Indian skies

Leaving Ranthambor, a sad sight was to be seen. A tiny monkey had been run over by a car. On the wall near the road sat a group of 4-5 monkeys, looking very sad. They were definitely mourning. A stark contrast to the deer herd which basically scampered off after the baby deer was snared by the tiger.

We transferred to a tourist "camp" very deep into farm country. On one hand it was kinda lame, on the other they brought in some folk dancers who were so into it, so lively, so good.

From there, we camel-rode (ok, ok...cheesy tourist-y thing to do, but it was actually more comfortable than the camel-driven carts...) to a village of 60 people even deeper into farm country. They had water, and one hazardous electrical wire for a lightbulb. Otherwise, they lived as they had for the past hundred years. Despite that, the people were friendly, happy. They managed their trash better than the people in Dehli.

That night, I sat for a spell in the camp's courtyard, enjoying the total stillness of the night, and the full (or nearly full) moon in the clear Indian sky. I thought to myself, "when will I ever experience this again?" and took full advantage. The moment was so definitive and beautiful, I later began re-thinking on my stance on enjoying the country and the outdoors domestically. I mean, we have outdoor spots locally I could enjoy. I am long over the anxiety of growing up in a small town, so I think it's time to seek out opportunities to spend some meaningful time in the outdoors and the country here.

The next day we were in Agra, and headed to Agra Fort for our first glimpse of the Taj. It was lovely, but what really got me here is the shower in the hotel room. Entering the bathroom, it was glass-faced. No big deal, I know. But a switch raised a screen, revealing the wall between the shower and the sleeping area was actually glass. So, one could be showering and looking out at the view. Or, someone could be sitting on the chairs or on the bed, watching me shower. I could only imagine one person who would be so into THAT.