India :: Part Three

Today, I'm posting my last group of photos from our amazing trip to India! If you haven't seen any of the photos from our trip, go check out parts one and two! :)  

Although much of our time in India was spent interacting with people...

We were able to take a few days and do some sight-seeing! This is Jal Mahal; the "Water Palace". :)

Camels are big 'ol wrinkly fellows in person.

This is Amer Fort fort, and it's over 3,000 years old!!

To say that this view was EPIC would be a sad, sad understatement.

It was simply breathtaking.

Right next to Amer Fort (further up the mountain) is Jaigarh Fort - home of the largest wheeled cannon in the world.

Also home of the sleeping security guards. :)

In India, elephants are commonly used during wedding festivities!

We got to watch them decorate an elephant in preparation for someone's big day. :)

Then it was time to RIDE! :)

Vivek was the only one lucky enough to climb up the elephant's trunk - the rest of us used the stairs in the background. :)

Then we were off into the jungle!

For some, giving elephant rides is a profession. They eat with, sleep with, raise their children next to, and do life with their elephants in their homes.

I RODE AN ELEPHANT! Yay! :)

Making friends with the little kids was easy. All you had to do was smile - and they giggled at you. :)

Trains! In all of our internal traveling, we took two long train rides.

This is Rajan's coconut. I like to call him Wilson.

For some, cow pies make fantastic fuel.

If you love history, and kingly drama, read up on the history of the Agra Fort. Ironic and fascinating! :)

From it's windows is a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal.

Across the river from the big Taj Mahal is a similar, miniature structure, the Tomb of I'timad-ud-Dauluh. (No, I have no idea how to pronounce that!)

Look, mom! The Taj Mahal!

We visited the Mehtab Bagh gardens at sunset, which are situated right across the river.

Can't imagine anyone I'd rather travel with. :)

The next morning, we woke up at 5 and went to see the Taj at sunrise. And even in the early morning, there were still a million people there! :)

Words cannot describe.

It. Was. Beautiful.

The entire building is inlaid with semi precious stones like jade, jasper and yellow marble.

And we got to wear cute little booties on our feet. :)

From that day on it was a mad dash to finish all of our sight-seeing, shopping and visiting!

In the capital city of Delhi, we visited many of the political and government buildings.

Sometimes, there are special perks for foreigners who sing Indian songs to the guards. You get to go up close to the gate to take pictures like the one above. :)

Everywhere we went, my father-in-law was giving marriage advice to all the young newlyweds. (I - of course - couldn't understand what he was saying, but it was something along the lines of, "Marry a sweet girl, and don't be afraid to do the dishes!") This strange Indian with his white family always drew crowds of people and plenty of stares. :)

After our last day of sightseeing in Delhi, we packed up and left for America at 11pm. I got sick on the flight home, so I didn't feel like taking many pictures after that (I WAS thankful that I didn't get sick until the way home - what a blessing!).

However, this is still one of my favorites from our trip: My other family + the Taj Mahal. Not really sure it gets much better (or more Indian) than that. :)

I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone that prayed so faithfully for us while we were traveling. It was a miracle that none of us got really really sick (although we all had our moments of icky-ness), and we were SO thankful for all of the safe travel (8 flights and 2 trains later). It was definitely the trip of a life time, and the memories that were made are some I will never forget. I hope you've enjoyed the photos! :)

Have a lovely Thursday! :)