Slumdunder Mifflinaire

I think this post from me makes a total of maybe five or so on our blog. There are a few reasons for that. First, Jessica is far better at putting together creative posts about what is going on in our lives; second, the things I would like to write about probably don't interest the demographic of our blog's readers (mostly females); third, pure laziness.

From time to time though, a unique event or story comes along that would be sad for me not to document, if not only for myself to look back on.


I am currently in India for work and had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal. To be honest, I really had to push myself to embark on the journey--it really is quite the trek. After recovering from jet lag, working way too much this week, and feeling a little under the weather, the 4.5 hour drive at 5am was not looking super enticing...lame thinking on my part, I know. But, realizing that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that I was being an idiot for even considering not going, I arranged for transportation to get there. I even decided to leave at 5am instead of 6am to beat the traffic. Those that know me well are shaking their head in unbelief right now.

The four hour drive, for me, was almost as exciting and mind blowing as the Taj Mahal. I wish I could have gotten some good pictures but trying to snap photos with a Blackberry from a car in India is well...quite difficult, even if you are not driving. Let me try to paint a picture for you though. Imagine going to a storage facility in the middle of nowhere. It is rundown, old, and all of the units have different door colors--some no doors at all. Then, picture a two-way road in between all of the units. The road is primarily concrete but sometimes turns into a dirt road. Now, imagine a few people making things, sitting in the corners, and just hanging out in the storage units. After a while, the storage units stop and turn into miniature huts made from cow pies. Every five minutes or so, you will see a cow grazing the side of the road, play chicken with the oncoming traffic, and think to yourself: am I really seeing this? You may even come to a complete stop for 10 minutes due to a bizarre traffic jam.


For those of you that have seen Slumdog Millionaire, moments from the trip were not very far off from that. Although I didn't see two boys traveling on top of the train passenger cars, I did have children come right up to the car window, begging for money and food. I had some fruit that I wasn't going to eat, so I obliged. The little boy, though, spotted a bag of cashews that I hadn't opened and repeatedly pointed at them. Maybe I am a jerk, but I didn't give in.

After stopping on the side of the road (the driver had to pay some tax of some sorts) a guy with a plethora of monkeys came to the side of my car. The monkeys jumped up on the window and I foolishly took a picture. I say foolishly because the guy stood outside the car door for five minutes asking for money. He eventually even opened the door to try to persuade me to give him money. At this stage, there were three other guys trying to sell me some stuff and I was getting a little worried because the driver was gone. I ended up giving him one US dollar and he proceeded to ask for ten. I told him he initially asked for the equivalent of four US dollars in Rupees. Maybe he didn't think I could do math. He wouldn't remove his fingers from the crack in the window and I finally had to get a little aggressive and tell him to leave.

Guy who wanted money for taking a picture of his monkey

I had a guide who navigated me around and was very helpful. He connected me with the guy who took all of the Taj Mahal pictures you see and also brought me to a few other vendors. Taking pictures was pretty funny. He would just tell me where to stand and ask me to do all of these really cheesy poses, some of which I have neglected to post here. He wanted me to do a jumping picture and I said no. He was really pushy so I gave it a go.


The Taj Mahal really is breathtaking. It almost doesn't seem real from afar. Then when you realize that it is said to have been built in 22 years in the 1600's, it is that much more amazing. To give you some perspective, the LDS temple in Salt Lake City took 45 years to build in the late 1800's. The people resources weren't the same but still.

The guide told me 40,000 people visit every day which is close to 15 million a year. Wikipedia says 2-4 million a year. Hmm...


One of the funniest parts of the tour was when he asked me if I wanted a beer. I told him I didn't drink and he congratulated me since he doesn't drink either as a practicing Muslim. He did confess that he only has one vice. I didn't have to ask what it was. He does pray five times a day though, so good for him. Btw, I discovered the best mocktail here--a virgin Mojito. I always thought it might be a good virgin drink but didn't ever want to look like a fool asking for one if they didn't exist. Now I don't have to order sparkling water every time I am out for a work social gathering.

Driving back, I realized how lucky we are to live in our country. We take so many things for granted. I really couldn't believe some of the things I saw today, both of the spectacular and saddening variety. For those that get a lot of enjoyment from seeing the unique things of the world, start thinking about planning a trip to Delhi and the Taj Mahal. I felt very fortunate to see it--like a Slumdunder Mifflinaire.