when I left the room this morning and stepped out, it was raining. Yes, raining here. We were told not to bring any rain clothes. It doesn’t rain this time of year.

even though it’s raining, the air quality remains crap

At breakfast, I try to order a pot of Nigiri tea. Nope don’t have it. Had to settle for a wonderful assign.

They are sending our bags ahead on a bus a separate bus on the bus we are on. Why? So the Luggage will be there when we arrive and in the room; this is service over the top add absurd to keep us having to move a bag 5 feet from the bus to the hotel and wait 10 minutes.

The rolls are indistinguishable from Parker house rolls. Called pau. The backstory is when wheat came to India after the second world war and the green Revolution they didn’t have mixing machines and the bread was made by people stompingon the dough. The word for feet is related to pav, to pau.

miles and miles of raw pottery shrines pieces used to construct them. A little hard to take pictures from the bus.

 those on the tour are often buying clothing, textiles sometimes jewelry for their children or grandchildren quite a bit of shopping going on. As well as clothing for themselves. 

The point of this image apart from showing the route I am on and the flat plane that we are crossing is that the Google Directions makes a distinction between a four wheeler and a two wheeler when traveling.

This morning you depart overland to Agra, renowned as the home of the Taj Mahal. Your journey today takes most of the day (approximately six hours including lunch) and covers approximately 150 miles as you travel through rural India for an insight into village and countryside life. During the drive you stop for lunch in Bharatpur, the former capital of a kingdom once ruled by Jat Maharajas.

Upon arrival in Agra check into your hotel and catch your first glimpse of the breathtaking Taj Mahal from your luxurious room. Once a small village on the banks of the Yamuna, Agra was transformed by …

Visit the Taj Mahal in the late afternoon, as the setting sun bathes it in a soft orange glow. The mausoleum of Empress Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved spouse of Shah Jahan who died in 1630, the Taj Mahal is often considered to be the “world’s monument to love.” The Taj complex comprises a forecourt, a lofty entrance, a charming formal Mughal garden with canals, and a central tank with a series of fountains, the tomb proper, and an attached mosque on the west, with its symmetrical counterpart on the east. The Taj is remarkable for its perfect proportions and rich pietra dura, with minute details executed with great skill. Often styled “a dream in marble,” it is said to have taken 22 years.

Asked leader about Ukraine and Russians. First, most Indians don’t care about what’s going on in Ukraine, we are a big country and concerned with ourselves. Secondly, Russia was there when we needed them and America wasn’t. America didn’t sell arms to us. When politicians from India went to Russia they were fetted with food, champagne and prostitutes. So they went back and then more politicians wanted to go thrre. Relationships developed of course.

Middle class about 350 people. Aspiring middle 250 lot of demand for goods. Poverty at 10 percent. Lots of socialist support in terms of giving them means to earn money.

Accommodation
The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra

Buffet lunch. I ate nothing. Almost everyone else ate.

Taj; 20k visitors a day weekends 60K

On the Taj visit, I did not take many pictures, almost none because well there are probably 1 million of them online but better than anything I could do. I did take have one unique photo here and you can look at my sunglasses and see a reflection of the taj