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Published: January 22nd 2006
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Us at the Taj
Think this is the one i meant to send last time - us on a bench somewhere in there! Cant believe our India trip is nearly over!
We've seen so much stuff and experienced so many things I dont know where to begin!!!
So... our Indian overnight train ride was interesting. Agra train station was simply horrible, packed and smelly and with loads of dodgy looking people hanging around!!! But once on the train we sorted ourselves out and it was ok. We had sleeping bunks - 6 to a compartment and they were suprisingly not too uncomfortable. Only thing i didnt like was the guard wondering around with a machine gun half the night. The train was seriously slow as well as delayed, so in all we were stuck on the train for about 14 hours...but hey nothing a pack of cards cant fix!!!
We arrived in Varanasi, a holy city on the banks of the Ganges, which is supposed to be one of the oldest cities in the world. Its been continuously habited since 500BC, and was actually one of the cleanest places we've been to in India - which isnt saying much!
Next morning we got up stupidly early - 5.30!!! (Thought i was supposed to be on holiday!?! Never been up that
White Marble
The whole thing is built from carved white marble - tres impressive! early in my life!!!) We went on a boat ride so see the sunrise over the ganges. It was really lovely, but I cant believe the things people do in that river. In the space of about 500 yards we saw bodies being cremated on the banks, people doing their washing, and other people taking a morning dip, all in the same water. I know its meant to be holy, but its also unbelievably polluted!
After chilling by the pool for the rest of the day, we went back down to the town that evening to see the evening rituals carried out by the hindu priests on the steps leading down to the river or 'Ghats' as theyre called. Didnt really understand much of it, there was a lot of smoke and bells and incense. But it was really busy and colourful. Witnessed a wedding procession on the way back - lots of lights and drums and the groom riding a white horse! Very impressive!
Our ride back to the hotel in a rickshaw was impressive too...but for all the wrong reasons!!! Arrghhh...people would pay good money at Alton Towers for and experience like that! Hurtling down tiny
mmm...Ice Cream!!!
Ice cream seller outside Buddhas temple! side streets in the dark with no lights - scattering animals and children, bikes and other rickshaws! Seriously thought we were gonna die several times! Especially when we saw another rickshaw headign straight for us in the opposite direction, equally unlikely to stop! I just shut my eyes! All our tour guide did was laugh, and say ' I hope we dont crash!' Hilarious. I was shaking like a leaf by the time we got out!!!
After a trip to the holy place where Buddha achieved enlightenment (apparently), we spent the rest of the day by the pool - again - sorry! before another interesting overnight train ride back to Delhi. Got no flipping sleep tho, but thankfully there were fewer dodgy characters about!!!
Saw a bollywood movie the other day - twas an interesting experience! Huge cinema full of the entire population of India it would seem! Small children, old men etc... Had some old man who sounded like he had TB coughing behind me the whole time, and peopl in front gossiping the whole way through. Not that it really mattered anyway, the film was in Hindi with random English thrown in. The acting was seriously
Surise over the Ganges
Had to get up at 5.30 to get this one! wooden, and the plot was so bad it was funny. But they kept bursting into song and dance every 10 minutes, so that livened things up a bit. Even in the death scene, the guy managed one last number before he popped his clogs!!! All very entertaining tho - Ive had that last song in my head all trip, even tho we dont have a clue wot the words are!!!
Also had an unfortunate encounter with some bed bugswhile in Varanasi...woke up covered from head to toe in lil red itchy bites. Steve had them all over him too but he didnt react as badly to them as i did!!! Ive even got them in my face and on the palms of my hands!!! arrgghh! look like ive got some sort of nasty skin problem!!! Yuck.
Now we're back in the noisy chaos that is Delhi for a couple of days before we fly out to Sri Lanka.
Email us back...let us know wots goin on at home without us!!! Neighbours and other soap updates would be greatly appreciated, saddo that i am!!!
loads of love,
Rozi and Steve
xxx
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Was
non-member comment
bollywood!!
hey hun, u wont believe it, i checked my mail to take a break from studying my South Asia module (about globalisation and bollywood) and read ur journal about the cinema! im sure its much more interesting visiting it rather than reading about it!! awww, its a shame u got bitten before your birthday, but sounds like ur having a blast regardless of the nasty bed bugs. Hope you took a couple of pics of the wedding too? sounds fascinating. Yuk, the ganges are disgusting!! but the pic of steve taking over the boat is brilliant, altho the other people look as if it smelt quite dodgy! cant believe rickshaws are even worse in India than in central london! i would actually kill someone!! gotta party when u guys get back, altho wont be trying any random blackberry cocktails! Sorry hun, have just started getting into neighbours (it is pretty good at the moment, with the plane crash and karl going crazy!) but i couldnt tell u anymore about it, dont know half the characters, they've all changed since i saw it last! But i can tell u in eastenders, johnny and phil have agreed a 'truce', and him and ruby have disappeared on holiday for a while. Mike (Rosie's ex husband) has taken the club from Johnny and Rosie is picking between Mike and Keith. is quite boring really, Corries better with this whole underage sex storyline between rosie and craig (the goths) is all very amusing. Anyway there's the tv info!! how boring is my life! exams over tomo, so gonna party this week, will update u with shennanigans... Am very jealous of ur travelling, is giving me itchy feet!! loving the pics. love u both loads, Was xxxx Make sure u keep us updated in Sri Lanka!