Ugh!...the heat and hastle.

Hello All,
Will and I arrived in Jaipur last night after a few days in Delhi and Agra with Andy. Andy left yesterday afternoon to head home to LA, and should be arriving safely there sometime today. Here's a little catch up of what we've been doing. Sorry we can't post pictures yet. I'll do a huge spread when we get back to our laptop in Dehra Dun.

Good things about our "Golden Triangle" trip so far:
-Traveling with Andy. Will and Andy haven't spent this much time together in years and it's a delight to see them get to have this experience together. I'm a pretty big fan of Andy myself and am blessed by his company.
-Seeing and catching up with our friend CJ in Delhi.
-Going to the "Big Chill" & "All American Diner" for 2 meals. Yes, we are starting to miss food from home.
-Shopping in the Dilli Haat market for regional crafts. Will and Andy bought more than I did.
-A great hotel room in Delhi at the Godwin Grande. ($40 a night for luxury along a small street)
-I got new shoes as my old ones were falling apart. Fake Birkenstocks for $8!
-Will found and bought an instrument called a Sruti Box.
-Taking a bike rickshaw tour through Old Delhi (think very small streets with lots of beautiful colors).
-Seeing the country side on bus and train rides.
-K.K our Agra tour guide and rickshaw driver.
-Seeing the Taj, baby Taj, and Agra fort.
-Mango Lassi's.
-Our cheap but clean hotel in Agra and their friendly staff.
-The guys on our bus to a nearby castle and fort (sorry, can't remember the name) jumped out of the bus and began to push while the drive popped the clutch to get the bus moving. Will thought this was pretty funny/awesome.
-The fabulous Pearl Palace Hotel, decorated with an eclectic mix of artisan work, a lovely rooftop restaurant with views of the city and most importantly a hot shower with strong water pressure. Barb you would LOVE this place!

Some hard things about our trip:
-The Delhi train station "guard" trying to scam us out of money. Andy and Will were amazing at handling this guy as he took us upstairs to a quiet corner and tried to haggle us into paying a "tax". We owed him nothing, gave him nothing, and got on the train just fine. This was all at 5am, and we were all very tired and I am still in awe of how well the guys handled this.
-The heat! It's a lot hotter down here and I am now seriously dreading the summer coming.
-I was told that I would get a lot more harassment from the men in Dehra Dun, but I continue to feel more harassed in Delhi and especially in Agra. Men constantly ask to have their picture taken with me, they whisper in my ear when Andy and Will are walking ahead of me, they bump into me, and want to talk all of the time. I'm married! I'm walking with two men, and the harassment is even worse when I stand alone, which means that Will can't leave me to go look at something. I miss my freedom, and although I know my sweet husband doesn't blame me, I wish he could have some freedom to move around on his own. Will has also used his death glare a lot on this trip, towards the men who openly stare at me looking me up and down, and being on guard all of the time is exhausting for both of us. There were times in Delhi when I looked up and down busy streets only to realize that I was the only woman on them. It felt like I was in the twilight zone with everyone ogling me.
-I have had Delhi Belly for the past 2 days. I was so proud of my body for not getting anything for the first 2 months that we were here, but of course I get sick only during a time when we need to travel almost every day.
-All of this has made me cry 3 times in the past 4 days when all I really want to do is enjoy my husband and the splendor that surrounds me. I hate feeling helpless!

We have 3 days left on our trip, and I try to start each new day with hope instead of the fear that lingers from the day before. Keep us in your prayers during this time. I'd really like to head back to work feeling somewhat rested.
-Lauren