agra.

arriving in agra, the duo had new standards when searching for a place to stay. 1. A/C to battle the uttar pradesh heat. 2. decent location. 3. private bathroom. 4. price. and 5. (the most important!) television with star sports for the nba finals. the lakers had just lost game two while bryndia was in jaipur & bryn felt he needed to glue his dome to a television halfway around the globe to push them to a win in game three.

after getting comfortable, showering, unpacking, and jotting down thoughts of the journey to agra in their journals in their five-dollar-a-night hotel room that claimed to have star sports, bryn came to the realization that it was all LIES! star sports was unavailable & the A/C wasn't even that good.

the deep hunger after the long journey did not help this problem. bryn was heated. but a beautiful view & a tasty meal can change anyones mood and as the two indulged in some thali, big kingfishers, and washed it down with a rooftop view of the taj mahal, it was all smiles from then on out. they made friends with their server, who seemed to work every and all positions in the hotel, and played crazy eights while the sun fell behind the taj.

the next morning, bryndia awoke at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise shine down on the taj mahal from their small window & prepared urgently to beat the crowds into the holy mausoleum. packing books, journels & snacks, they were surprised when going through security that they were told not to read, write, or loiter inside. you would think that paying foreigner prices, 750 rupees instead of the 20 indian citizens had to pay, would grant you these liberties. apparently, they don't.

the taj mahal was everything it promises to be and, surprisingly, much larger in real life (that's what she said). even as a haze and drizzle of rain passed by, the two could feel the magic that is the taj mahal. after seeing so many pictures in school, on postcards, in movies, the two were skeptic as to how the historic structure would live up to its reputation. the purest glossy white marble, the rare green grass that covered the gardens, & the intricate fountains leading up to the entrance were breath taking.

visitors are required to check their sandals & shoes or place a white shoe cover, the ones that doctors wear, over their nikes before entering tomb. inside the taj, a large room is found where photos are not allowed. this large room holds the remains of emperor shah jahan and his wife. emperor shah jahan built the enormous structure after his wife died while giving birth to their 14th child. yikes!





after circling the tomb and visiting the two mosques on each side, and befriending a small dog who was getting picked on by a bigger wolfpack, and sitting on a park bench and marveling at the awesomeness that is the taj mahal, and posing for, literally, fifty seperate photos with indian tourists, bryndia exited through the east gate, weak in the legs and fulfilled in the heart after a wonderful morning that carried over into the afternoon.

walking down the street on the outer wall, bryn snapped back to reality when spotting a cafe coffee day, india's starbucks, which always house a flatscreen with satellite television. "maybe they'll have the laker game on tomorrow morning," he shouted with glee! india hurried to catch up as he upped the pace to the coffee conglomerate.

the two enjoyed some processed food, iced coffee & jotted down thoughts in their journal inside the cafe, bryn with a smile after finding out that they would open at six am the next morning for him to watch kobe get buck wild on the celtics in game three.

the rest of the afternoon and night was spent exploring agra and all that the city had to offer. on the way back to their lodging bryn & india bought a few kingfishers at a beer market and enjoyed them on the rooftop of their hotel while watching monkeys attack a group of sorority girls who thought it would be funny to feed them. monkeys don't mess around when it comes to food and our server friend had to bring out the gun to scare them away.

the next morning, bryn took a cold shower to wake up every inch of his body for the lakers/celtics game & tried to persuade india to tag along but she wasn't having it. he stumbled past goats, cows, and bicycle rickshaws all waking up to start their day. bryn slapped hands with his homie from the day before and flipped on the game while his iced coffee was being prepared. about two minutes into the game he had food, drink, basketball, and a new friend to share a laker win with. a further two minutes later, he had one more friend, the second employee who popped out of the cafe coffee day bathroom after taking his morning shower using the cafe sink. if the water pressure is good, why not? beats a cold bucket shower.

india met bryn for the second half and, after the victory dance bryn does after most wins, the two wrote some post cards, scanned over the lonely planet and took off for a hotel pool to enjoy the hot afternoon.

at the hotel pool, bryndia met a couple from the states, randy & melanie from texas and cali, who had been traveling india in the opposite direction but were more then happy to spend the rest of the day with another english speaking couple. they gave bryn & india insider tips on the north part of the country and took turns on the rickety water slide before all taking off to find a "well known secret" taj mahal viewing area from the opposite bank of the river. they found where all the tourists were but wanted to get closer then the barbed wire fence & soldiers allowed. following a natural path deeper into the forest, the four found a large group of water buffalo being herded back from grazing by the river. following that path further, they found a hole in the barbed wire fence and a boy pointing and directing them under, holding the barbed wire out of harms way. soon they were in the most surprising, beatiful, picture perfect scene they could imagine, surrounded by empty land, and looking up across a river at the giant taj mahal. the sand crept between their toes as they all looked up in amazement on the opposite shore. the needed pictures were taken and the moment was deposited into the section of your mind were you hold things that you will never forget. and that's when the gaurds began shouting angrily & the group concluded their adventure.



that night, bryn & india ate a dinner of twenty five rupee thali with hot chapati and cooling yogurt and rickshawed to the bus station where they would catch a ride north to the start of the ganges in the holy city of rishikesh.