We (Peter n I) arrived in Manipal from 3 days in Delhi!!! Ole n Ehsan are on their ways home... We had a good time though, saw A BUNCH of sites in Delhi like the India Gate n the Fountain, Gandhi's memorial tomb, a crap tone of temples, and the city life of India. There are seriously people hassling you every other step you take while walking the streets. There are pick pocketers, dudes wanting to help you get somewhere then charge you for their "kindness," people charging you AT LEAST double the normal price, and debating on prices for the goddamn rickshaws. When certain people see foreigners they jump at the chance to get money. Straight up... For example, we were all on our way to see the Taj Mahal (which is in Agra 5 hrs away from Delhi) and our cab driver wants to get some stuff from a local vendor. SO! while were waiting for our driver, wer see guys on the side of the street doing tricks with monkeys n all this cool stuff!! So we take pictures of course, who wouldn't. Well, the moment we stopped taking pictures and just watched them, they ALL came rushing our cab tapping the windows and yelling at us for money (compensation for the pictures we took). We full heartedly refused because we thought it was obsurd to pay them money for a sad monkey taken from its home in the jungle and used on the street for tricks. These guys were seriuosly pissed at us so we locked the doors, yelled for our cab driver, and got the hell outta there! Here's a sad monkey picture:



The Taj Mahal was amazing.. I can't describe how beautiful it was to see in person. It's all marble and the curves and shapes the Taj has are really stunning. It's crazy to think that people built this so long ago. I hear it took 22 years to construct! Crazy. It was balls hot in Delhi n Agra (+40 deg. Celcius) and FULL humidity. THE hottest weather I've been in since I was in Arkansas in the summer time... To get into the Taj, you have to take off your shoes and walk up these stairs and across a clearing, so by the time you're halfway there your feet are cooking on the walkway. We had to run to the enterance and even that wasn't very helpful. The Taj Mahal, for how large and elaborate, is relatively small inside and serves as only a tomb for two. This shocked me a lot! The Taj Mahal was built by a famous Muslim king for his wife; the Taj Mahal is a symbol of love. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!




Now I am back in Manipal. WOOO... We're all going to the state of Kerala this coming up weekend and are renting house boats for the trip!~!!! We will be taking trains to the area and then begin our travels of the lands. This will be my last big trip before I head home... Our flat is being slowly replaced with new people and it is sad. Paul, Ole n Ehsan are all gone, and their rooms/beds have already been replaced. Taygun leaves tomorrow and Peter n I leave next week. I AM GOING TO MISS THIS PLACE!!!