This temple was one of the most 
beautiful buildings I saw in India. It's actually called the Taj Mahal of Rajasthan according to one of my teachers. Most unfortunately my camera died before I could take my fill of photos (I only got about 80, damn). I could handle the Taj and then Jodhpur but my camera wasn't quite up for the task. Hopefully I will be equally resilient tomorrow. I am giving a 30 minute presentation on my paper, in Hindi. Wish me luck. 
In the early light of the morning in Jodhpur, I could see from one end of the city to the other. On our side the big fort stood over us and to its right a white temple stood. In the light it looked like it was glowing. At the other end, farthest away from us, I could see a shadow of a castle in the fog. Standing there it reminded me of Oz. These pictures are from the wicked witch of the west's palace. It is a large beautiful structure, that remarkably resembles something one would make on the beach by dripping wet sand into towers. This was our first stop, sightseeing in Jodhpur and throughout my sightseeing I could shake the feeling that this could be the only place that Oz could be modeled after (I mean come on, the emerald city, total rip off, all they did was pick another color).
Here is the whole series of fun pictures that my friends and I took at the Taj. The poses are as follows: Incredible India, Japanese tourist, Kathak pose, and jumping for a reason that no one can quite remember. These may or may not have been planned out ahead of time (they were). It was necessary to determine our poses before we went because of the amount of time before certain people deteriorated into a puddle of sweat (me) and others hair frizzed (not me). I am putting these pictures up because I am currently wading through my final paper which is due tomorrow. It is finished (13 pages and hindi, booyah). But I am only a page into the miserable undertaking of typing it up using google transliterate. So I put up happy, funny pictures because I am miserable and sleepy and my neck hurts. At least I will have a break tomorrow (read facial), because I have to hand it in and then I will present on Thursday so I will have one afternoon of peace (read packing). More enthusiastic reporting tomorrow.
My internet was too bad to post yesterday so I will leave you with this until later tonight. This is the new contender for my book cover, or perhaps my new hit pop single.
More pictures of Jodhpur, this time from the top of the fort. I'm away for my last exciting weekend in India. I'll talk to you again on Sunday.
So in a show of incredible trouper-dom, Nafeeza and I got off the 6 hour Agra bus ride, took a shower, at dinner and then got on an overnight bus to Jodhpur. We arrived at 5 in the morning. It was dark, we were half asleep and we had no idea where we were or what we were doing. We asked to go to the central market because we knew their would be breakfast places around there, but everything was closed. Eventually the rickshaw driver suggested a hotel. Usually this is a no-no, because the driver takes a commission for the people he brings, but he assured us the restaurant was open so we went. We ended up in a rooftop restaurant, right next to the fort, sipping chai and doing work as the sun rose over one of the most beautiful cities I have seen. It was entirely worth the hassle.
Here are pictures from inside two of the palaces. The palace of mirrors is my favorite, but it doesn't photograph very well (too much reflection). You can take my word for it. I can't help being my father's daughter at places like this (in Belgium: violet, the thatched roof! take a picture of the thatched roof!). I have about 300 photos from each location of tile detailing and arch ways (if anyone wants to recreate the mosaics in the interior of the Taj Mahal for their bathrooms, give me a call). 