Day 71 of 111. Delhi, India

We had a wonderful breakfast at the Oberoi Hotel near Delhi (Gurgaon) and then boarded the buses for the four hour trip to Agra. I really enjoyed the exotic uniforms of the staff at the hotel. The first part of the trip was again through Delhi and we had a second chance to see many of the same sights as yesterday. Again, the traffic was very slow through parts of the city. Once we passed Delhi, we saw a lot of agriculture. We saw ox carts and cows, goats, and even some antelope. There is a lot of wheat grown as well as potatoes. Surprising sights included the smoke stacks which are used by the locals to make bricks. The stalks from the wheat is used with mud to strengthen the bricks. Besides the smoke stacks, we saw stacks of bricks drying in the sun. Also drying in the sun were the stacks of cow patties. Our guide told us that the cow dung can be used as cooking fuel when dried. Also, it can be used as fertilizer and as one of the ingredients in making bricks.

We arrived in Agra, the city where the Taj Mahal is located. At one point, Agra was the capital city rather than Delhi. Our hotel is the Oberoi Amarvilas (Amarvilas means Luxury!) You can see from Ron’s pictures that the name matches the surroundings. We got checked in, had another wonderful lunch (I love Indian food) and then took off to see the Taj Mahal. We were able to see the Taj Mahal from our hotel room window. How amazing is THAT?!