The first place I landed into was Bombay (Mumbai). The 40 minute drive from the airport into Colaba was the first culture shock. Miles upon miles of shanties, people walking around aimlessly looking dirty and jobless. Every time my taxi stopped, the car was surrounded by kids trying to sell things such as flowers, trinkets, whatever. Quite a sad introduction to such a country I was originally looking forward to visit!

This photo below is of the finest hotel in the city (maybe in India!), the Hotel Taj Mahal. I have no idea of how much it costs per night, but rest assured it's out of the price range of both locals and regular tourists.

My hotel, located directly behind Hotel Taj Mahal, had a somewhat seedier view from the patio. Can you spot the hooker? How about the junkie?

And if that last question was too easy, how many modes of transporation can you count in this photo? (taken down the street from my Bombay hotel)

The most impressive place in India that I got to visit was my middle stop, Udaipur, a city in Rajasthan very unlike the two other places I visited (that is, it was clean and scenic).

I was quite impressed with a Jain temple 20-30 miles north of the city (a 3 hour drive over pothole & cow infested roads).

I had met an Australian couple while travelling on the train from Bombay...

... and we drove in this modern Indian taxi...

... to this spectacular fort, I believe it's named Kumbhalgarh.

This is a view from not even near the top of the fort. That's our taxi down there, a long way down.

My last stop was Agra, home of the country's most famous monument. This city was, as the guide book hinted it would be, a major dump. India finally caught up with me and I got good and sick here. Somehow I worked up the energy to get up at daybreak to go see the Taj Mahal. While many great photos were shot, I was only able to stick around for just 90 minutes before my [cold][flu][stomach-virus][whatever] knocked me back to my hotel room. Wow. What a place of contrasts. I was extremely unhappy, but also quite awed by the monuments built out of love.