Driving south to Agra allowed us to see camels carrying products, nothing like using good old animal power to get things done. In additon, we witnessed many, many cows. It was interesting to see cows living in harmony with the local citizens. The cows roam the streets and one member of our IT tream, who is from India, commented on how the cows in India run the country. In fact, we had to stop several times along the long road to Agra to allow a herd of cows to cross the street!
As we arrived at the Taj Mahal, we were met with a long line to enter - this on a Thursday. As we looked like a bunch of tourists, we were approached by a local guide who was able to help us past the long line for a fee of course.
The Taj was remarkable, very white and bright. As you get closer to the marble structures, you get blinded by the bright reflection - this on a sunny day for us. The Taj took 22 years to build by over 20,000 workers. I kept thinking about how many workers must have lost their eye-sight while working on the enormous pieces of marble. One interesting item I noted is that the family of our tour guide has lived near the Taj since it was built. In fact, his ancestors helped build the Taj Mahal and now his family is helping to preserve it, live in the area, and continue to work for it. Interesting, all this since the 1630's.
Our ride back to New Delhi was a bunch of fun, having retreat participants from many different parts of the world, is a big plus - very entertaining. Several IT staff members entertained the group on the long ride back by singing and even performing dances native to their countries. We enjoyed Moraccan clap music, a love song and dance from India, before we collapsed back at our hotels very late in the night on Thursday.
