David's notes

Jeannie is too tired to think so I am writing for both of us. It's been a problem getting internet access at our hotels, thus the lack of information here.
In addition to the sights we have seen our local guide has taken us visit with several artisans (read "retail opportunities") that have turned out to be kind of nice. We went to a shop where craftsmen work with marble and semi-precious stones to create inlaid pieces from large table tops to small jewelry boxes, picture frames and other items. The workmanship is intricate and very beautiful. We succumbed to the rum and coca drinks that were served and bought some stuff. Then we were on to a shop that sells pashmina woolen goods (from Kashmir) - another buying spree. Today we saw a larger shop on the grounds of the royal palace where many kinds of crafts were on sale - paintings, enamels, textiles and woolens, marble inlay work and other things. After some sifting there were some very nice and interesting things.
Traffic was another matter. Dusty and dismal on the way to Agra from Delhi and not so good from Agra to Jaipur until we were many miles out of town. The guide told us we were on a "good road" today, which turned out to mean a road in the process of construction. It's a divided highway but many miles of it are completed only on one side, so there is two-way traffic. There were also sections where both sides were complete, and on those sections there were two lanes in each direction. The thrilling part was that there was no real indication which was which, so we would be barreling down the fast lane and look up to see a truck heading for us head-on. Mr Toad's wild ride. Last night was also a Muslim festival which apparently commenced at about 2am with a very loud concert near the hotel, lasting until about 5am. We racked up about 3 hours sleep. Tonight should be more restful.