UGH

It didn't post half of the words, so here:

FUN STORY TIME: We went to the site where Gandhi was cremated, and
when I was putting my shoes back on, I noticed an Indian family
smiling at me. Grinning like an idiot, I waved back at them.
Apparently that was an invitation for something, because the next
thing I know, they were all surrounding me, and the mother handed me
her child, who appropriately freaked out, and they took a picture of
me holding their baby. Yeah. It was weird.

Anyway, the next day we took a train (where they gave us two meals in
two hours) to Agra. You know what's in Agra. That's right, the Taj
Mahal!! I don't have much to say except that nothing says "I love
you" like a giant mausoleum. It is breathtaking, though. Also, I
think it helped that the weather was great. It was in the 70s or 80s
and not humid, so that was awesome.

Jaipur. Jaipur. It's known as the Pink City because it was painted
pink once. It's not so pink anymore. We went to a fort... and at
this fort, I rode an elephant! Shut up, animal rights activists. I
learned that riding elephants is actually terrifying. Our saddle was
slowly sliding down the side of the elephant, and we were holding on
for dear life. But it was a good experience.

A note on shopping: I'm excited to go back to the US, where people
don't hassle me while browsing their things. I'm much likelier to buy
something if someone isn't hovering over me. Also, I've gotten good
at bargaining, which will do me no good in the States. Here's the
secret: just pick the price you want to pay and repeat it until they
agree. It will work. And if it doesn't, just walk away and they'll
chase you down the street and agree to it.

So yeah. That's an incredibly brief overview of what I did. I
visited a lot of historical sites, and I didn't feel like sharing them
with you. I have pictures, don't you worry. Traveling to tourist
places in India was really interesting because of the huge economic
disparity. In Cochin, I didn't see tons of poverty; it's in Kerala,
which is a very well-off state in India. But in the bigger cities in
the north, there were a number of beggars, which is difficult to see
when you're on your way to a nice lunch at a fancy hotel. I think I'm
done.