Day 7 in India.

---

Hello,
So after a few days of having a lovely travel bug, Lauren and I are back on our feet and in Mumbai (Bombay). MY first impression of Bombay is that it is much nicer then Delhi. It is balmy and beautiful. Delhi was too crowded and there were way too many people in your face at all times, and Agra was really not that nice of a town, aside from the Taj. We took a train from Agra to Varnasi, which lasted about 8 hours and was really not that bad for an overnight one. Once we figured out exactly how to get into the train station and how you were suposed to get to the correct platform, we had to sit and wait for a long time because the train was late. The trains are divided into classes; general, sleeper, 3rd class, 2nd class, and 1st class. We rode 2AC, which means that the train had nice cool AC and we had a little room with 4 cots, so we only had to share with two other people. Luckily we got to share with another nice couple from France, who we ended up sight seeing with in Varnasi later. General class of the train kind of reminded me of a zoo. There are not even really seats, and there is not a limit to how many people can fit in the train. People just kind of hang out of the train, it really looks like a monkey cage.
We got into Varnasi at 5am and took a rickshaw to our hotel, which was called MM Continental, which was kind of a ramshackled mess, and then slept for a while. When we got up we went with the nice French couple we'd met down toward the Ganges River and went to the main burning ghat. In India, the Ganges river is considered holy, and all Hindu people come to Varnasi to die. We learned that the bodies are usually bused in from all over India to be creamated here as well. The main burning ghat creamates bodies 24 hours a day and may burn 400-600 bodies a day. We also learned that preganant women, children under the age of 16, cows, and holy men are not cremated, but just placed in the center of the river with heavy stones. It was very interesting to observe the funeral process, which was started by Shiva. Women are not allowed to be at the burning ghats, because they cry and apparently when Shiva was cremated his wife threw herself on the fire, so now no women are allowed there. Later we observed a religious ceremony at the main burning ghat.
The next day we got up and took a boat ride along the Ganges and did a lot of souvenir shopping. I got some nice presents and talked to some interesting people. I liked Varnasi a lot better then Delhi, because there were much fewer people in your face. We met several kids who kept trying to get us to go back to their silk shops (which Varnasi is known for) to see pictures of their families with Goldie Hawn. Apparently Goldie Hawn filmed a movie here in the early 1990s and was in Varnasi. She bought a lot of silk from some of the shops and the kids claimed that their dad and Goldie Hawn were best friends. Every time we talked to a little kid, they would ask if we knew Goldie Hawn, it became a little comical to Lauren and I.
Tomorrow Lauren and I will check out the Mumabi Colaba area in day light. I think we will walk to the main bazaar area and maybe go to Chawpatty beach. I'll write more later.

---

Comments

[LJE]

Great travelogue!
Loved reading "day 7" and it all sounds like an exciting trip. Have you ridden an elephant yet??? It might be better than the train!! Love ya, Gran