Brief update from Jaipur, on the fly

We arrived today in Jaipur after having visited Agra yesterday (and the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and other places). We are doing reasonably well, but each of the kids has become sick along the way. Yes, that kind of sick...well actually, both kinds. I think that they drank some bad water; Amy is convinced that they have car sickness (the drives from Delhi to Agra and Agra to Jaipur were five and seven hours, respectively). Anyway, other than our air conditioning going out in the middle of a hot (100+ degree F) day, and a tire blowing out on our van, our travels have been uneventful. When my parents arrived in Bangalore a couple of weeks ago after touring this part of India for a week, the last thing they wanted to do was to ride in a car, and now we all understand the reason.

The Taj Mahal was as amazing as advertised, at least from a moderate distance. From up-close, the pollution has definitely taken its toll, as it has stained some of the marble a grey/brow hue. Nevertheless, we all definitely felt like the visit was a great experience (see pictures below). I'm sure that Amy and/or the kids will make a photo album and slide show later. We have good internet access here and should be able to communicate well for the next day or so.