North Tour Part Eight; Varanasi

     It's more than a 12 hour train ride form Agra to Varanasi, one of the holiest and most opium using cities in India. Varanasi is also one of the most popular cities for people to bring their dead for cremation. There is a flame that has been burning for 5,000 years in one of the temples that is used to light the funeral pyres.

     By the time we left the train station and got to the hotel we had enough time to freshen up and get something to eat before we went to an arti prayer session on the ghats along the river. After the ceremony we spent an hour or so walking around shopping and seeing the market. 

     The next morning we had the option to get up early and see the sunrise in a boat on the river. Only Hannah, Franzi and I got up on time. The pictures below are from the morning, it gave me another chance to play with my camera on different settings in different light. We road in the boat down the river and then got out and walked back to where our cars were. Varanasi is a really old city so the walk back took us through old and winding streets not even big enough for a single car. 

The ghats before sunrise.

A funeral pyre.

North Tour Part Seven; Argra (Taj Mahal and monkey business)

      Leaving Delhi we were woken up at 4 in the morning by a hotel worker bringing us chai in our rooms before we headed to the train station. We took a commuter/ tourist train to Agra a few hours away. Amanda and I occupied our time by doing sudoko and cross word puzzles in the provided newspapers. Upon arrival, we went straight to Agra's main attraction, the Taj Mahal where we spent two hours wandering around. Most of that time was spent fooling around taking pictures and sitting on the cool marble in the shadow of the Taj. Again, the Taj Mahal excited Amanda a lot because of her Mughal obsession. 

     To be honest, the Taj Mahal was not the most exciting thing we saw of did on the tour. It's a world famous sight and a person visiting India is expected to see it. The whole building is exactly symmetrical and the inlaid work is extremely detailed but the inside was dark and the decoration was by far not the most awesome that we saw on the tour. We once asked our tour guide, RK what his least favorite part of the tour was and his answer was Agra. He dislikes the city and the crowdedness, has seen the Taj Mahal dozens of times, and says there aren't many other sights worth seeing in Agra so when asked which city he'd cut out of the tour if he could he immediately said Agra. 

     I think what's amazing about the Taj Mahal is its architecture combined with it's history. The Taj is a tomb for a Mughal empress who died giving birth to her 14th child. Her husband built had the Taj Mahal built in her honor out of white marble and intended to have an identical one of black marble built for himself. However, he was over thrown by a son and held captive until his death and his tomb was never built. The empress isn't actually buried in the Taj it was built to honor her but also as a decoy for enemies of the empire.

     Everyone was very tired by midday and when we stopped for lunch I actually dozed off at the table. Our other stop of the day was Agra Fort another relic of the Mughal Empire. The fort tour took less than an hour so we had much time to kill before we had to be at the train station at 11. We chose a grassy spot near the exit of the fort to relax. We played games, chatted and slept for a few hours. 

     At one point, I was sitting with a few friends on a concrete ledge talking when a group of  monkeys wandered by. We'd seen the monkeys all afternoon and had been watching them for a little bit as I'm sure they'd been watching us so were not at all fazed when the came near us. Jordan had a tuft of grass in his hand and decided to see if the monkey would come near and eat it. When it didn't he tossed the grass away lightly in the direction of the monkey. Up until now, the monkey had been indifferent to our actions. All of a sudden it took offense and jumped on all fours baring its teeth and hissing, not at Jordan, but at me who was sitting next to him. Everyone else backed away but every time I moved it lunged closer. I finally got up and walked a little ways away keeping an eye on the monkey who made a beeline for my purse which I'd left lying on the ground. I tried to shoo it but that just made the monkey more upset. Instead of taking my whole purse, which I was afraid it would, the monkey sat down, opened it, and started rummaging through it. At this point we were all laughing hysterically despite the situation. I was also a little worried. I had two cameras, my wallet, cell phone, i-pod, and passport in my purse. Instead of going for any of those things, the monkey pulled out a paper wrapped marble inlaid box that I'd just bought. In one more attempt to get him to leave my things alone I threw my scarf at the monkey which just got tangled in its legs as it ran away. 

     Once the monkey was free of my scarf he ran away box still in hand. Several meters away, he sat down looked at me and began unwrapping the box as he would a banana of other fruit. Once the box was unwrapped the monkey looked at it confused once it assured that it wasn't edible left it. Before one of us could retrieve the box another monkey ran up and grabbed my box and looking at it, decided it might be food so to test this theory he tried to take a bite of it. On begin unable to eat the hard marble he dropped it and all the monkeys ran away. So now I have a marble box with monkey teeth marks and a scarf covered in monkey germs that doesn't wash... as well as a good story to tell when I get home.

The entry to the main Taj Mahal complex.

Amanda in front of the Taj.

Again...

Amanda and Jordan, two of my best exchange student friends...

Fooling around in front of the Taj Mahal.

Again...

Posing?

North Tour Part Six; Delhi

On the way from Rishikesh to Delhi we stopped at one of India's holiest sights, the official start of the holy water in the river Ganga. This is the place where the holy nectar first mixes with the waters so that everywhere downstream from there is considered a holy place.

 We arrived in Delhi later than planned on the evening of the 12th so we missed the originally planned sightseeing. Instead, we went straight to out hotel and then a group of us went out for dinner and window shopping in Asia's biggest street market. 

The next day we woke up early in order to beat the sightseeing and commuting rush. We had a hired guide who drove with us on the bus to point out notable buildings we passed. We did a drive-by of the President's house and parliament buildings. We saw politicians' houses and parks dedicated to famous people. The president's house was massive, much larger and more elaborate than the White House which seems funny since the Indian president is not as important to politics as the American one. Our first stop where we got out and looked around was the India Gate which I'd seen in movies and pictures before. The gate played a very important part in a recent Bollywood movie called "No One Killed Jessica"

The India Gate.

The India Gate is inscribed with the names of hundred of soldiers who lost their lives in World War One and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. As of independence, the gate also acts as India's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier so in the middle there's a every burning flame, a lone gun and helmet with guards standing salute.

Our second stop was Red Fort which I didn't take pictures of because there was a camera fee. My friend Amanda has done a lot of reading about the Mughal empire which once ruled much of India and she was beyond excited to see the sights where everything she'd read about actually happened. The fort was one of those places where you try to imagine what it must have been like in its prime, when hundreds of people lived there and history was made. 

After the fort we took a long, hot bus ride through Delhi to Qutub Minar which also dates back to the Mughal empire. That's about as much as I can tell you about it though because by this time everyone was very hot and tired and in need of a break and a cold drink so I didn't end up paying that much attention...

After a stop for snacks and coffee we went to the Lotus Temple. The Lotus Temple is the most famous and most prominent house of worship for people of the Baha'i faith. Baha'i is the world's fastest growing religion and its goal is to unite all the world's religions, races, and peoples into one universal Cause and in one common Faith. The Lotus Temple was probably the most crowded sight we went to all day due to a combination of the time of day and the popularity of the attraction. 

The Lotus Temple

Our last stop of the day was the temple that we were supposed to go to the day before. It's the biggest Hindu temple in India but also a fairly new one (only about 10 years old). This is where we ate a late lunch and then spent time wandering around the temple. Before we could do that though, we has to get in. There were about 12 lanes of lines that combined into 8 lanes which passes through a series of security check points. The crowd was colossal but the amount of people let in at a time was regulated. People compared our wait in line to standing in line at Disney World waiting to get into a ride in your sixth hour there. After seeing the entire intricately decorated temple we sat around playing silly games waiting for a light and sound show to start. It was really beautiful, the show consisted of water fountains and jets which were lit up with colored lights and accompanied by music. Instead of driving back to the hotel, we went back by Delhi's metro system.

Jai India!

It's midnight and the whole country is one big party. 

For the first time in 28 years India has won the cricket world cup! 

Today was the big day that India played Sri Lanka for the world cup. The toss deciding who bats and who fields first was at 2:30. I was invited to Ritu Grover's for the game so my sister dropped me off on the way to her own party. The exchange students had all bought India jerseys that we wore in honor of the game. To be honest I think that the beginning portion of a cricket game is pretty boring. The way a game works is that the team that wins the toss decides if they want to bat of field first. Then, unlike baseball which works in innings, the first teams bats all the way through and then the second team bats. Today Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first by the end of their round they had scored 275 runs, which I guess is pretty high. I still don't know a lot about cricket but I understand the basics thanks to people's explanations. It was uncertain at the half which way the game would go but for the last 20 minutes of the game it was sure that India would win and even the last hour of so things were looking pretty good for us. In the late evening we left Ritu's and went with her to a hotel nearby where we all watched the game on a giant screen and ate catered dinner. Every time someone scored a significant amount of runs or made a nice hit people would jump up and start dancing, beating drums, and waving flags. The enthusiasm increased through out the night due to excitement but also due the increased amount of alcohol. In the last little bit of the game when it was really clear that India was going to win, in fact there was almost no way that India couldn't win people were non-stop dancing so much that in order to see the screen you had to stand up. Driving home too was quite and adventure. The main streets were filled with motorcycles and two-wheelers waving Indian flags and with people standing on the back shouting. There were cars with people hanging out the windows and in the streets in several spots people congregated to dance and shout. The longer these groups were there the bigger they got as people on their motorcycles stopped to join in. India is a very patriotic country and more importantly a cricket loving country so when the countries team wins the world cup people go crazy. Chants for the team and for India in general were everywhere. Oh, and don't forget the fireworks and crackers. I think that there as just as many as there were on Diwali, maybe even more...

It's really late here and I'm tired so I'm going to stop there and go to bed...

North Tour Part Five; Manali a Rishekesh

     After the morning prayer at the ashram we drove almost all day to Manali even higher in the mountains. The drive was beautiful and people kept comparing it to mountain ranges back home. Because I grew up in the Green Mountains I couldn't say that these craggy, snow covered peaks reminded me of home but they did remind me of mountains I've visited in the western United States. Almost everyone slept most of the way but in the evening we were all awake we played truth or dare which really was just truth since we were on a bus. We got bored of truth and decided to play MASH which is a game I hadn't played for a long long time it was very entertaining. 

     The next day we got up in the morning and bundled up for a drive up into the snow. When we were almost there we had to stop and wait for the road to be cleared so we all got out and played in the snow on the side of the road. For some people it was their first time in years being in the snow and for others it was a chance to rejoice in something that is usually an integral part of our lives. Once the road was clear we proceeded up until we reached a resort area filled with people. It was the base for all sorts of commercial winter activities like tubing, skiing, snowmobiling, sledding, etc. all at extremely high prices. Several of us considered skiing but at the prices that were being charged compared to the quality and age of equipment provided we decided against it. We mostly played in the snow and sat enjoying the fresh, crisp air. 

     Our afternoon was spent in a natural hot-spring bathing area. The women's area was walled of and consisted of a main pool that drained into four spouts below for bathing in. We spent a while soaking in there and by the time we got out the temperature had dropped, the sun was gone, and it was starting to drizzle. We briefly visited a temple and monastery before hurrying back to the hotel, showering and snuggling under electric blankets (a new novelty for me).

     The next day (the 10th) we spent all day on the bus driving to Rishekesh and stopped in Shimla on the way for dinner. We arrived in time for breakfast on the 11th after over 18 hours of driving. We stayed outside of the city in a base camp of tents built on a beach along the the Ganges and a tributary to it. When we arrived we changed into warm weather and water clothes and dipped our toes into the freezing water. We ended up having a photo shoot of sorts on the rocks and bridge. After lunch we set out on a two hour white water rafting trip on the Ganges which was a lot of fun. The water was freezing as a good portion of it is glacial melt but that didn't stop us from jumping in when the chance was provided. When we arrived at the end point we changed into dry and decent clothing before driving into town for and evening of prayer and shopping. We attended an arti at Parmarth Ashram where there were a lot of foreigners.

In my mind, there are three kinds of foreigners in India:

1) The "Spiritual Journey Travelers." They are the people for wear flowing clothing and baggy pants that they think are Indian while most Indians dress much like we do on a daily basis. Unfortunately when trying to be Indian or respectful these people tend to overlook important things, especially the women, like covering shoulders, chest, or stomach. When they're in prayers or visiting a place of worship someone on a spiritual journey will close their eyes and sway and tend to have a perfect, blissful smile on their face. A Spiritual Journey-ist tells you they are not a tourist, and will go on and on about how amazing India is without ever seeing what I call real India. They also travel from place to place with a backpack, never a suitcase. These are the most annoying type of tourist for me because they can often be self-righteous about being in India, they think it's very special and they're being different by coming here.

2) The "Westerner." While almost all foreigners in India are westerners there are some who are Western with a capital W. Westerners visit the famous and touristy places only. They can be picked out of a crowd not because of their fair hair and skin but by the group of Indian men following them. Westerners were short shorts, tank tops, and low cut shirts. I've seen many that are wearing something that I would never even think about wearing sightseeing in America of Europe let alone in India. There are two things I think of when I see people like this. The first is that they ought to be aware of the safety risk they're running and that they could be offending others. I also wonder if this is what Indians think of me and the rest of my exchange students friends, the image that these Westerners is creating doesn't help the native's vision of us as a whole. Sometimes it's no wonder Indians (men especially) expect us to be easy and expect us to respond to their comments and calls on the streets.

3) I can't think of a name for the last group. This group encompasses the foreigners who dress appropriately but also who respect India while recognizing the negative aspects of it. You'll that almost any foreigner who lives in India falls into this category. The tourists who fall into this category may stay on the beaten path and visit purely tourist destinations but they can also be found in place like Indore where there are very few white people and even fewer attractions of any kind. They may not be comfortable in their environment but they are aware of it and the pros and cons of their actions.

Manali.