My first day was a loooooong trip to the Taj Mahal. More than 9 hours spent in the car, to the tune of “honk-honk-honk” the whole way as the bus passed other vehicles on the road. People honk to pass, and it is even painted on the back of trucks–“please use horn”. Other than this, traffic does not follow any immediately obvious rules. And when I say traffic, I don’t mean just motor vehicles like cars, trucks, and motorcycles. There are also three-wheeler rickshaws (seating 3 comfortably, often having as many as 6 or 8 people riding in them at a time), bicycles, mule-drawn carts, camel-drawn carts, and bicycle taxis. Then there are also cows roaming freely in the streets, since they are considered sacred and are allowed to roam free.
Many people live on the sides of the road, and since we left early we saw people stretched out on cots, fast asleep just a few feet from busy thoroughfares. Then, as we left Delhi and got out into the country, I saw women in brightly-colored saris with loads balanced gracefully on their heads, walking along the road. Many people have to carry water a long way to their homes, especially in more rural areas. I also saw women carrying other loads, including bundles of branches, and large baskets of dried cow patties, I presume to use as fuel for cooking fires.
When we got to Agra (population of 2.5 million people–New Delhi has nearly 12 million) we had to board a battery-powered bus to take us to the Taj Mahal, because gas-powered vehicles are not allowed within a certain distance due to pollution. Then as we stood in line to enter the monument it started sprinkling, then raining harder. Soon it was pouring. I’d been watching the weather from home, and it was supposed to be 120 degrees that day, so I was not expecting rain. We entered the grounds of the Taj, quickly getting soaked through. Thunder clapped overhead, and people huddled under the overhangs and in the doorways, waiting for the rain to pass. We decided to brave the rain and run to the Taj, despite having white skirts on. We took off our shoes and ran barefoot across the deserted red sandstone path (normally packed with tourists), jumping around puddles as we went. The ground was warm, the rocks, baked by the sun earlier in the day, warming the water as quickly as it fell. When we got to the Taj Mahal, we explored inside, elbowing our way through the crowds of people huddled in the doorway to stay dry. The rain finally eased up when we’d completed our self-guided tour (our guide chose not to brave the rain with us), and we headed back to get on the bus for lunch, and the long ride home.
