Merry Christmas! A note from Akhil... We are in Kajuraho, and have miraculously found a working internet connection. So quickly, before the connection dies - we saw the Taj Mahal. Amazing! Walking around with Shannon is quite an experience. People stare, yell and generally harass her. I expected the stares, but the young men yelling "hey girl" and children mobbing her asking for "One pen!!" caught me off guard. Walking through Jaipur in the evening was pretty intense. But then again, it's not everyday we see an elephant (with driver) walking through the street. They honk, but the elephant doesn't seem to mind - he just keeps plodding along. We're trying to go to Varanasi tomorrow, but the Indian way is to kindof hope you get to where you want. Flights have been cancelled for the last four days - too much fog, and too few tourists? We're not quite sure. Driving the roads, I've seen my life flash before my eyes. Big Tata trucks heading your way on a one-lane road, bicyclists, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, scooters, women with firewood on their head, cows, cows, more cows, goats, starving dogs and the occasional man defecating, all share the road. And us in our mini tourist van, flying through it all at breakneck speed. I may become religious before I'm gone.

Ok, that's it for now, before the connection dies again!