Then when we woke the next morning (Friday, after about 4 hours of sleep in an actual bed), we walked the gardens of the hotel. It was beautiful. We were sleepy. (Bigger pics)

We went to one of the offices and spent the day trying to remember to not drink the water. Or coffee. Which meant that the presenters couldn’t turn off the lights in the conference rooms to show us their Powerpoints without at least one of us nodding off.

On the way back to the hotel, we shared the road with some interesting vehicles.

Saturday morning, we piled into a van to head for our sight-seeing weekend in Agra. Approximately 200 kms (125 miles) - which would take 5 hours. It was an enlightening 5 hours.

Hey Hotfessional, I don’t think we’re in Chicago anymore.

There are no lane dividers. Or lanes.

Store and restaurant. And tractors. And lots and lots of people. Everywhere.

After no real sleep for 4 days, and the sensory overload that is India - this sign at a toll booth sent me into a giggle-fit that nearly caused me to pee my pants. Why? Why is spitting prohibited? Who needs to spit there? Is spitting a problem only on certain roads?

Spitting is prohibited, but believe me, if you want to expel any other bodily fluids? Go for it.

In the United States, if you had a sign painted on the back of your truck that said “Horn”? OTHER drivers would shoot you.

Pay special attention to all of the people in the small yellow vehicle. Those things are called “Trishaws”. They’re supposed to fit 3 people. We counted some that had 12 or 15. On top. Hanging off the doors. It didn’t matter. Some of the motorcycles had 5. Mom, Dad, 2 kids and Mom holding a baby. Seriously.

The road between Delhi and Agra was a divided highway. Indians drive on the left, like they do in Great Britain. The sacred cows of India lay on the grassy divider (which isn’t very grassy, it’s actually mostly dirt, with fences around the trees that are trying to grow - the fences are to protect the trees from the cows - who push them down). Sometimes, though, the cows only lay halfway on the divider. And half in the road.

Also in the divider are little openings for drivers to change direction. Say you’re going north - and suddenly decide that you need to spit. And you know you’re coming to a “no spitting” zone. So you decide to go back south. No problem! Use one of these little turnarounds.

But if you’re carrying a really heavy load? Of steel pipes? You may want to tie them down. Because otherwise? When you turn? It’s possible that the load may slide. And make you pop a wicked wheelie. See the front tires? Off the ground? This delayed us for a little while.

But then, we arrived. And saw the most famous tribute of a husband to his wife - The Taj Mahal.

It was an awe-inspiring sight - on a beautiful October day. We stayed on the grounds, taking pictures and watching people until sunset. And when the sun set behind the white marble? It can take your breath away.

People asked me, when I came back, if I’d ever go again. A lot of them wouldn’t have gone in the first place. They looked at my pictures and commented on the dirtiness and crowdedness and “how could you eat the food?”. [By the way, Indian food? Yum. Indian food three times/day? Bring the Kaopectate.] I told them I’d go back in a second. We saw Delhi, Agra, Mumbai (Bombay) and Bangalore. There’s so much more I want to see.

The people are warm and charming and we were treated like kings. They brought out their pashminas and jewelry and silks and were thrilled to speak about their history. They welcomed us and fed us and fed us some more. I’d still go back. I still can’t believe I got to go there once.

—- Maybe I had it wrong about the spitting though? Do you think the sign was for these guys???? —