A Trip to the Taj Mahal

Sunrise at the Taj Mahal

This is what everyone comes to Agra to see - the Taj Mahal.

Before witnessing this amazing monument, I had to overcome a perturbed ticket seller.

Upon arriving in Agra, I decided to buy a train ticket to my next destination. I expected the process to take five minutes. Instead, it took 45.

Immediately after another man in front of me stepped away from the booth, I approached the ticket window and waited for assistance. Anywhere else in the world the clerk would have immediately helped me, but this is India, a daily lesson in patience.

The clerk refused to even acknowledge me because she was looking through a stack of papers. Five minutes passed, still not even a glance. In America or Singapore, I would, at this point, have become furious, demanding to see a manager, but anger achieves nothing in India. It just makes Indians laugh or fire back with just as much intensity.

Finally, she asked me what I wanted. Rather than make a snide remark, I politely told her the reason I had stopped by the ticket booth was because I needed, of course, a ticket.

"Fill out this form, please," she replied.

Then, I made a tragic mistake.

"May I borrow a pen?" I asked. Without hesitation, and without warning, she literally threw it at me like a Nolan Ryan fastball. For the record, I caught the pen, which was sailing toward my head.

Again, in the rest of the civilized world, I would have been outraged. In India, she was the gatekeeper. I had to play by her rules.

As I began filling out the form, an Indian man tried to push past me to the window, even though the woman was helping me. I deftly elbowed him out of the way, proving that even foreigners can adapt to the "no personal space" culture of India.

It didn't matter who was at the window because out of the corner of my eye I noticed the clerk leaving the ticket booth to make a personal phone call. I just smiled. Patience, Mark.

Twenty minutes later, she returned, pointed out a mistake on my form, and then asked me a question or two about my seating preference.

I couldn't resist. "You're the expert," I said. "I'm sure you'll take good care of me."

Her icy facade thawed with my sarcastic comment and a slight smile appeared. The ticket was mine.

The next day, I visited the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. Yes, it lived up to all my expectations. Wow!

By the way, it's true that cows live a charmed life in India.

Hindus consider the animals sacred, so you won't find them on the menu at McDonald's; however, you will find them

free to wander and lounge at will, even in major cities in the middle of traffic.





I'll be moooving on next to Jaipur. I hope you'll join me.