We had an enjoyable two hour bus ride to Pondicherry. It was a bit better than the one to Mamallapuram, but this time we didn't have a seat for the first portion of the trip. Bean sat on the steps and I stood, both trying to hold on so the bus wouldn't sling us out the door. We had a very difficult time trying to find a hotel. After trying about 10 different places, I asked a woman passing by if she knew of any places to stay. It it turns out she is part of the Aurobindo Ashram and her [View Full Entry]

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Our first experience with the Indian bus system was quite fun. We were thrown off of two buses (not literally) before we managed to get onto the correct one. After a very peaceful bus ride down the eastern coast, we arrived at the small town of Mamallapuram. This place is quite amazing. It is a beautiful coastal town that is full of ancient Hindu architecture and art. The majority of the people here are stone carvers. They all work by the streets and spend all day chunking away at pieces of granite, marble and various other stones. The craftsmanship far outshines [View Full Entry]

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We visited the tomb of St. Thomas, one of Jesus's twelve disciples, today and offered our prayers to the mannequin of St. Thomas. The San Thome Cathedral is above the tomb and is one of only two churches that are above the graves of one of the disciples. We sat in on mass and listened to an Indian priest musically recite verses from the bible. We then spent the afternoon at the beach. We met an italian man who was the lone swimmer. Bean joined him for a dip in the Bay of Bengal while I entertained the crowd of locals [View Full Entry]

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Hey Everyone, Bean on the mike. India is incerdable, just like I knew it would be. we traveled down south to Chennai, yesterday, it was a long train ride and we were in a small compartment with a family, with three kids. The constantl mimcked everything we said and wanted to play chess the whole time. That is how India is, people are very friendly and ver interested in what you are doing. Everytime we ask one person for direction a crowd of ten or more people surrounds, all of them trying to help us out. Jason and i have adapted [View Full Entry]

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Well the 27 hour train ride wasn't bad at all. It is much better than plane rides of the same length. You can lay out flat, stand up and walk around, sit, and the bathrooms are very large compared to planes. I have been really impressed with the passenger train system. We need a similar system in the US. The Amtrak system is just too expensive and doesn't stop in enough cities. We arrived in the much warmer southern city of Chennai yesterday evening and got our first glimpse at the ocean bordering India. Chennai is on the Bay of Bengal [View Full Entry]

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Kolkata is definitely the most modern city we have been to. The British influence is very recognizable. There have been a few brief moments when the surroundings seemed almost American, but an India-only event, like a sheep herd in the city park, brings us back to reality. I found some decent camera stores so I broke down and bought a digital camera. I just couldn't be without one. So now there will be some hopefully highly anticipated pictures on the blog. So far we have visited the Victoria Memorial, the Local art museum, the botanical gardens, and the Kali Temple. The [View Full Entry]

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Bodhgaya has been a great place to stay and we are regretting having to leave to Kolkata tomorrow. But we are trying to stick to one month in the north and the second in the south so we've got to get moving to make it by the 15th. We came across a wonderful school in the nearby village and have been helping out with the orphans that stay there. Today we played a soccer match in a field by the river and ate lunch with the kids. The school children that do have parents are very poor. The parents are usually [View Full Entry]

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Bodhgaya, the city of enlightenment. We are now enveloped in the realm of buddhism. We are staying in the Burmese Buddhist Monastery for the next four nights. We visited the Mahabodhi Temple this morning and meditated under the Bodhi tree. This is a decendent of the actual tree that the Buddha sat under when he became enlightened and is the most holy pilgrimage site for Buddhists to visit. There are many other temples and historical sites around the city that mark important places where the Buddha taught and meditated. We are also going to try and help out at a local [View Full Entry]

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Bean bathed in the holy Ganges yesterday. So far he hasn't become infected or anything. If he does get sick from it, he has asked me to tie a weight to his foot and push him out into the river like they do the diseased who have died. Supposedly if you die in Varanasi you will automatically reach moksa (salvation), so this is the best place to die. We took a evening Yoga course with one of the local teachers. This was my first experience with yoga. We did breathing exercises, chanting, postures, laughing and meditation. I enjoyed it and I [View Full Entry]

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Once again the current city is a totally new experience. The main attraction is the river Ganga, the mother of the hindu people. The city of Shiva rests on the west side of the river and the river bank is covered in concrete ghats (steps down to the river). The various ghats have different purposes such as bathing, cremation grounds, body drop off points, boat landings, shopping, and prayer shrines. The streets of Varanasi are either extremely crowded or extremely narrow. It is very easy to get lost in the winding alleyways, as we have done several times. The city is [View Full Entry]

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