taj mahal

i had to switch hotel rooms. i got one in agra without a/c and it was too hot. so my new room is really nice, but cost more. but what is money? (if it was about money, i never woulda come on this trip.) when i was moving to my new room, the hotel porter asked me, "do you like..." - followed by some indecipherable hindi word. i could only answer, "uhhh..." so he follows it up with, "you know, very beautiful!" and then started making the shape of this unintelligible word with his hands. i immediately had a flashback to cambodia, when jacob and i were offered prostitutes as part of room service. i would've just said no, but i was still uncertain what he was asking - so i pressed further to find out, and he again made that same shape with his hands, although a bit more bulbous than the usual hand motions used to signify women in western culture. "very beautiful!"

and i am not sure how the brain works, or exactly what chemical fires across which particular synapse to allow for the comprehension of someone from another culture's communications - but something somewhere fired in my brain, and i finally understood that he wasn't trying to sell me a prostitute, but that he was asking if i liked the taj mahal. (and i swear, the way he said it sounds nothing like the way westerners say it. it's like that butter/parkay commercial: it's just not the same word.) well, hotel porter guy, the taj mahal is very beautiful - take a look at some of the pictures and see for yourself. i must say, i was a bit skeptical - i have been to wat angkor - but it is truly as amazing and overwhelming as they say it is...