by Interloper on Sun May 10, 2009 5:10 pm
India is a fabulous, gorgeous, intense, poverty-filled, crowded and completely unforgettable land. I was both smitten and repulsed by it on many levels, and would go back in a heartbeat (been there 4 times).
If you can handle the gut-rattling bus ride to Daramsala, home of the Dalai Lama and scion of the gelug (Yellow Hat) Tibetan Buddhist sect in exile, it is worth the trip to that remote place. Also, despite Agra's hucksterism the Taj Mahal, with its surreal backdrop of the Yamuna river and walled fort city, is a beautiful place rich in history. Go during an off season when it's quiet and the tourists are scarcer. Or, go during peak time in the fall and see how Agra blossoms on a local level during Dewali (Festival of Lights).
Pariah without peer