People

The street sweeper was who interested me here.

why do kids always looks so sharp in their school uniforms?

I LOVE that they hold hands

He is a bit blurry but he sure is cool looking.

Love the mustache

I got a kick out of them all sitting in squat position, on a high wall....

Our elephant driver

Isn't she gorgeous?

She is my favorite. I would like to know her.

On the Road

This is out of the front window, you can see the rear-view mirror in the top right corner.

Waiting for the bus.

Pigs and cows roam the streets.

Not all women cover their faces with the veil, but some do. I thought the white turban guy was cool as well.

There were lots of camels used for transport.

If there is no room inside, you are allowed to hang off the sides, and also ride on the roof.

Most of these pictures were taken outside of our car window! We are driving down the major highway between Agra and Ranthamadore. Sometimes it was a double lane, sometimes it was a skinny dirt road. I tried to capture what I saw out of my window. It is very hard to represent it in pictures only, but you get the general idea.....sheer craziness!

Taj Mahal

The Taj deserves to be a wonder of the world. It deserves all they hype. We loved it.

Poverty

Every mother is proud of their child, the world over.

This family lives here. I don't know if all of them do, but they were gathered to celebrate the birth of a new baby (see below). This newborn, still with the hospital tag on, will of course wear no diapers. Too expensive.

Normally I wouldn't highlight the poverty of a nation, but it is overwhelming. Incredible that any human should have to live in such a manner, and more incredible that they survive.

Our Hosts, The Osorio Family

Teresa celebrated her birthday while we were visiting. We went out to dinner and their daughter Genae was able to join us. Ganae has a beautiful singing voice that Tom and I both love to listen to. She gave us a mini concert one evening.

Leonard was born and raised in Colombia. He works for the Embassy and we were meeting him for lunch. As a married couple they have been posted to Nairobi, Venezuela, Belgium and now New Delhi. Their favorite is New Delhi....their least favorite? Belgium!

This is their driver Suresh. He is indispensable. Oh, and the cute Indian dress I am wearing was given to me by Teresa as a welcome to India gift!

Teresa is a musician. She teaches piano for free to these cute Indian kids because....just because! Well, part of her motivation is to mold these kids into stellar and useful church servants.

Akshardham New Delhi

After 5 years of non-stop, round-the-clock construction, the massive and
awesome *Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace* was inaugurated in
November 2005. The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, India, constructed by the
BAPS foundation -- the builders of the various Swaminaryan Temples across
the world, is truely a modern day Wonder of the World.

They didn't allow cameras into this temple, so this shot is from the internet. Truly is is a modern day Wonder of the World. Jaw-dropping gorgeous. Since Leonardo is a diplomat, we even had VIP service. Skipped all the lines to enter. Had a custom made private tour. It's eye-popping stunning. Truly of all the things to see in New Delhi, this is top of the list.

The Akshardham monument, built without steel, is entirely composed of
sandstone and marble. It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate
domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone
elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus, devotees,
acharyas and divine personalities.

Our guide was a Hindu volunteer who normally lives and works in London, but she was volunteering for 5 weeks to be a guide. She lives on site in the provided dorms. I got to talk to her by myself for awhile because Tom and Leonardo were having a personal visit from the presiding Monk of the temple...and he is not allowed to talk to women!

It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever
constructed. Combining several completely different and contrasting
architectural styles of Hindu temple architecture of northern India --

Truly a highlight.