27 July 2016 Yesterday was spent sorting out our visa problem. The worst part was sitting and waiting with nothing to read. I was pretty philosophical, however, so tried to meditate while hanging out in a virtual sauna. We left immigration around 3:30, with Tsering and Dan planning to stay and sort things out. They did, so we’re not “illegals” any more. Their success also meant that we could go to the Taj Mahal today. Well worth it! There are many interesting things about the Mughal Empire, not least of which is the depiction of people in images [despite Quranic prohibitions against this]. The calligraphy in drawings and on the Taj Mahal itself is amazing, especially since on the latter it is done in black onyx (it that’s not redundant). [Traditional Taj Mahal Photo of Kelsey and Joanna—ALL tourists do it, except for me.] Everyone was a bit cranky: getting up to leave by 5:00 a.m. (we left at 5:30), the fast food service at the “truck stop” was not to people’s liking, the peddlers at T.M. were very aggressive, lunch was expensive and people were short of cash. We were supposed to stop and look at some stone carvings on the way home, but Tsering correctly gauged the mood of the group and we came straight home. Comments are closed.
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Author Rebecca Moore is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions and Co-Director of The Jonestown Institute. Archives
December 2021
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