India, Day 5, Part 1: "That goat is smiling at you!"

We woke up in Jaipur, also known as the Pink City.  Or, land of incredible bargain shopping.  First up, a good breakfast at our gorgeous hotel.

We got our culture in for the day at my second-favorite-so-far Indian site, called Amber Fort.  A few of us forewent the popular elephant rides up to where the fort was built, as the line was way long.

It was really only a 15 minute walk up to the main part of the fort, and we got to watch all the painted elephants along the way.

And then along the way came a little peanut!

Built in 1592, Amber Fort is known for its gorgeous blend of ornate Hindu and Muslim architecture.  I just want all these colors for my house.

And I want a Hall of Mirrors.

The tour was awesome, every room was like a picture book.  The following shots were just from the walk back down.

This is my new friend Carlos who, even though I already bought 5 of his paintings, refused to leave me alone.  I asked what his real name was, and it was something completely unpronounceable, though I never ask him where he got Carlos from.  Usually the aliases are Dennis or Peter or something a little less exotic than "Carlos".

I eventually told l him to back off, we had some real shopping to do.  Up next, breaking the bank in Jaipur...

India, Day 4: "Vikram. Vikram. Vikram! Vikram! VIKRAM!!!"

On Day 4 we travelled from Agra, land of the Taj Mahal, to Jaipur, land of shopping.  It was, again, a five hour drive that we managed to stretch into eight.  Barely out of the city, we made Vikram stop when we saw water buffalo heading all by themselves to the local watering hole.

And as usual, as soon as we stepped off of the bus, there were the kids.  They didn't ask for money or pens this time, these young ladies asked for chocolate.  I obliged as best I could with a half melted Snickers bar.

Our first actual planned stop was The Abandoned City, just outside of Agra.  Taking 15 years to build, it was abandoned after only 14 years because there was no water source nearby.  Needless to say the guy who built it, Mughal Akbar, did not go down in history as the smartest Emperor in Indian history.

The royal bedroom!

Did I mention how inspired I am that the day-to-day outfits of the Indian women involve sequence and rhinestones?  Well, I'll say it again.  I'm planning on personally bringing back the bling when I get home.

Back on the bus for maybe 10 minutes, Vikram drew the line when we asked him to stop so we could take pictures of a herd of sheep crossing the road, so here they are from the bus window.  Boring Vikram.

Here's a musician that was playing outside of our lunch place.  He has more character in one of his mustache hairs than I have in my entire being. 

Reaching Jaipur, we had about a minute to freshen up before heading out to dinner and a dance show.  Dinner was amazing, and the dancers were gorgeous and entertaining. 

We also had henna painting...

...and a cooking lesson (sorry, my camera battery was dead by then), before finally heading to bed, with another early start the next day (of course!).  We must rest for the shopping.

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I have to add a personal shout out to our brave and very patient guide, Vikram.  He had been dealing with a bus full of very fickle and loud women for 4 days now, getting even less sleep than we did.  He tried to take naps on some of the longer stretches, but was constantly woken up by us either asking questions or wanting to stop to take pictures.  He answered all of our questions, including personal ones about how he feels about the dowry system, is he scared to get married to someone he's never actually met (an arranged marriage - they've only texted each other), how he feels about the call centers he used to work in (he worked for Equifax and his alias was Mark... or sometimes Mike.)  I'd call him and thank him but he's probably still catching up on his sleep.  Thanks Vikram!

India, Day 3, Part 2: "My belly button is GREEN."

After a good breakfast, we met in the hotel lobby to head back to the Taj for some daytime pictures.  Our guide met us there and said he had a surprise for us first.  Turned out it was our own little Holi celebration!  We were welcomed with open arms by the other guests at the hotel...

The kids took this pretty seriously, too, they even had little powder shooters to aid in the fun.

Here's Vikram, our awesome guide:

And then back on the bus for the quick trip to the Taj.  Yes, we went all covered with powder and everything - the locals loved it.

Even the dogs can't escape being Holi'd:

And here we are again!  The first picture is the front gate, which is impressive in itself.  We were in too big of a hurry in the morning and ran right past it.

A perfect time and place for a great group pic.

And then back to the Diana Bench.  See, everyone wants to get their picture taken there!  Gorgeous little kids all dressed up for the event.  We couldn't get them to smile, though.

So happy to be in India during Holi!

You don't have to take your shoes off to go inside, but you do have to cover them up.

You're not allowed to take pictures inside, and to take pictures of the Taj Mahal this close doesn't work too well (I don't have a wide angle lens), but here you go.

There is no color used on the Taj, except for semi-precious jewel inlay.  If you shine a flashlight right on it, it glows.

This family stopped me on the way out, asking:  "Please to be making us a picture?"  So I snapped a picture of them, showed it to them, all of them nodding in agreement, then they thanked me and walked away.  A bit confusing... they didn't want the picture, just wanted to be in my blog, I guess.

This is one of the side buildings by the Taj Mahal, and one of my favorite pictures.

Still covered in Holi powder, touring Agra Fort was next on the agenda.  A huge beautiful old palace, but still a bit of a letdown after just coming from the Taj Mahal.

Agra Fort is the place that Emperor Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, who led a rebellion to take power when Shah Jahan fell ill.  Aurangzeb killed his older brother and heir apparent, and placed his father under house arrest.

Shah Jahan recovered, but was not allowed to leave the palace.  Here is the view from his palace window, he was at least able to see the Taj and his wife's resting place.  He is entombed there now, right next to her.  

And this was our last view, too.  Goodbye Taj, we hope to be back someday.