Agra

Agra is the Taj Mahal and not much else. Sure the Agra Fort is a very interesting site, but apart from it and the white marble mausoleum, the town itself is an over-priced tourist trap. This, of course was to be expected. However, that doesn't make beggar-fatigue any easier to cope with. We spent an entire day at our expensive hotel swimming and gettting a massage. The pool's water was hot (and in the 40 plus degree air: not that refreshing), but the massage was good, if not a bit strange. The ayurvedic massage experience is one that might send some people I know bolting for the door in a fit of shattered nerves. Where the Thai massage is about pressure points, stretches and flexes; the Ayurvedic massage is an aromatic, oily, ridiculously ticklish and - I'll use the word- "intimate" ordeal. Not that I don't enjoy a good energetic rubdown, but oily fingers rapidly going over my ribs just tends to tense me up rather than relax me. Another thing that isn't as relaxing for me is having someone repeatedly hit my scrotum while massaging my inner thighs and pulling my boxers so far down that I don't know why I bothered to keep them on in the forst place. Now some may protest that having one's boxers off and getting all oiled up can't be such a sad situation in which to be. To that I'll agree... as long as the person doing the massaging and rubbing is of the gender you're generally interested in. As India is relatively conservative in the matters of the sexes... the one doing the rubbing was quite male. Apart from this odd (and thankfully short) discomfort and awkwardness, the massage was quite good. The spicy oil helped clear my stuffy nose, but I was still mostly under the weather for the rest of the day.
The next day started bright and early with a sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal. The mauloseum itself is quite impressive, and we were lucky to get to see it with a minimum of other tourists. That's the trick with the Tak Mahal: see it right as it opens up for the day, there aren't as many people, and the temperature is survivably cool. They make you take off your shoes before stepping up the the monument. This is normal practice, and I totally understand the point of showing respect (i.e: not dragging in all of the cow dung you've been stepping in all week). The problem here lies with the respective colours of the white marble floor of the Taj Mahal, and the colour of pidgeon guano. You just have to watch your step... and where you put your hands on the marble railings.
As most of you probably know by now, I have proposed to Elise (we've been together for over 6 years) behind the Taj Mahal. But before anyone gets overly excited, you should know that this doesn't mean an instant wedding upon our arrival, or kids in the near future or anything like that. In fact, we aren't really sure what we're going to do. It's just a way of showing that we're serious.
Photos (and believe me I took tons) are coming soon... I've just yet to find a USB port. Patience is a virtue.