Taj Mahal and Final Thoughts

India, we have found, is a land of contradictions.  The monuments, tombs, palaces and forts have been some of the best sites we've seen so far on our trip.  The cities, however, leave a lot to be desired.  It's a hectic country and the never ending sound of cars honking (WAY too loudly) will frustrate anyone.  Poverty is an ever present sight throughout the country and it's disheartening to see that in a country with one of the worlds largest economies (in the top 10 based on output) at least one third of it's people live on less than $1.25 per day.  P.s: India's population is now only130 million less than China's- not a lot when you consider each has over 1.2 billion people!
Here is an interesting page that highlights some statistics about India:
http://www.devinit.org/reports/indian-poverty-and-aid-briefing

Holi in Jaipur

We were lucky enough to experience Holi (India's famous color festival) in Jaipur.  The city is most famous for the elephant festival during Holi.  However.....thanks to a PETA related organization the festival was cancelled the day of.  Lucky us. But, we celebrated Holi in true Indian style: get covered from head to toe by perfumed powder!  We also visited the Amber Palace and Jaigarh (sp?) Fort, which were pretty amazing!  We then went to Pushkar, an all vegetarian town on a holy lake.  We only spent one day here, but managed to find time for a camel ride!  That sure was interesting...Chantal's saddle malfunctioned and she found herself hugging the camels neck!  Our camel decided to try and bite the guide and chased him (at a full run) around the dunes!  Camels are not the most stable animals when running....a very bumpy ride for passengers.  We also had some of the best food of the trip in Pushkar and have been missing it since we left.

                                                              In the Pink City (Jaipur)

                                    HAPPY HOLI!

A Few Days in Delhi

Well we are finally updating you all on our adventures in India!  Since Ashley has taken so many photos, we have decided to break the posts up by location.  After Derek's mother arrived to meet us in Kathmandu, we took a short flight to Delhi.  After a slight mishap with our original hotel (they overbooked) we found ourselves in a great hotel and began preparations for our tour of Rajasthan.  We spent 2 days seeing the city and some wonderful temples and tombs.  See the photos below!

A Peak at India

Here is a sneak peak of some adventures in India with Derek's mother! We are having a great time and have seen some amazing things! The Taj Mahal is tomorrow and we will post all of our photos soon!