India Day 6 part 1

India Day 6: "Hot as Hell"

Last night we kissed our 5 star luxury palace by the lake goodbye and set out for the train station. I am convinced our tuktuk driver had a death wish as he would take his eyes off the already chaotic nighttime streets to turn 180* in his seat and chat with us about "how much good karma [he] has" right before whirling back around just in time to swerve out of a semi's way, and into a swarm of furiously honking motos, while avoiding a herd of children crossing the street (presumably hemophiliacs). Then while laughing mercilessly he throws booth arms in the air exclaiming "look man, no hands, no vans, no worries chicken curry!!" What??! There is just enough light to recognize that the "street" we are careening down is just wide enough for Miche to reach out and and touch either side yet there is more traffic than LA at rush hour with a hardness of defensive driving whose closest, yet insufficient, comparison are East Coast drivers during a holiday rush.  Our ride concluded with a surreal action movie drift into a parallel parking space, with our driver giggling we spilled out of the mini-death trap kissing the ground with fervor, despite the potential for disease.    

The train ride was uneventful except for the occasional broken wind. We arrived in Agra where it was a balmy 108*!

We sweat it out through the congested streets, and arrived at our less-than-perfect hotel and headed up to the roof for a "quick" lunch. I relinquish the writing to the wordsmith of our group, Miche, to provide due justice to the Taj Mahal.......... Please see part 2.