It was a very long day that I spent in Akbar’s Palace. Early in the day I parted ways with my guide to walk around the grounds by myself. The palace was relatively empty, being a bit out of the hustle and bustle of Agra. Most everyone else tended to go over to the Taj, but I found the most delicate and beautiful parts to be in these oft-neglected quarters.
Akbar the Great was quite a guy I am sure. This was shot in his palace near Agra. Most people go to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, but in my estimation, this is a much more exotic and interesting place to explore.
I don’t know if the above statement is accurate in the least, but it’s the biggest one I have seen. It’s huge, it’s ornate, and it’s covered with followers. This is the entrance to a major part of Akbar’s captial city near Agra, India.
This mosque was not easy to get a shot in… and they even made me wear a little hat… but I am happy with the results, although everyone inside wondered what a WASPy-lookin guy was doing with a camera!
When wandering around the outskirts and wilds of the Taj Mahal, where no tourists can be found (you all know I am not fond of clueless tourists that use their flash when they are 500 yards from the subject… you all probably feel the same way!), I found this other wandering camel that stopped for a rest. I don’t know what all the brands on his neck are for - although I assume they denote ownership to the boy in the red’s family.
I would appreciate your vote for the 2008 Bloggies! I hope you vote for www.stuckincustoms.com in the "best photography of a weblog" category! 
Outside the gates to Fatehpur Sikri, an Indian boy waits to take my shoes. I pay him a few rupees to keep track of them for me. I walked several miles in bare feet inside and quickly discovered why everyone has such dirty feet. It’s always been a pet peeve of mine, but, like dropping your keys in a river of lava, I just had to let it go.
This place is a hundred times cooler than the Red Fort in Agra.
This is Akbar’s capital palace near Agra that is called Fatehpur Sikri. Most tourists do not make it out here because they just spend one day looking at the Taj Mahal in the morning and the Red Fort in the afternoon. Since I was there on Saturday and Sunday, I got to spend the second day exploring this palace.
I was frankly more impressed by this place than the Ancient Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is a lot older, but this place is really amazing…
I had a great time in India! I am very thankful to my various hosts for showing me such a good time.
Besides a weekend trip to the Taj Mahal, as you can see below, I was also treated to a full immersion into Bollywood here in Mumbai, the center of the movie world here in India. It started with a 3-hour viewing of Om Shanti Om, complete with a pre-show standing for the Indian national anthem. Afterwards, we ate dinner at Olive’s, which is a trendy place where many of the Bollywood stars go to see and be seen by the Page 3 newspapers. My host was leaning over to me telling me who was the sister-in-law of whom and which directors were entering while escorting which starlets.
