Taj Mahal

So we finally got here last night at around 11:30pm. Our plane got in as scheduled and we walked into the worst case of unorganization I have ever seen in my life. After we got through customs there was no order and no one to inforce it either.

It was sort of like finishing a race and there are people along either side behind the fences cheering you on. This time there were just hundreds of Indian people with signs to pick up those who had just arrived. We found Boskar, the driver for Bashir who we are staying with, and he took us out to the car. Unfortunately in order to get the car he had to leave us behind for a short while. In this short amount of time about 10 local men were able to surround us and take our luggage out of our hands while asking us to tip them. They definitely were not happy when we said no.

If I thought I knew what pollution was like before this, I had no idea. There is a smog that covers the entire city 24 hours a day that makes you feel as if you have a head cold all the time. I am not sure if the smog is from all the people, the dust, the number of cars, or all combined. The drivers are the most outrageous thing I have ever seen. I had to close my eyes on the way home from the airport so I didn't have a panic attack. There are no lanes, no right-of-ways, and no rules at all other than no taking on cell phones. And also no wrecks... maybe they are the ones who know how to do it.

So we all got a few hours of sleep and woke up to get on a bus to the Taj Mahal at 6:30 am. We had a private bus just for us and a few others. The bus ride was about 5 hours and the further we got from the city the worse the conditions. At first there were these run down shacks and huts that were just opening for the day with lots of tattered looking people. I kept thinking that as we kept going it would dwindle down; like at home where the further away from a big city you get, the less populated it is. But in this case it stayed the same. For the full 5 hours there were hundreds of people on either side of the road. Each time we stopped people would come up and bang on the side of the bus to try and get us to buy stuff or watch them snake charm... anything to get money.

The Taj Mahal is unlike anything that can be described without actually seeing it for yourself. The pictures do not do it justice. Tomorrow we will spend the day shopping and then orientation.

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