Yesterday and today we:

1. Saw sparrows scuttling happily about the brand new shiny terminal of the Bangalore International Airport and boarded the plane to the nation's capital.
2. Excitedly rode the sparkling new metro in Delhi - airport to downtown - and realized a taxi would have cost us less.
3. After specifically picking a hotel within a WALKING distance of the Delhi train station we rebelliously trudged that distance. With our elephant packs on our backs, in scorching heat, deafening noise of horns and dog-eat-dog traffic we inspired general awe and admiration - or was it pity?
4. Waded through a maze of back alleys of the bazaar area to find our hotel - a walk that would have scared me and traumatized K for life if that had been our first day in India.
5. Were confronted once again head on with the marvels of Indian bureaucracy. Completing 20 boxes in a thick ledger to check into a hotel - fine. Doing the same to grant me wifi access (questions about my laptop model) - er...maybe overdoing it a little?
6. Made a mistake of yielding to my hankering for a tex-mex dinner. Gandhi and Speedy Gonzales just don't make for a happy couple. Think cumin flavored cheese jalapeño sticks and
English breakfast baked beans in my chimichanga. Plus at €22 that was the most expensive meal of the trip so far!
7. Were overjoyed to discover that even though mango season is long gone, you can still find fresh mango juice and lassi in Delhi. This is India, sir. Anything possible.
8. Browsed though the passenger list posted on the platform before taking our morning train to Agra. Didn't find our names on it but the fact that such a list even existed was funny enough.
9. Got asked for hotel directions by a fellow backpacker who we suspected - by her looks and accent - could only belong to one nation. And when she said 1000 rupees per night (€12) was way way way above her budget, we suspected no more. We knew. Shalom, sister!
10. Took a train to Agra (finding that whites have their tickets checked less frequently than Indians) and back and saw the Taj. Despite the whole thing being a huge tourist milking station, don't even think of missing out. Taj has to be seen. The Red Fort isn't a must but well worth it too.
11. Couldn't team up with a French girl we met in Agra to split the cab tour (and so had to pay for separate cars) because cabbie union rep said we "had not come together". Duh!
12. Enjoyed marvelous sunshine at the Taj nearly getting a heat stroke in the process.
13. Were taken for the usual tour of the shops after the Agra tour proper. On that tour we didn't buy: marble table tops (grudgingly, they were really sublime) and jewelry (forgettable). The marble guy's Anglo-French sales pitch was priceless ("you take marbre, un deux trois and then tailler and after le elephant is ready - couper!"
14. Saw our driver in Agra hit a kid on a bicycle while backing out of a parking spot. Then saw the kid get up, shake off the mud, apologize and ride off.