Don't believe the hype. Cleanliness is not next to Godliness.

I'd been putting off writing about this for some time, but since I'm pretty miserable with a stomach flu, Ross is gone, and there's nothing else to do, I guess it's time to write about Salim Chisti and Fatepur Sikri.

Do not believe what the Wikipedia article tells you. These are the worst places on earth.

Because being maintained by the Indian tourism board guarantees a certain minimum level of cleanliness and comfort, we'd been mostly insulated from the worst India had to offer. Unfortunately, these areas were maintained by a religious organization. Consequently, there was cow dung, beggars, peddlers, and filth absolutely everywhere. Ross and I spent the entire goddamn time being terrified.

The Sheikh Salim was supposed to be one of the first advocates of secularism in India, making his memorial's takeover all the more ironic.

We were all a little down after the Salim Chisti debacle, so the rest of the ride passed in mostly silence, except for when my mom's glasses were broken by our collision with a large rock.