Camel, Tonga, and..... Carseats

We take a day off a week.  It is wonderful.  Restful.  We usually listen to a Mike Bullmore sermon, we always eat coffee cake, and we rest as a family.  Last week I featured our not so restful Saturday trip to the Taj.  It is a week later and we are over 500 miles away from that mausoleum  yet there is more to tell about that not so restful day of rest.

Firstly it was one of our most costly days of rest as the Taj tickets cost us a whopping 14 bucks each.  As I stood in line I talked with a lady who paid less than 50 cents for her ticket.  She was obviously Indian though wearing Western clothing and speaking American.  She weighed no more than 80 pounds and looked about 21 though she had two teenagers.  I stood there obviously American looking wearing Indian clothes and speaking Hindi.  She lives in America, I live in India but for one day we both got to put our feet in the other person's shoes.  It was a little strange to say the least and I was comfortable going ahead of her in the SPEED line for TOURIST TICKET HOLDERS.

Also from our day away.....

Did I tell you that the Taj is being destroyed by pollution?  Did I tell you that in order to help the situation not vehicles are allowed within a mile radius around the structure unless they are animal or electrically powered.  For this reason we found ourself traveling slowly by camel drawn carriage to the Taj and we returned quickly by horse drawn carriage.

Our Tonga (horse walla) driver let Abraham hold the reins.  Oh what delight.  All week he has laid his cars aside to play with his two miss matched horses (one a realistic figurine the other a little people pudgy animal with few horsey characteristics) and a little wagon that doesn't fit on either horse.  

Here are photos with one of Zana and her daddy thrown for good measure.  She got to ride in her new carseat and was not overwhelmed with gratefulness to ride behind a camel or a horse.  She did wave to all the tourists taking her picture just like a little queen.

  

Happy but tired and we have yet to see the Taj.

I cannot get over how cute she looks and how beautiful Moghul structures look.

In heaven but ready for a nap!

Convinced he is TRULY driving the Tonga!

In case you are wondering what we did to day for our day of rest today well.......

The park was locked so we played in the middle of a street for an hour.  We listened to a great sermon. We played cars.  We walked through the neighborhood and watched men tear down the scaffolding for a huge water tower that is being built.  We talked with friends in the gully.  We played cards.  We read. We ate good food.  No Taj this week!