night anyway, and I’m done with it now. I really wish I had someone here to discuss it with!!!!