India was a trip!

My trip to India was certainly amazing! I had an excellent time, learned a lot, and have modified my view on living yet again due to travel. But, it is ohhh so good to be back in Bangkok! I knew I was close to Thailand when I boarded my Thai Airways flight in Calcutta and was greeted by the beautiful Thai flight attendants wai-ing. It was so nice to be around gentle and warm people again.

Landing in Bangkok and hopping in the taxi to my apartment was so easy and involved no bargaining. The people are so much more trustworthy here and I don't feel as if I have to walk around as guarded as was necessary in India. I woke up and met friends at one of the new malls just off the SkyTrain and was so amazed at how clean and highly advanced Bangkok is compared to India. There's really no comparison. We have clean streets (which are really dirty compared to the States, but clean enough to eat off of when you've come back from India!), stores and NO cows, ox carts, elephants, or camels in the streets. The difference is striking and it was truly a fantastic feeling to be "home".

Although, there are some who do months worth of traveling through India, two weeks was enough for me. I may return in April to the south for our week off due to the Thai holiday of Songkran, but I'll see how I feel in a couple of months. It would be nice to see the beaches and get a different look at India. I've heard there is more literacy in the south and it's cleaner, so it'd be interesting to see for myself.

The poverty was striking, like nothing I've seen in any other country I've visited. I have some serious concerns as to how the Indian government functions. It doesn't appear that there are any programs for the impoverished. I plan to do a little research, reading books about India is next on my agenda. As I traveled through the country, I read A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry which helped to explain a few things, but there's so much more to learn. I also asked my principal, Dr. Lalima, who is from Bangalore in the south and she said there are NGOs (Non-Government Agencies) with programs, but it didn't sound like any government agencies. Very sad. From what I read many of the homeless have jobs, but there's a lack of available housing.

Well, enough serious matter, here's my email diary that I shared with some friends and family during my trip...

India Itinerary
Saturday 17 December – Depart Bangkok 8:00 pm / Arrive Kolkata 9:05 pm / Train (3073 Himgiri Express, 15 hours) to Varanasi 11:45 pm
Sunday 18 December – Arrive Varanasi 2:40 pm
Monday 19 December – Varanasi
Tuesday 20 December – Varanasi
Wednesday 21 December – Depart Varanasi 5:20 pm to Agra via Train (4853 Marudhar Express, 15 hours)
Thursday 22 December – Arrive Agra at 6:10 am
Friday 23 December – Agra
Saturday 24 December – Depart Agra 6:15 am to Jaipur 11:40 am (4863 Marudhar Express, 6 hours)
Sunday 25 December – Jaipur
Monday 26 December – Jaipur
Tuesday 27 December – Jaipur (Pushkar)
Wednesday 28 December – Jaipur (Tiger Safari)
Thursday 29 December – Jaipur
Friday 30 December – Depart Jaipur 9:00 am car to New Delhi / 5:00 pm Train to Kolkata (22 hrs)
Saturday 31 December – Day in Kolkata, depart at 10:30 pm
Sunday 1 January – Arrive Bangkok 2:30 am

Saturday, December 17 – Monday, December 19, 2005

In one word, STIMULATING!

We arrived safely in Calcutta on Saturday at 10pm, took a taxi after a little messing around with our taxi driver to the train station and miraculously made it on an 11:30pm train to Varanasi!!! It was a good thing because Calcutta looked awful!!! I've never seen such poverty before in my life! It's really incredible how poor this country is; it's like no other place I've been in the world. The people are GREAT, though! We've been taken care of really every step of the way to my surprise.

We took an overnight train and had to sit in the General Section. You wouldn't believe the look of the train...thank goodness we're girls because we were able to sit in the Female car, which was basically empty and we could sit across metal benches to sleep, if you call it that. The other cars in the General area were packed with people and it would have made for a very uncomfortable ride in more ways than one. We're basically the only foreigners in this country thus far. I had expected to see a lot more in Varanasi, but we've been very surprised by the small numbers. It has explained the reason for the many stares we get, but all in all the people are really fabulous.

The train was way cold, so I virtually had on ALL of the clothes that I packed to keep warm. It was quite funny, but the train trip was an adventure and we were all still laughing when we arrived in Varanasi 15 hours later. The views were interesting and entertaining. We woke to a man peeking through the train window bars saying, "Chai, chai, chai", over and over again in a sing-songy fashion. We took him up on his offer for a warm cup of chai tea, paying the asking price of 3 rupees (the exchange is 45 rupees to $1 US).

We finally arrived at 2:40pm and immediately went on the hunt for the foreign travel desk. The guy was very helpful, showing us a map of the city and hooking us up with a taxi, which around here is an old-fashioned car styled exactly as they were in the days of British rule. They're still being manufactured here in India - I took a picture so my dad can clear up what the make of model of the antique is. All of the taxis around here are the same white relics. We went to the Ganpati Guest House right on the Ganges River, recommended by Jill and Cooper (from Saipan) and MUCH appreciated! The staff has been fantastic, hooking us up with a river cruise to see the sunrise bathing day routine on the ghats on the River Ganges, a trip around the city of Varanasi, and a driver for a day trip to a town three hours out of Varanasi, Allahabad. It's been an amazing adventure and really an eye-opening experience.

Sunday, we took a trip down the Ganges at 6:30am for the famous sunrise bathing ritual. We went about an hour down the river to the "Burning Ghat" and actually saw two human bodies being burned in a fire pit. I accidentally took a picture, not knowing what was going on until we got closer - oops. You're not supposed to take pictures, but it was from a distance and no one was the wiser, including me! It was quite interesting...there were three women dressed nicely standing behind one of the guys prepping him for burning. They were putting a white, cream-like substance on his face. Meanwhile, the people dressed not-so-nicely were actually "stirring" another body in a fire pit. You could see his head sticking out of the pit. It was exactly like making a fire while camping, but instead of roasting marshmellows, you roast human bodies. Very interesting. Everybody was doing laundry and bathing in the river while others were floating down taking in the scene. There were the usual cows and goats roaming the ghats, as they roam the streets with the people. You really have to be careful where you walk around here. It was quite the interesting morning. We sipped on some chai that our boat driver got for us and returned to our guest house for breakfast at 9am.

After breakfast, we arranged a 6 hour city tour of Varanasi for a mere 200 rupees per person (just over $4). We visited various temples around the city, had a tour of a sari-making village and were of course brought to a place where we had to forcefully explain that none of us were interested in purchasing a sari. The children here are a ton of fun! They are all over the streets yelling, "Hello!!" and wanting money on many occasions. They LOVE having their picture taken, so I've of course had a lot of fun with that! I almost got a poor little girl trampled because the children on the street were running toward me, wanting another picture. It was an entertaining scene (and the girl was all right). The first night I bought peanuts for a group of kids and they multiplied like mad! It was a lot of fun and the peanuts literally cost peanuts, so it was my pleasure to cause them so much excitement at such a small price. They're absolutely adorable and very photogenic, as well!

Today (Monday, December 19), we headed out bright and early again, around 7, to drive three hours west to Allahabad to visit Anand Bhawan, the house of the Nehru family. They ruled India for three generations and the patriarch, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first Prime Minister when India gained its independence from the British. He was friends with Gandhi, who was a frequent visitor of the residence. It was pretty amazing to be in a house where Gandhi once stood. His daughter Indira took over after Jawaharlal passed away and had an amazing influence on India. Her programs improved the economy and brought stability to a volatile and unstable nation, but it came at a huge price in terms of civil liberties. She started the Emergency, which involved mass castration of the poor, among other atrocities. Her intentions, rooted as they typically are in fear, may have been good, but the outcome was not and she was ousted from power and later murdered by her own security guard.

We managed to fit a fort into our tour and another temple, where our guide served as a father-figure and helped shoo away the people pestering us for money, even going so far as to come into a temple and tell us not to pay the guy at the gate asking for a fee to visit. We're not sure why or what their conversation was, but it was very nice of him to take such good care of us.

We just returned from our second fun-filled day and finally found an Internet cafe to shoot home a hello to let you know I'm well and enjoying my holiday in India. This isn't a country I'd recommend everyone visit. It isn't the easiest place to get around, but if you're up for a wild adventure and to really rough it without getting annoyed by things, this is the place for you. It's a fascinating and truly the most stimulating that I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. The food is the best in the world, in my opinion, the sights, sounds, and culture of the country is like nothing I've ever seen. It's an experience of a lifetime and one I'll never forget. What an amazing place!

Well, I'll leave you with that. Enjoy your holidays and I'll be in touch as much as possible. We plan to relax tomorrow and take a train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal at 5:30pm. We should be in Jaipur this weekend and spend Christmas there. I hope to call my family, but I'll for sure send you all a greeting before I return to Thailand.

Hugs and Kisses!! Love, Bella xoxo

December 25, 2005
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Last night, I went (with the four other girl co-workers I'm traveling with) to a Bollywood movie (that's really what it's called...in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, they make very famous films and it's been called Bollywood - maybe a combination of Bombay and Hollywood?? Not sure :) last night and it was a riot! We read in the Lonely Planet that it's entertaining to do while here in India and was it ever! We had to stand in the women's line for tickets, which was CONSIDERABLY shorter than the men's line and we were stared at like we were from another planet, typical here in India. There's also a chalkboard that shows how many seats are left in each section. The chalkboard is updated as the purchasing takes place.



It's a huge thing to go to the movies here in India. The audience hoots and hollers during certain parts, they cheer and yell, it's a riot! One guy had one of those red pointers that he was putting on the screen occasionally to point at people's faces, kinda funny. People answer cell phones and it's generally more of a roucous going on constantly.

The movie was in Hindi, but I'd say Hind-ish because random words and sometimes sentences were in English for no apparent reason. The scenes were also shot somewhere out of India because the town that these people lived in was very clean and Candy Land-like, NOTHING like I've even remotely seen here in India. No rickshaws, no horns beeping constantly (the trucks actually say BEEP HORN PLEASE on the back because they have no rearview mirrors!), no beggers, not India. The story was about two best friends and was pretty cute. Their movies include dancing and singing which is really quite funny, but people get into it in the theater. All in all it was an experience worth having while in India and we left the theater laughing!

Other than the movie, we've toured the city of Jaipur and done some shopping. I actually feel like I'm from another planet around here. Jaipur is more like a city and has less in-your-face poverty than both Agra and Varanasi. Those places were unreal, people living in slums right in the center of the city. I can't image the "real" slums on the outskirts...cow feces, betel nut spit, trash, you name it, on the streets! People begging EVERYWHERE; they're peeking in your rickshaw and touching your feet (I guess a show of respect), they're coming through the train (two boys actually put on an annoying show with instruments and the one kid started fake crying as part of the show when they were done - odd, but creative)...it's really unsettling at times. But, you're afraid to give anybody money because you'll be mobbed by everybody around.

Tonight, for Christmas, we went to a recommended "restaurant" for our Christmas dinner and ohhhhhh were we in for a surprise. I had asked a guy at the front desk of the Atithi Guesthouse where we're staying for a good place for a Christmas dinner where we could see a show and did he ever give us a place with a show!! We got as dressed up as possible while backpacking, for me that involved buying a skirt and a shirt for a total of $4 on the streets of Jaipur, and had the guest house order us a taxi.

It drove us 30 minutes away and dropped us off in front of a place with LOADS of cars and people out front, all entering the same place we were to eat dinner. I was wondering how it was possible that all of those people could fit inside one restaurant, but we were soon to find out. We went in and paid the 250 rupees ($5) that we were told the dinner and show cost; we had thought it would be paid more in the bill-to-the-table fashion, but as we entered we found out that we were actually entering a cheesy Indian carnival and our dinner was going to be eaten in an OUTDOOR buffet style! Yikes! We're in the desert and temperatures tend to dip into the 40s! Mind you, I'm dressed in a skirt! Thankfully, I had decided to put on my hooded black sweatshirt and adorn it with a white scarf or else I would have been awfully miserable for the entirety of the evening.

We walked around the carnival where we took in a magic show, saw a contortionist, walked through a maze, danced around a fire (and the fire dancer Indian man was holding my hand and then decided he'd attempt to slide my ring off my finger, like I wouldn't notice!), and were almost run over by camels and giant, fast-moving elephants providing the fun for the whole family in the form of rides! What an odd event!!! I felt like I was at the Renaissance Festival, but in this case it'd be the Rajputs Festival!

To conclude the evening, we had our thali dinner - nothing to write home about - and were enjoying the warmth of a campfire amongst the mobs of Indians enjoying the outdoor dining experience when a group of Indian college guys sat down to chat with us. Well, the chatting turned into a photo session that literally included a LINE of over 20 guys waiting to sit in between Eliza and me for a photo. I felt like I was Santa Claus so I asked one guy what he wanted for Christmas to which he replied, "You, too." I think he assumed I said, "Nice to meet you."

Well, all in all it was a Christmas dinner to remember. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! You were in my thoughts tonight!

Tuesday, December 27
Today we hired a driver and headed to Pushkar, three hours south of Jaipur, for the day. We visited temples, shopped, and enjoyed the breathtaking views at Lake Pushkar.

Thursday, December 29

We're spending our last day in Jaipur today. Yesterday we went on a Tiger Safari, but saw no tigers, just LOADS of deer!! Wow! And the Sambar deer were HUMUNGOUS! I took pictures as they were lounging and walking all around. There were also Spotted deer, which were full-size, but looked like Bambis with their spots. I thought dad would enjoy that. Other than deer, we saw peacocks, a mongoose, pretty birds, ugly boars, and a chipmunk – hehe! We were at the Ranthanbhore National Park just four hours out of Jaipur, so we hired a driver to take us.

Today will be a bit of shopping in Jaipur, another Bollywood film, dinner at a revolving restaurant on top of a large building and sleep. Tomorrow morning we head to New Delhi in a hired car where we'll just spend a few hours having lunch/dinner before getting on our overnight train at 5pm to Calcutta. We arrive in Calcutta at 10:45am on the 31st and fly out that evening at 11:30pm, spending the New Year airborne and arriving in Bangkok at 3am. It should be nice to get "home" and back into the "normalcy" of life. The trip has been excellent, though. I've learned a lot and really enjoyed the country and the people. It was a surprise to me because I'd heard so many horror stories. It helps to go to a country prepared...it seems then you have a better time because you take the bad in flow.

Well, off to have some muesli, toast, and chai tea for breakfast! Have an excellent New Year...next year I'll spend it with you guys!!