We just saw the Taj today and it is AMAZING! It is definitely worth the trip (and the heat). And, Vivek, it’s not blank inside, it’s filled with ornate stone work of flowers and verses from the Koran inlaid into white marble.

 Anyhow, we’ve got tons of pictures and no time to post them! Here are a few fromthe last two days.

We spent the next day trekking & rafting through the wildlife sanctuary –  we didn’t see any tigers, but the forest was BEAUTIFUL, and we did spy barking deer, bison, scorpions, 3 types of macaw monkeys, and some of the most dramatically featured butterflies & birds around!

The next day took us to one of the biggest Hindu temples in south India — the Sri Menakshi temple in Maduri.  This intricately carved, palacial temple was truly a site to behold, though the bustling city of Maduri left little else to be desired.  We headed out that night to Chennai where we were lucky to spend 1 1/2 days with Katy & Vivek and their families before the wedding craziness officially set in.

Wedding festivities are now underway — we’ll be sure to post some pics an keep you updated!

We’re thinking of all our friends on this trip and are getting really excited to see some a bunch of friends at Vivek and Katy’s wedding in just a week from now. I’m adding a few more (random) photos that I liked and didn’t fit in the other posts, mostly street shots.

There is trash everywhere in India cities, cows graze on it, people pick through it and sometimes it gets burned. This is taken in Cochin.

A typical Indian street scene, tons of people and ordered choas.

A roadside shrine.

The second clinic we visited took place in a small cement building that housed the local government & other civic organizations when not in use by the clinic. Women & children were packed inside its small walls waiting for immunizations for their children: polio, tetnus, etc…

Some of the many innovative community health programs that take place under the experitise of Dr. Rabentish include a loan/grant program for women to purchase goats or bullocks to use for milk, breeding, and other sources of income; working with communities to build latrines & safe water sources; using lay health advisors (trusted members of the community who receive training and a small honorarium) to educate villagers on hygene, contraception, and even AIDS.

This scene below — two nurses administering an immunization to a small baby in its mother’s arms — totally reminded me of my time in the batays of the Dominican Republic.

Click the “more” link for more photos.