Making our way North

Well, we can check a few major tourist sights off our list after spending the past few days traveling through Agra (oh so briefly) to Delhi. A few days ago, Laura and I saw the Taj Mahal, and let me tell you that no matter how many pictures you see of that thing, there is nothing like actually standing in front of it. It is the definition of a surreal feeling. Almost an out of body experience to be actually looking at something that you can recall an image of in your mind so easily. As you can all imagine it really is that huge and white and ornate. I know I am a cynic when it comes to this stuff, but I wasn't really blown away by any romantic feelings that apparently some people get caught up in when wandering through the ornate gardens and gazing at the huge central dome. I mean, if some guy built ME a huge white gravestone after I died giving birth TO HIS 14TH CHILD, I would not be in such a romantic mood. Seems more like the guy was feeling a wee bit of guilt to me ... But again I'm a cynic. We spent less than 12 hours in Agra because everyone told us that, aside from the Taj Mahal, not much else is going on. Plus, it makes no financial sense to spend more than one day looking at the Taj, because it is ridiculously expensive to get in for foreigners. Everything in India has 2 prices - one for Indian nationals and one for foreigners. The mark-up for foreigners is extreme. If I could only convince someone that my fair skinned, 6 foot plus self was an Indian national, then I would only have to pay 10 rupees to see the Taj Mahal. To give everyone in the States a sense of what that means, 10 rupees equals about 5 US cents. Instead, Fox and I must pay 750 rupees each, about 16 ish dollars! No fair!!! Oh well, now I know how everyone who is not from California feels when they get to the gates at Disneyland. But I must say that even though we paid 75 times more than the obnoxious group of men who would not stop taking pictures of us, (is that correct? My math is on very shaky grounds these days) the Taj Mahal was indeed breathtaking.
While on the subject of men in
India, let me note that though we are always safe and not in any danger at all (I promise mom) the way we are treated in this country, because we are women, is out of control. I noticed the other day that when we are walking around, I actually keep my head tilted toward the ground and keep my gaze on my feet. If I do look up to check out a cool modern Delhi flat, or to make sure a crazy rickshaw wallah isn't gunning straight for me, I am extremely careful not to meet anyone's eye. I have learned in the past 2 weeks that any kind of eye contact between myself and a man, no matter how incidental, is an open invitation for that man to either catcall and make a huge ridiculous scene, or to start following me and ask me questions that inevitably lead to some proposal of marriage. Neither situation particularly thrills me. A friend, Wes, who lives here in Delhi was explaining that the men literally can't help reacting that way, because of the huge disparity of women in the country. Open any newspaper here in Delhi, and you will easily find some horror story about a newly wed Indian woman being beaten and in some cases killed by her new husband's family because her dowry was too small. India is a country where female infanticide is a huge issue, because female children become quite expensive for a family once they are at the marrying age. Someone clearly wasn't thinking ahead however, because female infanticide has led to a shortage of about 50 million women across India. Hence the marriage proposals and catcalls Laura recieves even when she is wearing a moomoo and sweating profusely and has a streak of dirt across her forehead.
Being back in a big city, Delhi, for the past few days has been lovely. We went to an "excellently curated" modern art museum a few days ago (Laura took a class on curation once). The highlight however was going to a hindu temple complex that operates more like a theme park. There was a boat ride a la the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland (mentioned twice in this blog!) that had the ambitious task of covering "10,000 years of India's history in 10 minutes!" Yikes. Highlights also include an epic movie shown on an imax-like screen about a boy who left home at age 7 to find enlightenment. Advertisements for that proclaimed that the cast had over 45,000 people!!! Almost nothing in India is small.
Tonight we are taking the overnight train to Haridwar. There is an extreme amount of yoga in my future which I am really excited about. We also have some good leads on NGOs with whom we hope to volunteer with in a few weeks time. Love and baci to everyone at home.

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