India is not for the weak of heart, weak of stomach, weak of mind or weak of legs. It sets you spinning the second your feet hit the 'pavement'. There is a constant array of smells, loud music, pesky people, just about anything and everything to test your patience and over all psyche. Most of all India, in it's madness is nothing but sheer beauty. The paint on all of the buildings is old and cheap but always a pretty color of pink, bright blue, or canary yellow. The women dressed in their colorful saris are confident and beautiful with adorning gold gems on their faces. Most of them stare at me with a giant smile that makes me feel welcome and grateful to be in this country.
It seems as though the Indian people live a life of repetitiveness with each day having been the same for the last thousands of years. If you own a hotel you sleep in the hotel, if you own a shop you sleep in the shop, if you are a rickshaw driver you sleep in the rickshaw, if you are a boatman you sleep on your boat....the list goes on.
We arrived in Agra and instantly took a liking to it compared to our crzy travels through Delhi. There seemed to be less people, more sights, and cleaner streets. Oh yeah, and the magnificent Taj Mahal! We checked into our hotel, ran up to the rooftop restaurant and there she was. All three of us stood in awe for a second, high fives all around. We had made it! Pictures cannot show the massiveness of this monument. We watched the sunset that night during dinner, everything illuminated a beautiful shade of pink.
At our hotel the power went out every 15-20 minutes and a few seconds later we would hear the hotel worker starting up the generator again. One night we thought had a train to catch but it ended up we were taken advantage of and given false tickets (long story, see Curtis' page), so we ended up looking for a hotel at 11:30 pm. Curtis and I had several men dragging us from this hotel to that trying to get our business while Chris watched the luggage. One guy even offered to let us sleep on the roof for 50 rupees but warned us there is a monkey problem. Um, no thanks! We settled on a decent place for a reasonable deal ($7 US). Mind you this means no toilet paper in the bathroom, bed bugs, and a sketchy fan. We also have to use our own lock to secure the room.
The next morning we strolled through the streets of Agra where we were greeted by children trying to shake our hands. I shook a boys hand that had gum in it. Darn little trickster!
The sky was littered with kites, the buildings littered with monkeys, and the streets littered with dogs and cow dung. We saw a dog get his leg ran over by a bike rickshaw and the poor thing howled terribly until we were our of hearing range. I'm sure it must have been broken.
We saw a man piling red bricks onto a painted donkey that had once been white but was now awesome colors of blue, red, yellow, and orange. Chris paid him twenty rupees to take his photo, Curtis sneaked one for free.
Later in the evening we heard some interesting music and followed it until we reached what looked like some kind of travelling band with drums and wooden sticks. Everyone was dressed in red. Their faces were also painted red, one man grabbed me and forced me to dance with him. He handed me a pair of sticks and he had a pair too. We beat them together, him getting my fingers a few times. Ouch! After I was released all of the women approached me laughing and mocking my dance. It was all in good fun.
We hopped our long awaited train and headed for Varanasi. The scenery was amazing. We saw straw huts in perfectly groomed green fields. Naked men bathing in brown water. Some homes were in absolute ruins with people living in them. Women were on farms carrying huge baskets on top of their heads. Finally after 13 hours we had reached our destination.
We awoke in Varanasi this morning and arranged a 5:00 am boat ride across the ghats on the famous Ganges River. People were bathing and setting candles afloat on the river in prayer and ceremony. A guy even swam under our boat! We didn't dare touch the water.
We were persuaded to come to the burning ghat where they cremate dead bodies. It was very strange and I felt a little crazy being there watching about three burning piles knowing that somebodys loved one was transforming into ashes. We got suckered into paying the man that was giving us all kinds of information and historical facts, claiming that he needed a donation to help him with the hospice he owns. We learned later that they all own a hospice. Yeah right.
Tomorrow morning we leave on a bus for Nepal. I have never been more excited! It shall be another great adventure.
-Cherisse
