Sketchy

One thing I didn't mention about our trip to the Taj Mahal was the sketchy way we got in. One of our coworkers paid a guy to take us through a shortcut, which brought us to an entrance that was lined with shops and a lot less crowded than the entrance we saw first. The line we bypassed to get in was about 3 hours long.

However, I began to worry for my life. It really felt like a sequel to Hostel, because we went between a bunch of residences of people who live and work there, and it was totally creepy. Here's a picture of me wondering if after the next turn, there would be a trap door and we'd all be tortured and killed.

 

The guy also had a shop at another gate, and he was waiting there when we left to come try to get me to buy stuff, presumably out of some sense of obligation. I was also continuously harrassed by a guy selling necklaces, and a little girl and boy selling glass pens with animals on them. I caved and got some pens, which led to a full-on assault, during which there seemed to be no end to the amount of pens I could buy for 100 rupees. What truly amazed me was that the girl had a bag of pens which seemed to be bottomless, and she was able to make them materialize with little to no effort. Next time you see me, ask me to do the pen gesture.

I ended up with TONS of these pens, many of which have a duck on them. If I'd noticed some were ducks, I would have worked out a special deal in which I bought only duck pens, but paid a little extra for them.

Pens for everybody. If they even work.