I know that some of you clapped and chanted “I believe” to help us get upgraded to Business Class; however, your efforts didn’t work. Now, I’m not going to mention names, but I know for sure that some of you didn’t participate! Either a) you didn’t believe that clapping saved Tinkerbell; b)that we should have spent thousands of dollars to buy Business Class seats (remember, we have a son in college!!!); or c) that sitting in a Coach seat for 15 hours is some type of new age mystical experience!

 We arrived in Delhi and are staying at the Imperial Hotel, one of the Grand Dames of Historic hotels. Our suite is spacious—large armoire, flat-screen TV, Internet connection (for a fee), marble floors, 12 foot ceilings, the requisite marble bathroom, comfy bed with luxe duvet, and white upholstered furniture.

Yesterday we toured Old Delhi, an amazing hodge podge of streets and alleyways boasting a huge offering of goods for locals to purchase. There are shoe” streets, spice streets, lanes of butchered mutton and other unknown raw items (no extra charge for flies!), boulevards of fabric, beads, jewelry, and car parts (never, never leave a car unattended or else you’ll buy it back one part at a time)and all woven together by the most amazing maze of electrical lines one could imagine (think cobweb on steroids). We took a rickshaw ride, toured the largest mosque in India (room for 20,000++ worshippers).

Early this morning we were taken by chartered plane to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. To fly to Agra is a rare treat because the only airport is actually a military base and the government must give you special clearance to land there. From the airport we wound our way through Agra passing vendors of all types trying to eke out a living. Need a shave? Barbers set up shop on the street and for 10 Indian Rupees (about $.25), they’ll clean you up very nicely. Of course, sometimes there is no place to hang the mirror so you might be asked to hold it!

This was our second time to experience the Taj Mahal and I believe I felt a deeper appreciation, a profound spirituality, and incomparable sense of awe this time. Knowing the history of this wonder of the world, I could instead focus on the incredible artistry and the amazing testament to love. The weather gods were very kind to us in that we enjoyed a pleasant day, mid 80’s with a light breeze.

We then went to one of our favorite hotels, the Oberoi Amarvilas, for an exquisite buffet lunch. On our first visit to India we stayed at Amarvilas, which overlooks the Taj Mahal. I remember waking up, pulling open the curtains, seeing the Taj Mahal and reminding myself that this was real! We were not on some Hollywood or Bollywood movie set!

We have one more day in Delhi and then off to my favorite hotel in the world, Oberoi’s Udaivilas. What a great way to spend my 60th birthday! Care to join us?