Agra-Cadabra; If Katmandu, we can too!: Wednesday, January 13

Day Six (Four) (Dave's voice, as if you didn't know)

Another day, another chance to pack for the next town (Agra). This is where the polite young lady comes to our door a half hour before check out to inquire: "May I take your manure?" A bit of a surprise until we find out the tourist translation: "May I check your mini bar?" Ohhhh.

Sameer assures us that driving across the countryside to Agra is preferable to, say, taking a puddle jumper or a train because we get to see countryside India. Yes, and also a lot of dirty Podunk towns, scrawny dogs (and people) and shanties. We’ll arrive in Agra about 6 PM. I know, I know, I’ve whined before about how all the temples and palaces look alike after awhile, but, hey, we lost most of a day on the route from New Delhi to Jaipur and now we’re losing most of a day on the way to Agra and once you’ve seen one village out the window, seeing a second one isn’t all that enlightening. Nonetheless, we ARE here to experience India.

There are many good moments along the way. As anticipated, we stop at a village school, half of the classrooms essentially horse stalls. No wall on one side, no floor, and the kids kneeling on rags. Some of them were allegedly studying English, but only a few of the kids – or the teachers – seemed to know much of it. Still, this is an area where there didn’t used to be any school so little steps are better than nothing. Sameer has made a pitch in the bus for us to chip in on a microphone and an amplifier for the school at a cost about $100. Knowing how some of our fellow travelers are cheap, we chip in and hope. The hat was filling nicely when it got to us, but, who knows. Unlike the Thailand kids who were equally cute, but more enthusiastic, this bunch seemed a little baffled by all the odd-looking people who showed up, spoke in a language they did not seem to understand, tossed everyone an orange, taught Yoga (Scout getting laughs from her pupils), and drove off a half hour later. Still, a mitzvah.

Later along the road we stopped for something we had truly never before seen: a step well. Try to visualize a reverse pyramid designed by M. C. Escher. It's a well with steps carved (circa 900 A.D.) into the steps leading down to it. Not the kind of well that Timmy used to fall down on the old "Lassie" show. This was maybe 200 feet across from rim to rim. Dozens of people could fill their buckets at once and, thanks to the steps, return the 100 or so steps to ground level without using their hands. Next door was the remains of a Hindu temple built at the same time, long since pulled down by the Moslems who, among other things, forbid depictions of humans as an abomination. I’m guessing the many, many carved depictions of parvatis (i,e., dancing girls. The dictionary definition of the word is: Hubba! Hubba!) displeased them a lot. So the old temple, like so many other Hindu temples, was torn down and the materials reused elsewhere, and, since the Moslems ran much of India until the British came in, there don’t seem to be any new Hindu temples. Too bad. The oldies are wonderfully decorated.

We stop for lunch at an organic farm, have a delicious meal, and learn all about dried cow dung. Walls are made from it, as are many other things. You use what you can, and the results can be amazing: beautifully decorated wall murals on cow dung walls. Our guide also said that it wards away mosquitoes and flies. Not sure about that. But, a downside to the use of this stuff is that many people here (and in Nepal) burn cow dung. Big pollution problem, and inhaling the stuff leads to health problems.

Weather Report: So far, there has been no weather here, the sun has been mild and frequent. Humidity has not been noticeable. All’s fair.

Food Report: Lots of vegetables cooked in oils, batter fried, etc. So, "all I had for lunch was vegetables" isn't as virtuous as it sounds. Meat, when present, is lamb, mutton, or chicken. Hindus don't eat beef,; Moslems don't eat pork. We're told that 80% of Indians are vegetarians. Yogurt is big by itself or in dices, mixed with veggies, etc., so not so many vegans. (Tourist hotel food isn't a r flex ton of the diet of real people, but even the breakfast buffet is low on rat options.) no mystery vegetables here: lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, onions, eggplant, and rice. Fruits include the usual plus mango. As we were advised in Egypt and turkey, one is advised not to eat raw fruit or vegetables unless the skins have been removed/peeled. Ditto on drinking tap water. It isn't a matter of cleanliness; its local microbes interacting with foreign tummies unaccustomed to them. Regarding "street food," - i.e. Stuff sold by vendors out of questionably clean pots with flies buzzing around, were told not to eat it in the travel brochure. Conversely, two in our group are Indian (from West Palm Beach, FL) who say street food is the best and most authentic. Geez. Based on these latter experts, Scout took her chances and bought colorful dried (fried?) veggies/spices from a vendor a few days ago to ill effect. And, she ate it from a newspaper. I'm thinking that the ink from the paper may have killed the bacteria in the veggies.

Random note: come to think of it, after having bussed through dozens of villages large and small, no having seen many, many animals ambling about, I haven't seen a ch ken. Or a cat. Local dogs are lean and fore day, but starving. We're all afraid of them. I'm personally afraid of the monkeys, having seen one, on another trip, leap at a woman to grab food. Yikes.

Day in photos:

Not from today, but this is Scout's street vendor

Contrast of old and new along the way. Love the colorful saris seen everywhere.

Kids are kids! This little one was sooo friendly!

Kids and kids. This boy was sooooo friendly!

Deb having yoga fun with 5 year olds. After 5, she's not tolerated.

More school photos...shoes left outside

Deb having yoga fun with 5 year olds. After 5, she's not tolerated.

School principal thanking our group. He started the school 10 years ago with 40 students and one building. There are now 350 students and many buildings.