India, Part One

Hope you are enjoying reading sideways.
I've been in India for well over two weeks and still haven't managed to post. It has been difficult to find an internet cafe outside of the major cities, and while I was back in Delhi for a day I got horribly sick. I'll be leaving for Japan in a couple of days, so while I'm in Kolkata, I'm going to try to post all of India in two parts: a daunting task because India is really amazing.
I've spent four days on my own in Delhi; one week with the Intrepid Travel tour of the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur); and a week again on my own. I've travelled on a half-dozen trains; stayed in hotels ranging from $15 to $60 a night; eaten at serious restaurants and street stalls; spent entire days shopping ; and looked at more Mughal architecture than I care to remember. All of these things are part of what makes India great. It's cheap. The train system (the world's largest) somehow works. The food is indescribably delicious. There are so many monuments from so many different eras and religions, I doubt anyone could feel like they've adequately explored them in a lifetime.
Of course, India has it's dark side. It stinks. It's horribly polluted. Poverty is rampant. The touts in any tourist area are downright aggresive. It's noisy and chaotic. It's 90F by the first of March. It hasn't rained once in two weeks. People spit, piss, shit, and throw their garbage in the middle of the street. There's no such thing as privacy or personal space.
But, I've seen this all before. Everywhere worthwhile that I go, I am forced to confront that ugliness in order to appreciate the beauty. And India is very beautiful. Despite the degradation, the landscape can be arresting, wildlife abundant, and culture so ancient it is overwhelming. Even if this weren't the case, the food alone makes India great. Paneer tikka! Aloo gobi! Garlic naan! Stuffed tomato curry!
Then again there's always this:
Everybody has an image of the Taj Mahal fixed in their mind. We all know what it looks like. It's that big white mausoleum right? Well, it looks white from far away, but as you get closer to it, you realize it is completely covered with inlaid semi-precious stone work: flowers, gemetric patterns, texts from the Koran. So it's this white monolithic thing from far away, and this elaborately colorful building from close up. also, it's rarely white. I sat in front of the Taj Mahal for three hours over sunset, watching it turn from blazing white, to bright gold, to muted pink. You may have an image of it firmly fixed in your mind already, but it is so worth seeing the real thing.