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Kolkata!
Saturday, February 05th, 2011 /

We were sad to leave such a wonderful place but as it turned out, Kolkata was the best way to end our Indian adventure.  We had lined up some CouchSurfing hosts that lived close to the airport.  Managing  our way to their apartment appeared to be simple enough, given our instructions were to take the bus  that stopped right near their place; so we figured easy as, lets give it a go.

Walking out of the train station, shooing off the taxi totes offering rock bottom bait and switch deals, and to the hectic bus stand that would turn into our latest adventure.  Although it appeared unorganized at first, the bus we were looking for showed up after only a few minutes.  This was a reoccurring theme of India transport, appearance of no structure but  somehow, it gets you where you need to be (but never on time).

Kolkata thanks to Google!

Before we had to jump on, and I mean quite literally ‘jump’ on the moving bus we decided we’d better get a water.  It was blistering hot, we were carrying backpacks and had been traveling for 18 hours.  I reached into my pouch, grabbed 100 rupees and as I pulled it out realized there was a tiny tear in the top left corner of the bill.  Our experience with ripped rupees was that NO ONE accepts them (at least from a foreigner). We had no extra money and no ATMs in sight.  On the walk back to the station, we stumbled upon a man who tried gluing it back together, BUT we watched it fall apart within seconds. Luckily we found a kind old lady at the medical tent who went out of her way to get it switched out for us.

Now, back to the bus stand, we grabbed a water and very kindly were told about the air-conditioned bus, only a few rupees more.  We were hot , and spotted it right away so we made a run for it.  Chels had fallen behind a little bit and had to stand in front of the bus to make sure he stopped for her lol (of course I was telling him to as well but they don’t always listen).  It was a good thing that we opted for the air con bus because it took us 2 and a half hours at high noon, sitting in dead stop traffic to get to our CS, Roy and Arnav’s apartment.

Roy and Arnav!

We spent the rest of the day getting to know each other, chowing down food (at this point we had not eaten for 24 hours) and exchanging music.  At night we hit up this great hotel bar that had a live band playing some grunge and classic rock tunes.  Roy and Arnav were absolutely rocking out dancing and singing and we happily joined in.  After the close of the bar we went to the local late night food spot.  They did all the ordering and it was delicious and fiery hot!

Rocking out!

The next day we hung out all day together. Roy graced us with his chilled-out guitar skills, and we completely fell in love with one song, “Bana Bana Bana Bana, Bana Bana Bana” hahaha sounds silly when we write it out like that. It basically means “Keep Moving”. Keep moving along in life! He has a really deep southern sounding voice… Johnny Cash style in a lot of songs he wrote!

Bana Bana!

When we decided to grab some food, Roy took us to a local spot to get a Chicken Roll and it was the best thing ever!!! We broke our vegetarian-only habits on our last day in India but ohh it was sooo worth it!

Chicken Roll Yum!

A bit later on, we picked up one of their good friend at the airport.  Roy was surprised at the amount of traffic for that time of day and as it turned out, a Haj pilgrimage, which is a Muslim pilgrimage to mecca was underway (wanna freak out an American, visit the airport during a Haj) and again bonded over our love for music. Roy picked up a bunch of beer and Indian snacks. Brad and I taught them some American drinking games (our specialty) before we all headed to the rooftop to light off fireworks! Probably NOT the best idea with a buzz on! The boys had a massive firecracker war…runing all over the roof, brad seriously burnt his hand on a sparkler, and we had another “Bana Bana” singalong sesh! It was like we had been friends forever!

Fireworks Fun!

On our way out the door to catch our super late flight, Arnav gave me a surprise going away pressie! A great big handbag! They both manufacture luxury handbags and wallets, specializing in leather, and made me one <3 ! So thoughtful, and it ended up being so handy throughout the rest of the travels! We were so sad to leave Roy and Arnav, and almost considered changing our flight to spend more time with them! We didn’t leave before promising a return visit to India sometime in the near future :) Thanks boys!

Looking back on India… well actually I hated it at first.  India has extreme polarization of rich and poor and it is painfully obvious, there population is massive making things cluttered and it has some of the dirtiest places I’ve ever seen.  Corruption is rampant and you will be ripped off  in some way shape or form.  Mostly everyone knows the bad stuff from either a travel show or having known someone who has been.  BUT India is magical.  By the end of our trip and soon after I realized how mother India’s fascinating people, places and culture transcend all the negatives.  It breaks you down then builds you up, a constant roller coaster of sights, sounds, smells and emotion; I’m sorry we only had two weeks.  Even though it started off tough,in the end India was exactly what we needed and had been searching for.  It’s top on the list of places to revisit, and next time, I’ll be ready.

Category: Cities, CouchSurfing, India, Kolkata  Tags: , ,  3 Comments
Varanasi
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 /

Varanasi from the Ganga

Even its name sounds alive , Varanasi, a place of religious pilgrimage, spiritual enlightenment      and deep soul cleansing.  Located alongside one of the worlds most famous rivers  the Ganga, or the Ganges is both the holiest and dirtiest river in the world.  Varanasi is an absolute must for anyone living or visiting India.   The purifying waters of the Ganga draw devout Hindis’ from all over the world.  Whether they are attending a ceremony for the recently departed or renouncing the physical world, this place possesses an aura that can only be experienced.  Along with the religious element, the city is quite unique, with its back ally markets that suck you in then spit you out, leaving you wondering which way is up and  just how you ended up in this area.

Lost in the markets!

Vendors line every centimeter of these narrow paths, slinging everything from exotic spices to beautiful tapestries;  it gets really interesting when a motorbike tries to squeeze through. There is so much going on in Varanasi that you hardly recognize where you are most of the time.

Drifting

Our guesthouse was right in the middle of town, so as soon as we stepped out the door, we were in the midst of the chaos….it was so cool!  We didn’t walk very far before seeing a man sitting cross-legged on the ground, and making personalized bracelets. We sat and watched for a while and realized they were only about 15 cents each, so got ourselves  “Drifting” bracelets.

Duo!

Red and Black of course! It was Amazing how quickly he made them…and for dirt cheap. Feeling a bit sorry for him, we thanked him and left him a tip :) We spent the rest of the night getting lost in the markets and stumbled upon some street food that we worked up the courage to try. It was DELICIOUS!! …dirt cheap! 20 cents each…. spicy! And we didn’t get sick….we were hooked!

Street Food!

The next day, we hit the streets again, dodging the cow poo and monkeys peeing from the building tops. One Indian man just started hilariously laughing at me because I was a drop away from the monkey….I’m sure aiming for my head from above!

By nightfall we made it to the amazing ceremony Brad talked about earlier. We arrived before most people and got one of the best spots in the front. The way they honor and celebrate life then death in India, and particularly Varanasi, is a much happier experience. Full of traditional song and dance, with incense, candles and flowers galore makes it an environment that overloads the senses.

ceremony

When it was over, somebody came out with massive bowls of food, and it turned into a madhouse with poor people trying to get a drop of it. We got out of there quickly and found our own heap of mushy food served in a leaf on the street! No idea what we were eating, but again….delicious and spicy!

Not sure what was in this but YUM!

Another incredible experience I recommend to everyone was the boat ride down the Ganges at sunrise! Completely worth getting up at 5am, this boat ride is both hilariously chaotic and inspiring. Thousands of Indians were around us as we boarded the boat waiting to wash away their sins in the river.

 

Bathing!

The whole time watching this, the guides are desperately trying to pull their  boats upstream, bumping into each other and jumping up on the walls to pull us along. It was sooo hectic, but once we were going, it was amazing. At one point, another longboat came along, filled with souvenirs and empty jars to collect the water in..tied onto us, and successfully sold jars to half the boat! Haha! So perfect for India.

Enjoying the Sunrise!

Varanasi is one of the most incredible places that we have visited in our entire trip.  I can say without a doubt, one of my overall favorites.  It is a myriad of bright colors, spiritually awakening ceremonies and fascinating people.  There is never a dull moment, and just what we were looking for!

Ganga


One of our favs

Category: Ganges, Guesthouses, India, Varanasi  Tags: ,  3 Comments
Taj Mahal!
Thursday, January 13th, 2011 /

Agra, a city that thrives off its visitors and as I saw it, an inevitable tourist trap of India.  Regardless of the scheming locals, there is no doubt that the Taj Mahal is one of the most awe-inspiring spectacles that man has ever created; not for religion but for the only other thing to make men spend wheel barrows full of money.. a woman. Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved third wife of a 17th century prince rests there in most spectacular fashion.

Enjoying the view!

The city itself is not so impressive, but not nearly as bad as some made it out to be; although, we did arrive at night.  Of course, we had to negotiate the rate for our tuk tuk ride, but the man must have been tired or our bartering skills had improved because he agreed to a price right away.

Boooties!

We woke up very early the next morning, before the sunrise and linked up with our driver from the night before.  We asked him to take us to a place where we could watch the sunrise over the Taj Mahal.  Wizzing through the backstreets, dodging cows and people alike, we arrived at a small hotel just before the sun broke.  Up the stairs onto the roof and majesticly and boldly standing in midst of the morning fog was the Taj Mahal.  We stood there and marveled at its prescense.  We snapped some photos and stood silent, admiring the wonderous monument but weren’t quite satisfied yet and moved in for a closer view.

We made an exception, broke the bank and bought tickets, 750 rupees each to be exact, 3800% more than what Indian citizens pay, yes 3800 Percent!  After putting things in perspective we got over the outrage of inflated prices and just laughed about it.  Plus our ticket was fancy, real scrap book material, and along with that we got a goody bag with slippers and a water.

Gorgeous detail!

As soon as we got in, we realized it was well spent money. The Taj Mahal was jaw-dropping! A stunner! Beating the crowd and the heat was well worth getting up at 6 a.m. Everyone was scrambling to get the perfect picture in front, and the paid tour guides were hilarious and annoying at the same time…making everyone else get out of the way so they can take pictures of their clients in 20 different poses. They had no concerns for being rude or pushy. Nevertheless, Brad and I still managed to get some beautiful photos and admire the view. The closer we got, the more we noticed the immaculate details on the building, and as the sun got higher and higher into the sky, the Taj Mahal slowly started changing colors with it.

Favorite!

Inside was just the tomb. Nothing special to look at, but quite an honor for the 3rd wife he built it for. 100% recommend everyone to see the Taj Mahal if they get the chance! It’s inspiring and breath-taking….and the monkeys hanging around remind me of Aladdin, which brings back happy nostalgic moments :)

Category: Guesthouses, India, Taj Mahal  Tags: , ,  One Comment
Rajasthan!
Thursday, December 16th, 2010 /

Well there was no question about it now, we were now drifting our way across the northern regions of India.  We rolled our sleeves up and dug in as best we could; ready to soak up every ounce of mother India.  Our experiences in Delhi left us itching for more, but some place out of the city and a bit more laid back.  Udaipur would hopefully be that place for us.

Udaipur Lake!

Enjoying delicious Chai!

Located in textile rich region of Rajasthan, Udaipur should sound familiar to all the 007 fans out there.  Still haven’t figured out which Bond movie was filmed here?  … Octopussy, and you can’t go five  minutes of conversation without a local telling you about it. Yes the great Roger Moore once walked the streets of Udaipur but besides Hollywood fame, it has much to offer.  It is a charming city with several lakes that fill up once the rainy season has come.  Lucky for us, our hotel was right on one of them.  We had a nice area for delicious Chai tea with pillows and a large window looking out at the lake.

Cow ready to boooze!

We waited until the afternoon to explore though. It is just TOO hot to attempt it, especially with all the extra clothing i have to cover up in! As we were walking, we noticed the cows everywhere! Walking in the middle of the street,hanging outside shops and lounging around in the shade! But also goats, chickens, dogs and donkeys! Kids would come chasing us down the street to chat with us and try to get a ruppee or a pen out of us. After much confusion about the pens, someone finally told us tourists starting giving children pens to use at school….we liked that idea!

It was also kind of surreal seeing all the women cleaning their clothes in the lake. They would dump them in, then slap them really hard again the ground… like they were hitting the dirt out of their clothing! Every evening they did this while the kids played in the water.

Upscale Indian shop!

Brad found himself a super Indian outfit and looked handsome as ever in it! Eventually i followed suit with some outrageous pants and an appropriate-for-temples top. Happy with our new outfits, we spent the next few days wandering around the town and taking everything in again. We noticed all the street food but were a little skeptical to try it still. One man stopped to talk to us and we ended up on the back of his motorbike to see his fancy shop. Luckily he was being honest and actually had a boutique. After serving us Chai and showing off his designs, we eventually left unable to buy anything :(

We were lucky one night to catch a glimspe of and Indian wedding. The kids were all adorable and the brother of the bride came and chatted us up for a bit. It was nice talking to someone who wasn’t trying to sell us anything! Although the kids were trying to get something out of us!

Just the girls!

Just the boys!

There wasn’t too much sightseeing to do in Udaipur; a couple temples, the city palace, and lots of shopping. When we did leave, we had bought too many tapestries, but left with a great feeling of the culture. We still had not been completely engrossed in it yet, but liked what we were seeing. Our next stop was Jaipur.

Temple and tapestries!

Walking into the hotel in Jaipur was the first upset that led to it NOT being our favorite city. The people were more than unfriendly and our room wasn’t the best, not did it smell it.  It seemed quite dull, no pretty buildings or temples in close sight, no greens, lots of construction. Ok… i know it’s India, but Udaipur was still nice to the eye, and maybe it was thanks to the lake!

Not the cleanest place...

Monkey Temple!

We set up to get a tuk tuk driver for the day to take us to the Monkey Temple, Water Palace, and a couple other destinations. It turns out, there isn’t much to see in Jaipur. I went into the planetarium by myself. It was supposed to be free on Mondays, but apparently no longer. It was kind of cool, but not something i would do again …. Brad didn’t miss out on much haha! We expected the water palace to be way cooler than it was……which is a palace flooded with water that you look at from afar! Lol!


Planetarium

Throughout the day, our driver kept trying to take us to these shops and we kept telling him we didn’t want to! Then he was straight up with us and said he gets 30 ruppees for just taking us somewhere, plus commission if we buy something, so can we please just go and pretend to be interested! hahaha, we went with it in exchange for a cheaper fare! We ended up buying a beautiful tapestry too, so he really got hooked up!

Still empty!

On our way to the train station, we did have quite an experience. Brad and I were walking down the road trying to negotiate with tuk-tuk drivers for a fare, when this really cool-looking Indian man riding a bike turned around to help us. He suggested that we take the local bus, because it drives right by where we were, AND it is only 7 ruppees each (15 cents) as opposed to 2 bucks! It was quite an experience! At first it was quite spacious, but as the ride went on, it became PACKED! There Brad and I were with our massive backpacks and tons of Indian eyes on us! hahah, it took almost 2 hours by the time we got off…. running to catch the train that ended up being 3 hours late!

When it was time to leave Jaipur, we were quite pleased, not only to get out, but because the next stop was Agra to see the TAJ MAHAL!!

Category: Guesthouses, India, Jaipur, Rajastan, Udaipur  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
InDiA!!! Finally
Thursday, November 25th, 2010 /

Brad and I were so lucky to have found a couchsurfer for our first stop in India…New Delhi! It was a good way to ease us into it. His name was Kaushik and he picked us up from the airport, brought us back to his home where we had a yummy breakfast together before separating ways. On the way, we immediately noticed the craziness in driving… people in between lanes, driving on the other side of the road, CONSTANTLY honking… but it didn’t seem to phase Kaushik!

Rickshaw!

 

The Hazy city!

Brad and I wandered to the nearby markets to pick up some necessities. Crossing the street was interesting :) It took us a little bit to get the conversion down while we were shopping too, 45 rupees to 1 dollar. We didn’t end up going into the center because we were going to stay a couple days. However when Kaushik got home from work, he told us that tomorrow was the verdict after 16 years of waiting to decide a fight between the Muslims and the Hindus, for a mosque or a temple. Apparently there was super increased security because they were expecting some outrage and crime… so unfortauntely we decided we had to leave Delhi tomorrow.

Kaushik and his magic!

 

SpiCYYY!!

We DID however make our last night there count, and Kaushik took us to a cool Tibetan joint with cheap cheap food..but a lot of it! Deliciousness! Loads of dumplings accompanied by a super hot chili sauce that Brad had to eat a heap of after losing to a rock paper scissors contest :) He took it like a champ though! We finished off a great night with Kaushik showing us his incredible magic tricks! Still am amazed and have no idea how he did what he did!!!

Brad in deep thought!

The next morning, we woke up super early to catch a train out of Delhi, but it didn’t quite turn out as we hoped. When we arrived, the train station was packed with Indians, all apparently trying to leave Delhi during the Commonwealth Games. We found out the usual tourist ticket office was closed, and we had to go into the city center to get them. And so we did. THEN we found out ALL the trains were waitlisted at over 100 people, and we had to change our WHOLE India trip.

Cooling off!

New plans…. Delhi->Udaipur->Jaipur->Agra->Varanasi->Kolkata. It cost more than we hoped, but now ALL of our trains AND accomodation were booked, so i guess it took some stress off, especially since the Indian trains can be a nightmare sometimes! Since our train wasn’t leaving until late that night, we were lucky to actually be able to see Delhi for the day, with a free driver too!

 

Indian girlies!

We went to a couple temples and forts, took our first Rickshaw ride, saw our first snake charmer (which i unfortunately didn’t get a picture of), and ate our first official Indian dishes! Girls kept asking me for pictures, and i don’t know if they think I’m famous with my big sunnies, or if it’s just because I’m white! haha! But most of all, we spent the day just watching everything going on around us. Craziness. Traffic. Poverty. Wealth. Kids running in Sprinklers with not a care in the world. Praying. Colors everywhere. Great aromas of street food. Disgusting wiffs of dog piss and sewerage. It was overwhelming.

 

crazy trains!

When it was time for the train, Brad and I had no idea what to expect….. an unorganized crowd of people? Chickens running through the train cabins? People hangning out windows? Yes…it was like that in the unreserved second class cabins, but luckily we got Third Tier AC reserved seats. So basically there are 3 bunks stacked and another set across from it….pretty crowded but still enough breathing space. Not the most lovely, but definitely good enough.  And so we left Delhi, sad to leave Kaushik, but excited for what was to come…especially since we had never even heard of Udaipur before.

 

Category: Cities, CouchSurfing, India, New Delhi, Temples  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment