Snakes, Christmas and Delhi

We made it back to Ohio this week, but we still have some fun pictures and stories to share from India before the trip feels complete. On one of my days off, Michelle and I visited the Pune Snake Park and saw lots of exotic snakes, a white tiger, and some gharials. The most popular attraction was the cobra pit where the cobras constantly provoked fights with each other for the sunny spots in the pit. They would arch their heads up high, flared their hoods, hiss and then try and strike one another - what a show! That same day we also visited a restored palace where Gandhi was held as a prisoner during the years he was fighting for an independent India. The palace and gardens were very peaceful and calm, in stark contrast from everything else in busy Pune. Click on the picture of Michelle enforcing the rules to see pictures of all the snakes and click on Gandhi to see more of the palace.

On Chrismas day we celebrated with a nearly-typical American dinner complete with pumpkin pie and sugar cookies. The next day we flew up to India's capital, New Delhi, where we toured tombs, forts, temples, and survived a long drive to Agra where we saw one of the seven wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal. It really is a magnificent sight to see, but keep your nose as far away as possible - 40,000 visitors, mostly young indian boy scouts, all with their shoes off makes quite an aroma.