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Published: March 29th 2009
Since we're now a few posts into this blog, we're not going to bother with trying to think of an "introduction" for each one. We'll just get right to the good stuff!
We left off waiting for a train in Agra. Which, by the way, was the absolute longest wait of our lives. We couldn't get out of that place fast enough! It smelled terrible, it was crawling with tour groups, and the people there only talked to you to get one thing: money.
That night, at 11:30PM, we took our first overnight train. We'll try to give you a picture of what it's like in these cabins. Each one, in AC2 Tier, has 4 bunks, two on each side. The bunks are about 5'8" long, and I (Robert) say that because it's just barely long enough for me. Thank god we're both shorties!
The bunks are not terribly comfortable. The pillows they give you might as well be a pair of socks rolled up in a pillow case. However, thus is India!
We both tried to go to sleep as soon as the train started moving. Sarah found it a little more difficult than I, and
Sarah
trying to keep warm on the train.she was woke up a few times by the other people in our cabin randomly turning on the light and yelling on their cell phones. Surprisingly, I slept through all of this! Sarah still doesn't understand how I could sleep through it. On a side note, I fell asleep in our taxi driving through Delhi. If you have been to India, we're sure you're laughing at the thought of that.
Our next destination: Varanasi. We arrived in the early afternoon and were delighted to see a man waiting in the station with our names on a piece of paper. The hotels will arrange to have a driver come and pick you up so you can avoid the swindling autorickshaw drivers.
We get to our hotel, absolutely thrilled at the thought of crashing in our Air conditioned room with a balcony. However, the power was out at this time. This is not an irregular occurence in India, but you get used to it pretty quick.
From our balcony and the rooftop restaurant, we had a great view of the Ganges River. We're sure some of you have read, or at least heard something about this river. However, we'll
Rob
also trying to keep warm give you a quick explanation.
First off, Varanasi is said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. To Hindu people, the Ganges river cleanses you of all your sins. It's the most sacred body of water in the Hindu culture. Many people make long journeys here to simply bathe in the river, or to cremate their loved ones.
It's also the most polluted body of water in the world. It's considered septic, meaning no oxygen. This is due to many things such as fecal matter, rotting bodies, but mainly from the factories that pump their waste in the river on a daily basis.
If we were to go in the water, we would get terribly ill. Sarah and I both decided we'd rather be sinners for life than ever bathe in that water.
Speaking of getting ill... the night we got to the hotel, we decided to feast. We ordered a rice dish and some mashed potatoes. Since neither of us had eaten all day, we absolutely gorged, but mainly me... I ate most of the rice dish myself, since it was a little too spicy for Sarah.
The next morning when
Cremation
Varanasi I woke up, I immediately knew something was wrong "down there". My stomach was bubbling and I could tell it was horribly upset with me. Without going into too much detail, I became very well-acquainted with the bathroom that day. It got to the point where I couldn't keep even a drop of liquid (or immodium) in me.
I was also having some brutal cramps, which Sarah took for your average diarrhea cramps... boy, was she wrong! I felt as though my stomach was turning inside out and eating itself. I was in so much pain.
When I developed quite a fever, Sarah realized it was more serious than she thought. As soon as I started vomiting, Sarah ran downstairs to get a doctor. I could barely lift myself to get to the bathroom.
The doctor arrived about 10 minutes later, although he didn't bring a sense of relief with him... Instead, he brought a few syringes. So, there I was... laying on my seemingly death-bed, faced with the biggest decision of my life: do I take the needles and accept the possibility that they might not be clean? Or, do I risk dying from explosive diarrhea?
(Sarah thinks I'm being a drama queen and is rolling her eyes at me. I, on the other hand, think it makes for a great story!)
Sarah pointed something out to me that made my decision easy. She pointed out that he wasn't wearing any gloves. She later told me he didn't have anything to sterilize my arm/bum. Oh, I forgot to mention, he pulled out the syringe intending on using it, and told me to roll over! I was having enough problems in that area, I didn't need someone shoving a needle in my butt. So, I opted out of the needles.
Thus, making Sarah venture off through the streets of Varanasi with the doctor to get some pills for me. She came back, after getting lost, with 3 small brown bags of pills. She knew when I should be taking each pill, but didn't get a clear explanation as to what they actually were. To me, they looked like horse tranquilizers. One of them was as big as my big toe; I was terrified. However, I took them.
Shortly after Sarah got back, I decided to have a shower to cool off. I then began
Varanasi Sunrise
(amazing) Sarah took this one. regaining my energy levels. I went upstairs and gorged on 3 pieces of plain toast, which were delicious by the way since I hadn't eaten at all that day.
That night, we hit the town! We went for a walk through all the shops followed by a light dinner. I had fries and Sarah had Indian food.
The next morning, I was on top of the world! I felt as though I was born-again. Sarah, on the other hand, now had a bad feeling in her stomach... Again, without getting into too much detail, she also had to make an early morning dash to the bathroom. Fortunately, it passed quickly and there was no vomiting or fever. Although, she did feel sick for most of the day, so we stayed close to the hotel until later in the evening.
That night, since we had both been sick from Indian food, we thought we'd try one of the lonely planet recommendations and go for some pasta. By our typical standards, the pasta wasn't very good. However, that night it was the greatest pasta we had ever eaten. We were both quite full from dinner, but on the way home from the restaurant, we saw a symbol of western culture that gave us great excitement: the golden arches. We ran in, ordered some fries with mayo, which we hadn't eaten since being in India, and relished in the salty deliciousness... We finished it off with a chocolate sundae and called it a night. We were both uncomfortably full by the time we got back to the hotel. Sarah regretted our decision. I did not... until the next morning.
The third day in Varanasi, Sarah woke up and was feeling great! I, on the other hand, now had a cold that had completely plugged up my sinuses. I couldn't breathe, my eyes were watering, and my nose wouldn't stop running! At this point, all I could think of was being 10 years old again, home sick from school, and having mom use a sick day from work to stay home and take care of me. However, I was in India. As far away from home as it gets. Sarah gave me some more drugs to take alongside my horse pills, and we ventured off to do some shopping.
That day, we splurged! At our first shop, we bought 5 pieces of clothing for about $12. We ended up spending around $30 altogether on clothes, wall-hangings, etc... It was nice to finally buy things!
Later that day, we went for a walk down the river ghats. Ghats are a series of large steps going into the river, each having their own special significance. We ended up at one of the cremation ghats. This is where families bring their loved ones to be cremated on the river bank, and have their ashes thrown into the Ganges river. Hindus believe this purifies the soul of the deceased.
While watching the cremations, we were approached by an Indian man whose family has a business assisting.He brought us up to where the rich people are cremated, and gave us a better view of the cremation. He then went into great detail about the cremation process, and the Hindu faith in general. We were both quite into the moment: sitting up top, watching an ancient Hindu tradition, listening to this man tell us about his family, faith, and Indian culture. It was absolutely beautiful.
We'll skip ahead a few minutes here... we then realized he only wanted pique our interest to lure us back to a shop where we'll buy some silk scarves. We were both a little bothered by this, as it was a truly amazing moment, only to be ruined by the desire for money. We then left to get some food!
We apologize this entry is so long... Please don't stop reading! There's a big surprise at the end, and if you skip ahead you'll ruin it or won't get it!!
That night, we hired a boat to take us, along with two guys we'd met at the hotel, down the river to see a ceremony that goes on every night. We can't fully explain the ceremony, as we don't fully understand what was going on. Our boat driver tried to explain it to us, but his english was really bad.
We both absolutely loved Varanasi, other than getting sick from the food. It was the most relaxed and laid-back place thus far. We could walk quite a ways from our hotel and not have to worry about dealing with heavy traffic, or pushy salespeople.
Now, the surprise you've all been waiting for... Rob used a squat toilet for the first time (successfully)! It was absolutely liberating! I highly recommend it to everyone! We're still waiting on Sarah's first time. She simply hopes she's wearing a skirt when the time arrives...
That is all for now. Thank you very much for reading, and if you're reading this, you're obligated to comment, or email us, so we know you're receiving the blogs.
BYE FOR NOW AND WE LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!
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Liam Lanigan
non-member comment
Haha, woah, now I am scared to eat stuff when Colin and I get to sketchy Eastern Europe... The cremations would be amazing to witness... I am writing a paper about it (well kinda), so it'd be 'nice' to have a first hand experience of it. Oh, and septic means infected with bacteria. Anoxic is without oxygen.