Travelling by train is an Indian essential. It is also a really great way to meet people. Especially when you are on a train for 31 hours. I met a young Punjabi man who was full of questions about America, a guy from Kenya who had lived in upstate NY and shared his banannas with me, and a young boy named Shubu and his sister Priya who let me listen to his music (and then downloaded his entire ipod playlist onto my computer so I can still listen to Indian music while I'm at home!) It was a great way to experience a little more of the Indian countryside as well. And after a day and a half, I was in Agra. 
Agra, incidentally, is a town with a lot of professional scam artists. And a lot more people there speak English, because it is such a tourist town, so everyone tries to talk to you as you walk down the street, which gets old very quickly when the only questions they know are "From what country are you?" and "Come to my shop?" Early Tuesday morning I got up to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. The only problem with that was, it was quite foggy and a bit hard to distinguish between the white mist everywhere and the famous white building. I took a lot of pictures anyway, and some of them turned out pretty well. It was a nice, peaceful morning... 
until I went out the opposite gate and got lost trying to find my hotel. And when I was "rescued" by some little boys who offered their help, they tried to charge me 10 rupees to tell me which way to go! (Which is what I mean about Agra being a professional scam town- they start them young!)
Agra, incidentally, is a town with a lot of professional scam artists. And a lot more people there speak English, because it is such a tourist town, so everyone tries to talk to you as you walk down the street, which gets old very quickly when the only questions they know are "From what country are you?" and "Come to my shop?" Early Tuesday morning I got up to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. The only problem with that was, it was quite foggy and a bit hard to distinguish between the white mist everywhere and the famous white building. I took a lot of pictures anyway, and some of them turned out pretty well. It was a nice, peaceful morning... 
until I went out the opposite gate and got lost trying to find my hotel. And when I was "rescued" by some little boys who offered their help, they tried to charge me 10 rupees to tell me which way to go! (Which is what I mean about Agra being a professional scam town- they start them young!) 
Eventually I found my way back and then went to visit Agra Fort, which was a palace/fortress that dates back to the Mughal Empire. It was fun to do some touristy things while I was in India as well. Plus now I can say that I've been to the Taj Mahal. But while travelling was fun, the things that I will really miss about India are the people and places that I came into contact with daily while I was in Kolkata. It has truly been an adventure here in Incredible India- one of the things I love about it is that element of the unknown- you never know exactly what might happen next. (As the locals like to say, "Anything is possible..." Which is why you can round a corner and come face to face with a camel happily eating his lunch. Because you just never know... ) There are so many things that India has taught me and so many memories I have. It is definitely tough to leave this place that I have come to love, but yet there are things I am looking forward to about being home and the future adventures that I know await me. So I say farewell to India, not forever, but for now at least, and carry the sights and sounds and smells of this place with me to treasure and remember until I return...
