India in the North

Whirlwind tour of the northern part of India is done! Earlier today, M and I rode the overnight train up from Varanassi. While much more comfortable than our first overnight train, it's hard to get a good night's sleep on a hard berth bed on a rocking train--especially when the train frequently pulls to a stop and there are people bellowing out "juice, mango, tea, chai, coffee!" up and down the aisles throughout the night.

With some time at an internet cafe in Delhi, I have a little more time to write about my trip.

Most Notable Moments in India:

1. Monkey Temple on the old road (the emperor used to take) between Jaipor, India and Agra, India. It's actually a regular temple to a Hindu god, but it's nicknamed the Monkey Temple because of all the monkeys that take residence there. M and I fed the monkeys right out of our hands! Some of them got greedy and grabby. In fact, one jumped ON me to get to the bag of peanuts! Another jumped up and tried to rip the bag from me. It was only half successful since I managed to keep a good hold on the nuts :P.


2. Boat ride on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. The pouring monsoon rain took place in the afternoon (it seems like the usual time), so taking a cycle rickshaw to the ghats area was an adventure! The streets were flooded, with mass crowds of bikes, people, rickshaws, and water buffalo! We finally made it to the main bathing ghat to take a ride along the "Ganga river". We rowed to the main burning ghat, where we watched cremations take place. Our guide told us a little about the funeral process and the rules for putting your remains in the Ganga. After the subdued hush of the burning ghat, we went back to the festive main ghat to wait for the fire ceremony. Seven members of the Brahmin caste do a fire ceremony every evening. It was interesting to see. A lot of culture packed into a short evening.


3. Sweating my FACE off! (literally, I sweat off everything on my face!) The heat and humidity have been intense! For those from Virginia, can you believe it's even hotter and more humid than a July afternoon? All the pictures of me are shiney-faced, sweaty, and dirty...mainly because I AM shiney-faced, sweaty, and dirty CONSTANTLY.
4. Taj Mahal in Agra, India. I thought that I would be a little disappointed because of all the hype you hear about the Taj. Nope. I wasn't disappointed at all. It truly is an amazing construction! Beautifully erected and designed, I can see why people rave about it. The old king who built it for his favorite wife must have loved her greatly if the Taj's physical beauty (and size) is used as a measure of love.


5. Food (everywhere) in India! While the Indian food in America is great, like many other ethnically derived food, it's better in the motherland! The lassi (yogurt, water, sugar or salt drink) is DELICIOUS and the Indian tea (masala spiced tea with milk and sugar) is a perfect end to a meal. Two years in the JOR has never made me crave tea, but two weeks in India has me constantly jones-ing for some Indian tea :D

My last week in India starts tomorrow when I fly to Goa in the south! Huzzah!

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Picture 1: Cows are EVERYWHERE in India. As a holy animal, they're left to do as they like--whether sit in the middle of a highway, wander between traffic, or stand in a store. This is me with a cow in the streets of Pushkar, India.

Picture 2: Feeding a monkey at the Monkey Temple!