Bro and I Travel the World: India

Can you see the little teeny-tiny family of four out there, posing in front of the Taj Mahal? That's us.

What I remember of our visit to India is hot, hot, hot temperatures, dust--there was a dust storm that blew through while we were at the Taj--, and strange smells. We were used to a land that smells like tropical breezes and Chinese food; India plays in my memory as the land of oppressive heat and the smell of curry. And massive old structures like the Red Fort (Delhi) and the Taj Mahal, which looked far grander and somewhat out of place from the typical structures that people in India live and work in.
I'm thinking my mom asked us to pose for this picture so she could get us with the reflecting pool on the grounds of the Taj, but the little Indian kids were so intrigued with our white skin and blond hair that my mom got more people than she bargained for in her picture. I can tell exactly what's going on in this picture: I've turned around to glare at the other children, hoping that will make them go away. Silly me! I should have known better.
In my memory we saw these signs on the way to the Taj Mahal (which was a long, hot, dusty taxi ride), but the clothing here tells me we had this picture taken in Kashmir. No matter. It's still India.

There was a huge family planning campaign under way with these billboards. We apparently posed with this one to prove we were the epitome of the perfect Indian family. Ahem! I'm not sure how that extra guy got in our picture, but it amuses me. And I'm thinking those nicely designed faces with the unibrows would amuse my stepkids!

India, as you might have noticed, was not my favorite country to visit. I think I should go back as an adult, as these are my only memories, skewed by time and whatever my interests and disinterests were way back then.