aap ka naam ka hai?

So I've heard it is 115 degrees today. Its a little scary how such a temperature does not surprise or alarm as much as it would have one week ago. Air conditioning, wherever it can be found, is pure bliss in this environment. Today we officially went to the Taj Mahal. After spending a good portion of yesterday taking pictures from surrounding rooftops, the adjacent river, and Agra fort. The structure was simply astonishing. See Mac's post for the pictures. Afterwards we employed a bicycle ricksaw to return to our hotel. The ricksaw driver's (or cyclist's) exhausting effort in such tremendous heat quickly had me feeling sorry for him. Despite the heat and energy, several bicycle ricksaws approached us later this afternoon as we set out to the Taj Cafe. Overall, I think I'm more fond of Agra than I was of Delhi. The vendors here are equally, if not more, aggressive for our business, which can be annoying at times. Nevertheless, we have met and had the opportunity to practice our limited Hindi with some very interesting young salesmen (many of them children). I'm not sure how many of these children are under the impression that I'm going to shop at their store (the only store that doesn't charge commission, of course), but I'm sure they will be more than happy to remind me on the trek back to the hotel. phir milenge