Theres no better way to welcome yourself back to india than with a 37 hour train ride. From Ghorakpur to Amritsar, we rode the freezing cold train without confirmed seats. Basically that means we paid 4 dollars to travel for 2 days. But we paid for it. We were forced to sleep on the ground, near the train toilets. If you have never been on an Indian train, ill let you know that the smell is something horrendous, something noone should ever have to smell. jenny and I were somehow able to make the ride bearable and somewhat fun. That is until i got very sick with a few hour to go. The fun was over.
Amritsar was colder than Nepal. A beautiful city, and the home to the Golden temple, the holiest place for all Sikhs. When entering the temple, I could feel a holy presence come over me. Children, men, women, all touching their forehead to the cold marble floor in worship. Men of all ages have their hair wrapped in turbans. All men have beards. Hair is God's gift, and they feel it should be charrished and tended to with care. this was all so amazing to witness. The golden temple is in teh middle of a spotlessly clean pond. The Sikhs provide food for anyone and everyone. Hundreds of volunteers make chapati, rice, and brown mystery goop to feed pilgrims, tourists, hindus, muslims, anyone. they feed over 40,000 daily. We ran into a street festival where the people were celebrating the birthday of a Guru (Sikh holyman).
the people of amritsar were so nice. we were approched several times by locals to shake hands and take pictures. they were happy to practice their english and the hand shake. One of these photo shoots lasted 10 minutes continuously.
Next we entered the incredible state of Rajasthan. In jaipur, the pink city, we stayed with jenny's friend Nand Singh and his family. It felt good to get off the tourist track for once. Homecooked meals, personal hindi lessons, and experiencing real indian culture for nearly a week was great. The Amber Fort was interesting and fairly impressive. Jenny served as my personal tour guide because she was there 1 yr back.
Pushkar, the milky blue city sits tucked between two ridges in the middle of the desert. Hindu Pilgrims come here to worship, as pushkar is the second holiest city, behind Varanasi. It is a tiny town with only 15,000 residents. There is a lake in the middle surrounded by ghats. people bathe in the holy water. Ghandi's ashes were spread here. Pushkar is also home to the only Bramah temple in the world. Even though there were tourists, it was a chill place, that had such beauty everywhere you look. We went back to jaipur for the kite festival at Nand Singh's home. the entire sky was filled with kites, families on rooftops everywhere. fun times.
We visited Ranthombore national park for a tiger hunt. We slept in a huge tent, basically a hotel room inside a tent. the early morning safari was cool, no tigers though. Well there were tigers, but whenever the monkeys and deer told us a tiger was near, the jeeps and canters scarred them away for sure. lame. 2 more trains, and one night to The golden city, Jaisalmer. Through couchsurfing, we stayed with a local inside the Jaisalmer Fort. Everything is made of sandstone. The architecture is detailed to perfection. Dhanna, the Brahmin Hindu and jamin, Muslim, are such good friends they refer to each other as brothers. They are both so hospitable and all around great people. It makes no difference that jamin has never been to a day of school in his life. his smile is so genuine and he is very personable. He has been a camel driver for 18 yrs and now helps Dhanna with his guesthouse. Anyways, couchsurfing continues to introduce us to amazing people all over the world and allows us to dive deep into the real culture.
We decided to go for the 3 day camel safari. For about $14/day, we had all meals paid for, water, 2 camel drivers, 3 camels, the desert, and just the 2 of us, no other tourists. Wow. the Thar Desert is diverse and impressive. We passed several villages, sitting on the camels for nearly 4 or 5 hrs each day. Hot and painful at times, but the experience was well worth it. We slept under the stars on a blanket in the middle of sand dunes. Noone in site but the 3 camels and 2 guides. Camels are the goofiest animals ive come across yet. They fart and grunt constantly. One day of rest and a massage was much needed.
More couchsurfing in jodhpur. We are currently staying with Arvind, his wife, and 3 yr old boy. They are so nice. She is a great cook and he shows us a great time. He drives us around on his motorcycle through the crazy streets to show us the city and different restaurants and bars. We just completed a 3 day course on Bramah Kumari Raj Yoga. Very interesting stuff. I will pick and choose the points i like, and use them to my benefit to improve upon the life i desire. I feel that meditation can help me in so many ways, if i can continue to practice.
rajasthan is unbeleivable and has been a great adventure. It truely is the Incredible state of India.
