|
This morning I was woken up by a camel, which is another first for me. The camel in question was in the street next to the hotel, and it started making very loud camel noises at about 7:00 AM. After breakfast, we took off in an Ambassador (see picture way above) and headed for Agra, which is about 150 miles away. I can't begin to tell you what it's like to spend 4 1/2 hours on an Indian road. The road is one of the main highways in the country (National Highway 11, to be specific), but it was basically a series of huge potholes 150 miles long. Add to that the fact that the people here drive like maniacs, and I got religion real quick. All I could do was assume that someone/something beyond my control would get me through. We passed at least 2 overturned trucks, and several other wrecks. The driving is literally "every man for himself". The driver just found gaps on the road that weren't blocked by an oncoming car, a cow, a camel, or an oxcart, and did a 150 mile slalom thorough the holes, constantly honking his horn. The one thing that I really wasn't prepared for was the sheer number of cows, camels, pigs, goats, etc. on the road. Somehow we managed to avoid them.
|
So, we eventually made it to Agra at about 4:00. The hotel here is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. There is marble everywhere--it looks like a big monument. Of course, as soon as you walk out to the street, you're back in India, which is another story entirely.
Tomorrow I get up at 6:00 AM to go see the Taj Mahal. It better be good.
