India

We went to India the 1st weekend in November. No one was excited about going...except Brian. But Brian was determined to go see the Taj Mahal and wouldn't take no for an answer. So we packed up and went. We visited the Golden Triangle- Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. Emily (Kaiya's friend) and her dad came with us. It was a lot of driving to each city (5 hrs) but actually, it ended up being ok and everyone had a good time. Also, this is nowhere near as comprehensive as I originally envisioned this blog post being. Too many photos, so little blog time. So this is just a little taste of our whirlwind trip...

Have you ever seen a Macca's receipt this expensive?! I did a double take and thankfully remembered we paid in rupees.

We ended up at a rug store where we got to see how they make rugs and how the lighting changes the look of the rugs. Also, we bought a rug and shipped it to our home in Utah. Talk about an expensive Indian souvenir...!

The rug store also had other textiles and Kaiya tried on a sari. It was pretty but we decided not to buy one. #sorrynotsari

Humayun's Tomb in Delhi

This snake charmer invited Emi to come sit by him. I love Emi's expression- she was NOT comfortable being that close to a cobra...!

Random street scene in Delhi

Qutub Minar (the tall tower in the background)- at this point in the day the kids were going to revolt if we forced them to see another monument...so we snapped a quick photo and moved on.

Mei with the hotel bell hop...just because.

The next day we went to Jantar Mantar observatory. We thought it was a lookout point...nope. It was an actual observatory- an astrological observatory. Behind us is the largest sundial in the world.

The kids couldn't have cared less for the observatory- they thought it was boring. See photo for proof.

More sundials and other astrological-type stuff...the girls didn't care about it but still managed to strike a pose.

We drove to Jaipur and went to Chokhi Dhani, an ethnic village that highlights the culture of all things India. It was probably one of our favorite parts of the whole trip. Lots of dancing, magic/circus acts, buffet dinner, camel rides, etc. The younger girls really wanted to ride a camel so Brian took them. We've done plenty of camel rides but Brian says this one was unique in that they got the camel to run (or gallop/trot??? not sure what the correct term is here...)

THe next morning was spent riding a painted elephant as you ascend the Amer Fort.

Amer Fort is massive and impressive- and yet, our kids...sigh...

We ended up spending the rest of the day driving to Agra so that we could wake up early the next morning and head straight to the Taj Mahal before it got too busy. Even though it was 7 am, I still thought it was pretty busy. I can only imagine how busy it gets by afternoon...or during the busy season.

Taj up close. It really is that impressive of a structure- especially up close.

And of course, the littles needed to do this pose!

And that wraps up India. And just in time too b/c I need a nap. Still recovering from the worst bout of flu ever!