It was with impatience that we left Delhi for Agra, only a short 4h taxi ride south-west of the capital. Known as the home of the most recognized building in the world, the Taj Mahal, Agra is close enough to Delhi to be caught in its orbit and a lot of the things that irritated us in Delhi were in evidence here. Nevertheless, the Taj Mahal is a touristic juggernaut and plenty of visitors, both domestic and foreign, make day trips to the city.

We were to spend three days here, most of which were spent convalescing as we were enervated from our week in Delhi. Pops was in particularly bad shape with the pollution giving him a bad case of sinusitis and leaving my mom and I with a grumpy and irascible old man with little appetite for sight-seeing. But even he seemed to recover some enthusiasm upon visiting that gleaming white monument to the most passionate of emotions. And it's no wonder why, TJ is worthy of every bit of hype heaped upon it with its towering minarets, bulbous domes, palatial archways, long ribbons of water, intricate laticed windows and precise symmetry. The inlaid marble and bas reliefs are a wonder all their own, with stones from as far afield as Russia for malachite, China for green jade and Tibet for turquoise. From conception to realization took only 17 years, and employed clever and sometimes ingenious building techniques given the limitations of the time. It still boggles my mind. And even though we had to practically drag my father like some recalcitrant goat to see this Wonder of the World, it was worth the effort.

The picture that everyone takes. Let's just get this one out of the way. Above: view from behind the Taj Mahal

Agra does not have much else to offer other than TJ and we spent the remainder of our days trying to forget Delhi. As is most often the case when one has overcome an ordeal of great stress, a retreat to comfort zones was in order. For my parents that meant gorging themselves on instant noodles at a bad Chinese restaurant with an Indian chef who charged exorbitant prices for prepackaged noodles. For me, plowing through books and beer with alacrity.

Chatting with our fellow travelers also proved cathartic. We met a Canadian lady who, fed up with with the constant harassment, cut her trip short despite a year of planning. Her and my parents had the kind of venting session that is usually the province of frustrated colleagues over a pint or six. We also traded war stories with an American couple who was travelling in the opposite direction to our north-south trajectory and bartered tips on Varanasi against suggestions on Rajasthan. Overall, Agra was a necessary breather on our Indian trip. We look forward to Rajasthan where we'll be spending almost two weeks.

Vignette

An observation:

Indians have the curious habit of peppering their speech with fragments of English after reams of full-on Hindi and usually at the end of a sentence -perhaps for emphasis? Far from being a vestigal quirk from the days of The Empire, it is usually the young ones speaking "Hinglish" likely imitating the scores of celebrities one sees on TV endorsing Royal Stag (Shahrukh Khan) or Panasonic's new "Blink-Play" mobile (Varun Dhawan).

Either way,"Hindglish" is a maddening thing to listen to when doing anything that requires concentration because it catches your ear just as you've grown accustomed to blocking out the Hindi. As I type this there are two attractive young ladies selling an automatic chapati maker on a TV shopping network. Speaking in Hindi they extol the virtues of this technological marvel and its many advantages. Yes, yes but how do the chapattis taste? "Mmmmm taste explosion hé!"

Gotta love that sock/sandal combo

From inside Agra's Red Fort

Papri chaat vendor

Butchers here chop meat behind curtains

Chow mein delight

Finally, Happy New Years to all of you! 2014 has been an amazing year full of adventure, discovery of the world and of the self, and one of tremendous personal growth and broadened perspectives. Thank all of you for taking the time to check out the inane ramblings of one man and all the best in 2015!

Have a great New Year!