Gigi's Hideaway: Update on our LONG day

Update on our LONG day

We got to our rooms in Delhi, had midnight dinner, went to bed at 3-ish after packing for our long flight home, got up after 10 minutes (ha), and left hotel at 6:00 for the Taj Mahal.

Just so you can fully appreciate the travel in India, get this-- Mapquest shows the distance from Delhi to Agra as 215 kilometers (133 miles) and 2 hours, 37 minutes with traffic. We left Delhi at 6:00am and arrived at noon! That's right, boys and girls, SIX HOURS! And what a ride it was!

However... The Taj Mahal was completely worth the trip! Beautiful and amazing. To think all the marble was hand-chiseled and such a structure was built in the 1600's is truly hard to believe. It took 22 years to build and consists of additional buildings, (a mosque and surrounding overnight accommodations plus north, south, east, and west gates forming a square to complete the structure.). The Taj Mahal was build by the Mughal Emporer Shah Jahan as a memorial to his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Wow, what a guy! (of course, my gentlemen readers are likely saying, "Wow, what a wife!" Touche'. Wondering what she did to deserve that! Ha.

We had exactly 15 minutes inside the Taj. Now on one hand, that's really all you need to see the two ornately carved coffins of the Emporer and his beloved wife, but on the other hand, 15 minutes is pushing it, since the only single door in, is also the only single door out! That's what is so puzzling about the Indian people...They can build things like the Taj and have hands down the best airlines around, but they can't figure out the essentials like trash and sewers and roads (and traffic, for that matter.). Still it's such a compelling place with magnetic people.

The tour guide we had for the day, (name unknown, now that I think of it!), was awesome to keep us on schedule and he took us to the most amazing shop we've been in the whole trip for Taj souvenirs and our last India shopping. The merchandise in this place was incredible, and I actually bit the bullet and bought a couple (really) nice things for myself! (Sorry, honey!) The first was this small gorgeous jeweled rug which I justified by telling myself I should have something in my office to remind me of my travels here. The second was basically unjustified and was a result of the best salesman in the world meets easiest target in the world.... American pushover woman with poor boundaries and a slight uncertainty/ fear of small Indian men with glasses and brightly orange dyed hair. I'm not gonna lie; he seemed harmless, but that hair was scary. I was afraid to say no. Notice I'm not saying what the purchase was. It's too shameful. Ha.

After our power sightseeing/ shopping trip, we drug ourselves back on the van for the 6 hour ride back to Delhi. Did I mention that it was a thousand degrees at the Taj and we left the hotel at 6am and would be going straight to the airport for our 16 hour flight home? At one point RaeAnn calculated we would be in our clothes for 44 hours. OH MY GOSH, WE WREAK!! Between non-stop sweat, curry coming out our pours and this stupid putrid henna, we can't STAND ourselves!! So, we're all crammed in together again and at least there were a lot of interesting things to see on the journey. It was truly the making of a children's book (note to self) because "On the road to Agra", these are the animals we saw:

Water buffalo

Regular bulls

Brahma bulls

Goats

Cows

Oxen

Camels

Elephants

Monkeys

Horses

Dogs

Black horn Sheep

and Pigs (hugh wild black ones and cute little pink ones!)

It's really impossible to convey how maddening it is to be waiting with your camera n the ON position for a long stretch of the trip and be constantly aware of your battery life. So as soon (and I do mean the very second!) as you turn off your camera, you pass the most incredible sights!! It became standard to hear, "Anybody get that?!", only to hear groans of frustration and lamenting over this very issue. I was finally able to capture a few of these shots when I decided to forget worrying about my battery and just go for it. It finally paid off.

So, here we are, headed back to the Delhi airport, back to the states, and back HOME!

Before I close this post, I do want to Praise the Lord or His evident protection over all of our travels here in India. If you could only see the road conditions and experience the drivers here, you would agree it is nothing less than miraculous that I have been here 3 times now and safely covered the territory I've covered in the vehicles I've been in all without a seatbelt. Thank you, Jesus, YOU ROCK!

I also want to thank my family and friends for all of the cards you sent for me to open daily. I know I was only gone two weeks, but when you're on the other side of the earth and NOTHING is familiar, it is the nicest thing to open a card and read that you are special to someone a world away. The grandkids' pictures and hand-spelled notes were precious, and all the encouraging words from everyone else got me through. Lauren, your card made me cry. My biggest cheerleaders are my girls. I only hope to still become what you already think I am. A special thank you again to the women who sent money with me for Women With A Mission, and for you all who prayed us through every day. That truly was our strength and peace so many times.

Finally, I have to say to others who may be reading this blog that these women I am traveling with are four of the most fun, most compatible, most spirit-filled women I have ever met. I'm sure their family members are proud of them. Spoil them when they get home- they deserve it!!

Over and out.