Train/bus trip from Agra to Khajuraho

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To get from Agra to our next destination, we had to take a train ride followed by a bus ride. Outside the train station in Agra, we were accosted by an assortment of beggars, including one man with feet swollen to five times their normal size (elephantiasis?).

Inside the train station, about a dozen street urchins dressed in rags, some of them carrying babies, came up to us and begged us for money. One poor man insisted on shining people's shoes whether they needed it or not (even tennis shoes) in hopes of getting a little money. Our train ride took two or three hours I think. The train was old and had dirty windows. I'm sure we were in first class, and I wouldn't even want to try second class.

Our bus was waiting for us in some town whose name I can't remember, and porters carried our suitcases on their heads. We then embarked on a long bus ride past miles and miles of wheat fields, houses with roofs made of cow dung patties, and difficult, semi-paved roads that seemed to be constantly under construction and blocked by cows. We passed quite a few brick factories en route, but most of the homes we passed seemed to be made of cow dung. We even passed a cow dung patty factory of sorts.

In the place where we stopped for lunch, a place that catered to tourists, a little boy about 7 years old came up to me and asked me for "samples" and "pens." It suddenly dawned on me that all of the many children we had been passing who were rubbing their heads wanted shampoo samples from our hotel. I relayed this information to our group, and from then on, all of us tried to save our shampoo and soap samples to give to children. I got out all my pens but one and in a very short time had given them all away. I wish I'd brought more.

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