The Problem with Tourist Attractions...

is that not only is it full of tourists but people who cater to tourists. And in the case of the Golden Triangle, foreign tourists. When we got out of the train station in Delhi, we were mobbed by a bunch of rickshaw drivers asking if we needed a taxi. I was really glad that we had a car and a driver but we had to find him and our walking around looking kind of lost was practically an invitation. We were able to meet up with him and get in the car without problems (he had a sign with our name on it). The same thing happened when we got out of the train station in Ahmedabad. There was one rickshaw driver in particular who would not leave us alone and followed us almost all the way to the parking lot. It took us a while to find our driver that time because he was waiting at one exit and we came out another. Plus, he is hard to pick out in a crowd, he kind of blends in. Jason was saying he could easily be a spy, or he may already be one.

Then anywhere we got out of the car to go to wherever we wanted to go, there would inevitably be a bunch of people selling different things. For the most part I avoided them by not making eye contact. Sometimes they would still offer me things but usually backed off when I said no. This didn't bother me so much as the people who wouldn't take no for an answer. Fortunately that was the minority.

At one point, when we crossed the state boarder, we had to stop the car and the driver got out to, I think, pay taxes. Naturally a number of people then came up to the car with things to sell. I tried to focus on Anna with the hopes that they would go away while surreptitiously sneaking peeks at what they had to sell (what can I say, I love window shopping). There were two guys with necklaces, one with a mini wooden chess set, one selling peacock feather fans (which were really pretty, I fear I looked too long at that one so he was harder to get rid of) and some guys with monkeys on leashes. These were smaller than the monkeys we have here and I have no idea what he was going to have them do to get money out of us. One of them jumped on the outside of the car but I refused to look.

While I am good a avoiding things like this, Jason has a soft spot in his heart for the kids. Often they would talk to us when we got out of the car and Jason would talk to them a bit and tell them to find him when we get out. He figures if they do then they are committed to the sale and he can talk them down (he is a shrewd negotiator). This happened twice and we got some good deals on postcard books.

The other thing to look out for are the pickpockets. A number of places we went to had signs to be careful of your valuables. For that reason, Jason carried anything of monetary value and I had Anna. This especially was nice so I didn't have to worry about the people who were taking their picture with us wanting anything more than a picture. One time a guy came up to Jason and said he was an American too and wanted a picture with him. I have no idea why but was nervous when he stood on Jason's side with the diaper bag (where we had things like money and passports). So I got on Jason's other side and put my hand on the bag. When we left, we checked and everything was there. Of course, it would have been impressive if he had taken something of value out of the bottom of that stuffed diaper bag. I know I have a hard time finding the things I want.

At a couple of places we hired guides to show us around. They turned out to be very helpful in pointing things out and giving us context. Plus, we could comfortably give them our camera and get pictures of all three of us. They also helped with things like buying tickets in Jaipur and at the Taj Mahal the security guards pulled some things out of the diaper bag that we couldn't take in with us (I have no idea why) and the guide left and put them in a locker for us then got them back at the end.