The Trip to the Taj - 1

We left the Oberoi Hotel at 6am and made our way to Agra, the place where the Taj Mahal is located. Between 7:45-8:45am, we stopped at the Rajasthan Motel for breakfast where I found out that a chicken sandwich meant just pieces of boiled chicken put in between two pieces of toast. Never mind - the colorful flowers around the place and the architecture - more than made up for the sandwich.

Before getting to the Rajasthan Motel, we had two stops. One to watch snake charmers and the other to watch a bear and a monkey perform some tricks by the sidewalk. The bear and monkey was so-so - but I was overwhelmed by the thought of finally seeing snake charmers in the flesh!

No one dared go down from the bus - I guess we were all wary of the snakes! We snapped photos (through the bus windows)of the men playing music as the snakes swayed and moved to the tunes. After taking the photos though, the men put their baskets (without the snakes, of course) near our windows - asking for money. Someone said 50 rupees would be enough though someone in our group generously gave each snake charmer 100 each. Thank goodness the charmers didn't think our companion wanted to buy the snakes.

Oh well - that was some experience. So before you snap any photos, make sure you have your money ready. We don't want to make any of the snakes angry...

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