Our difficulties began when unseasonable rains and accidents closed the road to Agra. We took a long detour and became stuck in the mud in a tiny town as night began to fall. Eventually we made it to Agra in the dark and the pouring rain. Our driver refused to take us to the area where we wanted to go and we ended up staying in an overpriced hotel on tourist row.

First thing the next morning, we took a bicycle rickshaw to the Taj Ganj, the area just south of the Taj Mahal. There we found the Hotel Siddhartha and we promptly collected our things and moved in. We'd highly recommend the Hotel Siddhartha to anyone. It is run by some very friendly Sikhs and is clean, comfortable, and about 50 yards south of the west gate of the Taj. It cost us a little over $5 a night!

We visited the Taj that afternoon in the rain. Even in the overcast weather it was incredible. It was very crowded though, and after walking around for several hours barefoot in the rain, we grew tired. I got incredibly sick that night--I think a combination of a cold and bad food. I didn't know it was possible to feel that bad and not be dying! The next day I was wiped out. When I was lying in bed I heard some commotion outside my window. A monkey jumped down on the window sill and grabbed my shirt that was hanging to dry. I leapt up and chased him across the second floor balcony. He started eating my buttons so I lunged at him. He dropped my shirt and fled.