India
June 6 – July 6
By the time we arrived in India, we had heard so many stories from other travellers, that we were ready for absolutely anything. India, it seems, is a love/hate country among the group of wanderers that we have met. NOW, Mari and I can agree that India has its share of both ups and downs, but my best advice is to just visit, and decide for yourself what India has to offer.
With that in mind, we crossed from the eastern border of Nepal, walked across a wide river, and arrived in India. Everyone we met seemed to know at least a few English words, and within 15 minutes of arrival, we were on a bus to Siliguri, and then, equally as quick, on a bus to Darjeeling. We had decided that since India was bound to be hot, we should start off in the mountains. Plus, both Mari and I had been suffering since our rafting trip, and decided that a couple rest days might be in order.
When we got to Darjeeling, it was 15 degrees Celcius, and we spent the next few days bundled up against the cold (don’t worry, later in India the temperature would soar almost non-stop above 45). Not only were we not expecting this cold snap, we were also not expecting the amount of tourists that were in the mountains (June-August is still definately the low season for western tourists, however, in the hot months all the Indian tourists flee to the hills, they themselves not always accustomed to the heat).
For the first couple days in Darjeeling, we just rested. Both of us were in desperate need of a break, and we were also beginning to get worn down from the whole trip in general, but after a few easy days, we were back on track, and decided to explore. Obviously, one thing everyone must do is find a tea plantation. When you do, be careful, since there will be several ’employees’ who make their living by showing people around the plantation. We found someone who was willing to show us around, and only expected a small tip, although the ‘tour’ only lasted for about 10 minutes. We were really quite disappointed, and were hoping for something magical, when a lady called us back. She brought us to her house, and then proceeded to make tea for us, and explain all the different varieties of tea available. She also explained growing times, procedures, what makes good/bad tea leaves etc.
It was very nice, and she was very friendly. She then offered to sell us some ‘top-grade’ tea at very reasonable prices. We were not surprised at this, but were surprised by how enterprising she was. She explained that she lived on the plantation with her husband, who is employed, but the plant wouldn’t give her a job. To compensate for that, she ‘acquired’ the ‘top quality’ tea, and then sold it for a pitiance compared to what the plant wanted. We were laughing so much at this point, that we bought some tea as presents.
It was time to brace the heat, so we rented a jeep and left the mountains at break-neck speed. There is a local taxi service, where you get a seat in a jeep, and then the driver takes you down the mountain pass at incredible speeds, then stops for 30 minutes for a break, then drives at break-neck speed again. the 70 km journey took three hours, and we were usually averaging a speed of 90 km/h.
The first town from Darjeeling is Siliguri. It is only a stop-over, but we had to spend the night and catch a train the following day. Since the town does not see many westerners stop here, Mari and I appeared very novel, so that people watched us with great interest. While I was getting a haircut (on the street, there are street vendors for absolutely everything in India), there was a group standing around just watching. When I had a sandal repaired, another group stood around watching. This struck me as very odd, but I soon got used to it and tried to just chat with people, although they were truly not interested in talking to me, but more contented to stare at my hair (wow, look at it cut) and my sandals (which have been falling apart since I bought them, and now are in better condition than new, thanks to a street cobbler who charged me 50 cents).
Thanks to the British, India has been outfitted with a network of trains, which can take you anywhere (almost) in the country. They are fairly efficient, cheap to eat on, a good way to see the country, and relatively comfortable (you get your own cot on overnight trips). My only complaint is that not all trains are numbered. If you find an unnumbered train, ask everyone you see. Mari and I almost missed our train, as we raced around the station, finally found the right train, and then had to run from car to car, asking anyone who spoke English, what the number the car number was. After a rush, we finally settled in, 30 seconds before the train left. The next morning, we rolled into Calcutta.
Calcutta is one of those places that everyone seems to warn you against visiting. The name alone conjours up visions of extreme poverty and filth. However, we enjoyed Calcutta more than any of the other Indian cities. It was huge, dirty, sprawling, and poor, but it also had an older dignity and a charm that we felt was missing from the rest of India. The city’s streets are full of old Ambassadors, a 1950’s British car that after it finished production in Britian, was bought by a company in Calcutta and is still made there today.
The other means of transportation is the human-pulled rickshaw, It is the only place in India where these still run. The famous quote that the Rickshaw drivers made when the government tried to introduce cycle-pulled rickshaws was "And who can afford a Cycle-Rickshaw?"
Most of the older city is dominated by the colonial building built by the British when Calcutta was the capital prior to 1911. The monuments are stunning and well kept. The poverty is definately evident and seems a tragic reminder of how a city can be brought to its knees by the mass influx of immigrants and refugees. Most of the poor have come to Calcutta since the annexation of Bangladesh in 1949. Life has been very hard for them, and consequently for the rest of the Calcuttans.
Varanassi was the next stop on our trip across India. Since we had a day train, we arrived fairly late at night. We were tired and very worn out, and jumped in the first rickshaw that we happened upon. In most places on earth, it doesn’t matter which taxi or what type of taxi you get into, however in India (and many countries in Asia) the driver’s will take you to a guest-house where they get a good commission (and usually a place that gives commission to taxi-drivers will do so because his guest-house is a worn down bug infested hole).
With this in mind, we were en route to a guest house of our choice, when the driver stopped and said “that guest-house you want, you can’t get to it at this time of night, but I know a place” Mari and I are thinking, “of course you know a place”, but we were so tired that we just didn’t care. “Fine” I said “take us wherever, I just am too tired to argue with you.” Well, he took us to a brand new beautiful guest house that was cheaper than the one we had originally wanted to go to.
RULE 1: You will never figure out India, and when you think you’ve got it figured, it will change.
The very first time that you stand over a burning body, you will be slightly confused that you are doing this of your own free will. As you stand there and realize that there are many, many bodies burning, and each of those large fires will soon host another body, you realize this is pretty commonplace for the locals.
Things will surprise you. As you listen to a man behind you explaining the funeral rites, the cost of wood, the expectations of families members, you realize that he is very nonchalent. You also realize what that bone-white object is on the groung there, and exactly what it is that smells. Later on, you will find that this smell permeates your clothes,and later your pack. You are now on the banks of the sacred river Ganges.
Every day, thousands of thousands of Indians make a pilgrimage to the holy Ganges river, and specifically to the holy city of Varanassi. It is here that people take their daily dip into the river (we got as far as our knees, but the river, although holy, is also the grossest river on earth.
The most fascinating thing here is, of course, the Burning Ghats. Basically a Ghat is just a landing next to the river, but a burning Ghat is one where people come to be cremated. It is good Karma to have your body cremated, and even better Karma to have your remains go to the Ganges (if your Karma is bad, you will be re-incarnated in a lower life form, if good a higher life form. If everything goes really well, you will not be re-incarnated at all, but reach peace, similar to Nirvana).
Varanassi, because it is such a holy city, is therefore an amazing place to visit. We got up before dawn, and while the early morning light was just reaching the river, we were in a boat paddling along the banks. In the early glow, we watched in awe as life continued as it has, unchanged in a thousand years. Old men were bathing in the sacred water, bodies were being burned, young were rejoicing and wailing, and locals were washing clothes and throwing out garbage. Everything revolves around the river. Varanassi was an amazing place.
But, as perpetual wanderers, we had to get going and we boarded a night train to Delhi, the capital. En route, we noticed that the train was particularly crowded, but we were not worried, we had a seat. When it got dark, I folded down my cot, and fell asleep. At 1am, I woke to find a man was sitting on the edge of my cot. I pushed him off with my foot and fell asleep. At 3am he was back, but I figured no harm could come of it. At 4am there were two sitting there, and by five there were three. One man was sitting so close to my chest, that if I didn’t sleep on my side, I couldn’t breathe.
Anyway, I decided that maybe I should get up, and when I did, five people sat down on my cot. First off, there was only supposed to be three, and second off, one of these people was supposed to be Mari. I soon realized that the entire train was packed, and Mari was stuck on her upper bunk. My five new friends and I were joined by two more (with little bums) and we rode like this for two more hours into Delhi. Usually, someone was walking around the train selling tea, but the train was too packed, and I sat there in a compressed state waiting for Delhi. That was the most packed that any train ever got.
We arrived in Delhi ready for some breathing room, but none was to be had. This extremely busy Capital City is very crowded and very busy. So after a quick two days, we left. There is a lot to do in Delhi, but rickshaw drivers constantly badger you, and anyone selling anything will follow you for up to 30 minutes, just to sell you something (pop, books, silver, giant balloons?????).
One thing that we really enjoyed was the Red Fort. Originally the capital, this huge fort sits in the middle of town, and is used now only for tourism, and on Independence Day the president unfurls the Indian flag here. It was a beautiful place, but fairly congested.
As I mentioned, we left Delhi after two days, and took an express train to Agra. This is the most famous town in India, the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal.
It was absolutely fantastic, the most stunning and beautiful piece of architecture that I have ever laid eyes on. The symmetry is perfection itself, from a distance and as you move closer the perfection becomes even more apparent. Even the tiny mosaics created with precious and semi-precious stones are inlaid in complete symmetry. We must have used over a roll of film, and we kept going back to visit. We would walk around and just stare. We would also sit atop our guest-house and watch the Taj change colour both as night approached, and again as dawn came on. There is nothing that we can say, that will accurately do justice to the Taj Mahal. EVERYONE should just go and see it.
At this point in our journey, we were running out of time, and we were starting to get very frustrated with the heat. To compensate for this, we decided to go to Rhajastan, which is the absolutely hottest place in India. It is also the most deserted. Thanks to this lack of tourism, we arrived in Jaisalmer on a half empty train (very rare in India), and were not harassed as we walked the streets.
Also, we stayed in a room, that was built into the side of a fort. Our room was huge, and was built in 1156. It had windows that looked out over the walls of the Jaisalmer fort. How amazing. For the incredibly reasonable cost of $2, we spent the night in a piece of history. We even had a balcony, that was built out over one of the pillars of the fort wall. Backpacker Luxury. The price of all this was a solid week of almost 50 degree weather.
As our last official ‘thing’ in India, we decided to go on a jeep/camel safari. In the afternoon we took a jeep deep into the Thar desert, where we sat in the shade of one measly tree, and waited for cooler temperatures. Around dusk, two camels were saddled up and Mari and I jumped on and strode around the desert, before returning to camp at dark, where a small family invited us for dinner. That night we placed a blanket out under a star lit sky, and fell asleep.
At 2am, we awoke to a dust storm (we later learned that the storm had rocked the nearby town quite severely). We scrambled, and gathered our gear, and under a storm of sand and complete darkness, made our way to a small village, where we begged for shelter. We were ‘stored’ in a small shack, that rocked all night with the wind, but kept us safe. In the morning all was calm, and we boldly jumped on our camels.
What we realized that second day, is how sore your butt and inner thigh will get on a camel. As the camel ran along, Mari and I squirmed in half joy, half pain. It was wonderful, but we were very glad when they stopped. After a couple hours, we met our jeep and headed back to town, where we met a rickshaw to the train station. We took three trains over two days, and ended up in Mumbai. We spent the rest of our India money on a wonderful seafood dinner, and then took a cab to the airport, and said good-bye to India.
It was beautiful and cultural, but it also left an impression on us in other ways. We spent the next couple days taking ciprofloaxin (an antibiotic), and are now completely healthy again (just a little tired).
