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For my last India post, I thought I would write a haiku and post pics!
So far am loving Pokhara, Nepal with a pretty sleepy robO!

Dirty, hot, chaos
Rickshaws, cows, cars share the streets
And yet I feel peace.

I guess I could compare my Taj Mahal experience with my Machu Pichu experience – no matter how many pictures you see in advance, the real deal is truly magical. Wow. The only thing missing was robO (countdown 1 day)!
I got up early to see the Taj at sunrise. Highly recommended as for about the first half hour the fountains aren’t on so I could get some pretty good reflection pictures. Of course I also got a quintessential Princess Di pic on the bench!
Next I walked to Agra Fort, which was also very photogenic. On the walk there I also had the chance to see some burning ghats (maybe ‘chance’ isn’t quite the right word).
Finally I made my way to the ‘Baby Taj’, smaller but much more intricately decorated than the Taj.

I consider myself to be quite a determined and ‘directive’ traveller in that I bargain pretty hard and think I’m pretty good at holding my own against crafty touts (if you want proof, ask robO to tell you the story of when I almost jumped out of a cab in Suriname over $5). But these Agra guys are ‘careers’. I have to give them credit.
This afternoon I was headed toward my hotel and this old man on a cycle rickshaw comes along and says he’ll take me there for 5 rupees (10 cents). Knowing this to be a little too good to be true, I questioned him, to which he gave me the puppy dog eyes and said “any trip is worth it for me”. I decided to do it, with the intention of paying him what I thought it would be worth (50 rupees or $1). On the way he tells me his plan: we stop at 3 shops along the way. At each one he receives a commission of 20 rupees just for bringing in a whitey (no matter if I buy or not). A proposed win-win I suppose. I had to admire his ingenuity and at least he told me what he was up to, so I shook on the deal! I couldn’t even be mad when he dropped me off at a spot about a kilometre short of my intended location. Well played, old man!

I could provide more examples of their schemes, but no need – nothing was lost for me, and they’re eeking out their living however they can.
I spent the late afternoon at a rooftop restaurant enjoying the sunset view of the Taj.

Tomorrow I head back to Delhi to meet robO Monday morning!
Here’s the photo frenzy…

Here I am in Agra (city where the Taj Mahal is). The course finished at noon today, then I took the train from Delhi to Agra. Much better than my first Indian rail experience 3 years ago (hints: don’t go at night and book tickets in advance!).
My first impression of Agra is that it is crazy busy. Pretty much like downtown Delhi, but maybe with windier streets. I met a couple from Vancouver at my hotel tonight, so enjoyed chatting and sharing travel tales. Thank god I am out of Noida, where I was probably the only tourist within 5kms. Made for long evenings and nights in my sketchy guesthouse!
Some photos:
– the awesome women’s only berths on the metro in Delhi
– a guy at the train station who fixes zippers on suitcases. Why don’t we have these guys around all transportation hubs at home??
– a couple random shots
…drumroll please…
– my first view of the Taj from the rooftop restaurant at my hotel. I’m going to see it at sunrise tomorrow!

RobO starts his journey to meet me today! Can’t wait!

Wow. There are a lot of very interesting topics being discussed here. I already have a list of things to bring back to work, and it’s only halfway through day 1! Hopefully I’m able to retain the excitement after 3 weeks in Nepal!
I have attached some pictures from the grand welcome dinner last night.

I want to share a story from this morning that really brought me to tears. As many of you know, I am doing the dawnO unconventional travelling method and staying in a guesthouse that is not part of the conference. This means I am responsible for finding my own transportation to and from the conference (about 15 minutes by auto rickshaw). This morning I was trying to explain where I needed to go to a non-English speaking driver. Of course, a crowd of people trying to help arose. It was about 5 minutes later when a man with some English skills came along and took charge of the situation. What was heartwarming wasn’t just his willingness to help, but that he went above and beyond. He wrote down the autorickshaw number and had the driver provide his cell phone number (which he actually tested by calling it) to ensure my safe delivery, as well as ensuring that I would be paying Indian (rather than my typical ‘white person’) fare. Another thank you to the kind hearted indian people.

…postscript for the moms: I wasn’t in a really unsafe predicament (I travelled this route yesterday and was very comfortable).

pps from RobO-  This is our 100th blog!!

Today was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t have much planned, other than transferring my self and my stuff to Noida, a superb of Delhi. I decided to spend the morning exploring around the hotel. Turns out that mere blocks from my room is my kind of travelling paradise! Lots of street food, fresh coconuts to drink, and great shopping, while still having cows, rickshaws, tut tuts, and cars manoeuvring through the narrow streets.
I found my dream shop – a whole shop of carved wooden stamps! Perfect for pottery! I resisted the urge to buy more indian clothing (so tempting here, but it really doesn’t transfer well to home culture).
I then took a series of public transport (metro, bus, rickshaw) to my new guesthouse. This is the real India. It’s pretty clean and seems safe, but I can see why it costs about $16 a night. Home, sweet home. I love it!
Now I’m at the conference center where they’re prepping for the opening ceremonies and welcome dinner. It looks like it will be fancier than a wedding.
I’ll attach some streets of India pictures today!

I really hit the ground running in India! After 36 hours of travel (door to door) I had a pretty good first night’s sleep in my pretty nice hotel.
This morning I got up and started to explore! A very friendly and helpful gentleman sent me to ‘Connaught Place’ in a rickshaw. It’s pretty much tourist-ville, except on Sundays when everything is closed! A bit of a miss. I then made my way on foot to the Red Fort, followed by some exploration one one of the crazy shopping streets. Feeling the need to relax and avoid the honking busy roads, I took the metro to the Lotus Temple, which is one of 7 Ba’hai temples in the world (hope Caitlin reads this!). Wow, is it beautiful. I spent most of the afternoon there and in a neighbouring park.
Some highlights thus far..
– seeing someone on the street doing (and selling) Spirograph! I bought one immediately, without even bartering. Brought me back to my childhood!
– looking at henna stamps, then the lady starts stamping my whole left hand and forearm. I hope it’s not some crazy toxic dye. Anyway, I was a bit surprised and in shock so didn’t stop her. Then when she started on my right hand too I just succumbed to the pressure (and the rupee provision).
– not really a highlight, but I’ve had at least 20 people wanting to take my picture. I’ve said no to all but one little girl.
– the really helpful Indian people. They really are. Some of them I could tell have an ulterior motive, but for the most part I find them to be genuinely kind. For example, I had a crowd of people around me and my map trying to help figure out directions.

Tomorrow I head to the superb of Noida, where my course is being held.