I have been trying all day to post pics it the Day 3 entry...but it isn't working. Here's the Day 4 entry...and I'll post the pics when the internet plays nice.

Day 4--Taj Mahal

[And then the page is blank. LOL....I will describe the day now...I remember most of it.]

It is my final day on my own...tonight I fly to Chennai to meet the Habitat team...the real reason for my trip to India. Today is also Taj Mahal day. I'm excited. This is the first wonder of the world I will get to see in person. As we drive to the Taj the guide explains a bit about what I am going to see and how things work there. Basically I will need to go through security to get in...seperate secuirty for men and women. The women go behind a screen and two women pat you down and send you on your way. We walk through the main gate and the guide is talking about the history of the Taj...I'm so busy taking photos I hardly hear a word he's saying. Then we pass through the next gate and there it is. I try very hard to pay attention but I just want to get close...close enough to touch it. Finally we are there and I am touching and feeling it. I'm in awe. I follow the guide around as he explains why it was built, how long it took, etc, etc. (if you want to know the details look it up) he finishes and I tell him to leave me. I just want to sit and absorb it. He goes. I spend the next hour by myself (not counting the 100's of other folks there) just looking and feeling. Basically it was built as a tomb/monument for one of the kings wives. My interpretation is a love story....others may disagree with me...I don't care...I was there, I felt it. I finally left...happy to have been there and content with my trip to India.

I could have flown home that night and felt the trip complete...but I didn't. What I did do was fly on to Chennai. Lots happened between the Taj and the airport...like getting my hands done with mendi and having the driver and guide cater to me and carry my purse...and have the waiter hold the menu for me and flip pages cause I couldn't move my hands...and then the fight over the marble place and the driver taking me back there and making me tell the guy AGAIN that I didn't want to buy anything and arguing with the store owner and the driver that indeed I do not want to buy the marble stuff. AAUUGGHH.

So finally I am at the airport in Delhi. My driver Herr gave me a gift before he dropped me off. I left it in the garbage at the airport...it was tacky and well, not for me. I did take a pic though and will post when I can. It is now 10pm and I arrive in Chennai. T and N meet me at the airport and we make our way back into town via the train. I didn't admit it till later...but I'm really glad they were able to meet me. After all the planning and writing that went into my itinerary for the trip....I failed to print off a copy for myself. So while I knew most of my stuff...I didn't know the name of the hotel in Chennai. I did know however that there were more Habitat folks getting in later so if all else failed I would have parked myself on a bench and held up a sign that said "Habitat" until someone came and got me.

The heat in Chennai was awesome. After almost freezing every night in Northern India it was a nice change to need AC in my room. I settle in and await the early morning arrival of my roomie.