Another Day Another Love

Yesterday left off with the attempt to train out of our shady Mumbai
neighborhood and into Agra to see the Taj Mahal. However when we
reached a new train station to get on the "right train" and after some
doing we finally were able to get tickets for the now, 15 hour train
ride into a town just outside of Agra. On the downside the only
tickets available were for the next day. This of course left us
staying another night in this chaotic town. We left the train station
tired and frustrated and walking around until we found a sign for a
vacant hotel.

I tell you this boring tale, because it was a fantastic misfortune.
Because we were forced to stay, we ended up in a different
neighborhood. Our hotel was down a quiet street next to a temple and
across from a school. We spent the entire day walking down amazing
little streets where children would play with us and men and old
ladies would stop to say hello. We ate great food on the streets and
in restaurants and fell in love with Mumbai in a matter of hours.

The architecture is baffling, on one street you have a million dollar
high rise and next to it tents and shacks with families making dinner
from fires they light with the same piece of wood each night. Men
drive a million miles an hour on motorcycles with women and children
on back, I would be inclined to say "holding on for dear life" but the
fact is they are not. These whole family rides seem to be as natural
and stress free as a walk in the park. I wonder if my fear is a
natural concern or a testament to the smothering overly concerned
society Americans have created?

In an hour we board our 15 hour train ride, by this time tomorrow I
will be sitting in front of the Taj Mahal, I am sure awed by its
beauty and moved by its love story.