Susan - June 11

Delhi has been interesting so far to say the least. On Saturday, when traveling through different towns to Agra, our driver had to stop and pay a toll. At one stop, he actually had to go somewhere and pay a tax.

People were everywhere and this boy stops at the car. He has a monkey on a leash and of course I laughed. Before we knew it, the monkey had jumped onto the outside door on Tom's side and was just sitting there. I took a picture and the boy wouldn't go away. He said that monkeys were immortal and since I took a picture I owed him money. Sonia, Tom's co-worker, said something to him and I am glad the doors were locked.

At the last monument (Akbar's Tomb in Sikandra) we visited on the trip to Agra, I fed a monkey from my hand. He was too cute. Tom wasn't interested, however.

Toilets - as a woman, have you ever tried to pee standing up? Without getting your feet wet? It is a chore, to say the least. I was wondering what the faucet at floor level was for!

Speaking of water - when we left the Taj Mahal, we stopped for water. "Safe and pure drinking wate" but ONLY if you are a resident. We had to buy bottled water. I just pray that when we do have water, the seal is not broken. NEVER buy from a street vendor anything. Poverty is everywhere. People living under a blue tarp right on the street along with cows, trash piles, filth. I was glad I couldn't smell outside. Little kids were playing in puddles beside cows. I guess if that is all you have........but still, it bothers me. Maybe it is the number of people. We don't have a house but we have a cow! Monkeys are roaming the streets and we also saw an elephant. Amazing.

Driving - glad Tom doesn't have to. He would have had to stop and perform CPR on me. Sure, there are lanes. Lane driving is safe driving. Okay, let's have six lanes of traffic where there are only two lanes. The driver yesterday was a fan of speed and the horn. Today's driver was slow and didn't blow the horn at all. However, I didn't see cell phone talking while driving. I wonder why!

So far, the food has been good. No fresh fruit or veggies, though. I tried coffee three times this morning. The first cup was too sweet because Tom went down for me. When the cream was added to the second cup, it looked curdled. The waiter said there must be something wrong with the cream. Ya think? The third cup was not much better. I think they heated the cream and then it wouldn't stir into the coffee at all! I didn't want any anyway!!!!

I won't even mention the heat index of 128 degrees. One lesson we learned today was to make sure the battery for the digital camera was charged so we didn't take any photos today except of the Freedom Fighters monument.

We toured the National Museum today and on the way back to the hotel, the driver said he would like to show us one more stop. We pulled up in front of an Emporium. Upon entering, Mona was our assigned saleslady. She showed us everything and followed us every step. When asked if we wanted something to drink, I said Coke. Well, the Coke was hot so we had water. I tried on a beautiful bracelet but it was out of our range. Mona had showed us silk carpets to which we said no SEVERAL times. On the way back to pay, Mona said one more time, let me show you some more rugs. I should have let her get them ALL out and THEN said no. Lesson learned - when you are supplied with a tour driver, you will always stop at a retail outlet. I suppose they need the business and it is safe and clean.

Not sure what I will do this week while Tom is working. The health club is nice and the pool is just amazing. You can swim to the bar and sit on a stool in the water and have a drink. This of course only after the staff has washed all the pigeon poop off that landed overnight. Pigeons are very numerous here. Forget about malaria you will probably pick up some disease from all the birds. I haven't been stared at that much but when I am, I just smile and then they turn away. At least I am not blonde. Love you and will write more when something interesting happens.