Homeward Bound! With a pit stop at the Taj Mahal

With our time in India winding down, we decided that we needed to see the Taj Mahal before we left for America. After some creative scheduling, our driver, Ram Singh, agreed to drive us to Agra before we flew out on Saturday. We set out bright and early to make the 5 hour drive from Jaipur to Agra.

When we got there, we realized why the Taj Mahal was considered one of the seven wonders of the world... The first view you get of it through the main gate is staggering- The huge structure is made entirely of white marble, and it rises out of extensive gardens complete with fountains. We slowly made our way around and through the Taj, taking time to absorb its beauty. Finally, people had something to stare at other than us!

After wandering around for a while, we were exhausted so Kevin and Josh decided that they were done moving for the day.

At that point, we made the 1km walk back to our car (so much for not moving), hopped back into the car, and started our long journey home. Our flight left Delhi at 3 AM, we had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam where we met up with the Nepal, Kenya, and Tanzania teams, and then we took off for Washington, D.C. In all, we had a travel time of about 24 hours (ugh, but not as bad as the Nepal team's 36!)

Thanks to all of the Jhpiego, Laerdal, Johns Hopkins, and hospital staff that made this trip a success! And thank you to all of the Hopkins and Jhpiego staff,  friends, and family who kept up with our travels through the blog!