Taj Mahal

My dad came to visit me here in January. We proceeded to go on an amazing tour of Rajistan, the desert region/state which contains many of the most famous Indian tourist attractions.

While we did not start off at the Taj Mahal, I thought it would catch the largest number of eyes the fastest.

Regardless, here is my dad and I in fron of the Taj Mahal at 6:30 in the morning. It was freezing cold, a stark difference that what I think most people expect of India. Just days before we got there, Delhi had expeienced some of the coldest temperatures on record. It was near 32 degrees farenheit when this photo was taken.

Now, in most cases, whenever you hear how unbelievable places are, in my opinion, they almost always comes up short. And, living in India, I had heard countless stories about how amazing this tomb really is. In short, I was prepared to be let down.

Honestly, I don't think it is possible to not be awe struck by the Taj. If you haven't been, you should put it at the top of your list. And, go at sunrise. 

Do you like opium?

It is very customary to drink opium tea whenever you visit someone's home in Rajistan. We visited the gentleman's house seated on my far left.

The tea really isn't tea at all It is actually like opium water. I wan't really sure what to expect. And, now that I've had it, I would not recommend it. It tastes extremely bitter, and there was no good "feeling" that resulted from drinking it.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that you must drink it out of your host's hand. 

Dad and I in Jodhpur

Here we are in a courtyard in Jodhpur. 

The Blue City

Take a look at the blueness... 

Jodhpur

Jodhpur (sometimes pronounced Jode-poor and sometimes jawd-poor) is also known as the blue city. This was actually the first stop on our tour of Rajistan. It is known as the blue city because the Brahmin here discovered that there was a mineral here that, when combined with the paint, actually made their houses cooler and kept away the mosquitoes. But, as the paint aged, it turned the color of baby blue.

When you look out over the city from any elevated position, all you can see if blue buildings.

Below is the fort at Jodhpur. It really was something out of a fairytale book. We also took a drive out into the farm towns. There we saw our first camels of the trip. They were just hanging out next to a tree on the side of the road. They weren't doing too much.

On the way, we passed many people doing there everyday work. When I saw this woman though, I knew I had to show everyone how far people walk with crazy materials. It is not uncommon to see people moving around everything on top of their head for miles. I wonder how far this woman walked with this pile of branches.