A followup to yesterday’s post on the Taj Mahal.
When folks ask me how I liked India my response is “I didn’t.” However, I always followup with “That said, the Taj Mahal was so awesome that it almost made up for the rest of the trip.”
In searching for info on the Taj I found this very good description and discussion of what a visit to it is like (click here.) The website/FB page Hippie in Heels is written by Rachel Jones and is worth checking out.)
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| https://hippie-inheels.com/13-tips-for-taj-mahal-visit/ |
On our way leaving the Taj, Buzzy almost created an international incident. Several young men surrounded us trying to sell us stuff and making it difficult for us to proceed back to the bus which was parked approximately a 1/4 mile away. We had had a full day of touring, were both tired and it was getting into Buzzy’s drinking time. The kids would not take no for an answer as they continued to hassle us to buy their items for sale.
I ignored them, put on my best Don’t-F-With-Me-Ridge-Boy-face and when they got near me simply said “Go away.” They got the message and left me alone.
Buzzy, on the other hand, made the mistake of actually trying to negotiate with them to buy something. He wanted to buy 3 t-shirts for a deal. Once the kids thought that they had a live one they circled like sharks smelling blood and began to really hassle him. One boy shoved a pack of shirts into Buzzy’s hands. Buzzy said no and tried to give the package back to him but the kid refused to take it saying “No. No. No. You have it, you got to buy it.”
Buzzy then threw the package into some shrubs that lined the walkway to the Taj. As the kid went looking for it, an older guy who had been following along behind us confronted Buzzy and said that those were his shirts and that Buzzy did have to pay for them. Buzzy, who by now was getting pissed said “No way and you better get out of my face.” Things were starting to turn ugly as I considered what to do.
By this time though we had been separated from the rest of our tour group who had proceeded on ahead of us. Our tour guide noticed that we were being detained so he came back and intervened. He quickly said all the right things to our would-be harassers/vendors and they retreated.
The tour guide then explained to us that the kids actually worked for the older guy and that this was their routine to hassle tourists until they bought something. Buzzy replied “Well, that old boy needs to teach them some better manners.” I started to interject something along the lines “Dad, if you would have just ignored them, it wouldn’t have been a problem.” However, I knew that he had his Black Velvet waiting back on the bus and just let it slide. Just another day on the tourist trail with Buzzy.
How bout some Keb Mo: