AGRA - It's me, Jeff. It's just after a good and typical lunch consisting of alu gobi, nan, paneer (I'm sure I'm spelling these wrong) and butter chicken. Finally some meat after the holy meatless city of Varanasi. Actually, the vegetarian fare is really good, and I am surprised that after five days of similar food I'm not tempted by the (scant) other options like spaghetti and cheese sandwiches.
We've found a nice spot (relatively cool - i.e. they have a fan) to stay in Agra. We took an overnight train from Varanasi to get here early this morning, and actually arrived on time! Our hotel seems to be good enough, especially for the price and considering we aren't paying very much for it; about $10 for a double room with "air cooling".
Varanasi was unbelievable. Winding alleyways packed with small stalls. Animals living everywhere. I've seen cows sitting on the marble shop floor of a nice clothing store, and in the middle of the insanely busy streets. We visited a few of the burning Ghats (where Hindu bodies are immersed in the holy Ganges and then burned on large sandalwood pyres).
We visited Sarnath yesterday, which was where Buddha gave his first sermon (at Deer Park). It was quite a welcome and peaceful change from the chaos that is the streets of Varanasi. They had a Bodhi tree that was a direct ancestor of the tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. Spread among gardens and some of the quiet streets were several other beautiful Buddhist temples built by Tibet, China, Japan. Jo-Ann gave me the gift of a Thangka of the Wheel of Life that makes me get teary eyed when I look at it and think of my love for her.
Things that India has a lot of: people, good (oily) food, animals (monkeys, cows in the streets, pigs, birds, goats), gorgeous textiles, touts and people looking, smells, piles of garbage, power cuts (the government can't supply enough power so everyone that needs to has a generator that kicks in throughout the power cuts during the day) and more crazy things I can't think of right now. I can see why cows are holy, they eat all of the garbage! ;) The circle of life and birth flows continuously, but people generally appear to be happy and accept things for what they are. It is quite eye opening to see people living the same way that they would have a thousand years ago.
Today we've visited the Red Fort here, which was a huge complex of many buildings from the Mughal Empire. There is so much stonework and marble here, and it is all hand carved. Craftsmanship is still very much alive here, even though it is a dying art in our manufactured land of North America. We also visited the "baby Taj" and we are on our way this afternoon to the grounds of the Taj Mahal. I've seen it in the distance from the Red Fort, and it really is a poem on love set in Marble. I can't wait to stand in its shadow.
That's all for now. Sending love from India, Jeff.