India/Nepal Trip - Part 2

Jan 5 - Wow - what a day! After a very early (and utterly frigid) train ride to Agra, we went to see the Red Fort, one of the biggest attractions in India. A massive and beautiful structure with a fascinating history, it really was quite impressive. I'm not usually a fort kind of girl, but I really enjoyed our visit. After a nice lunch (an eggplant dish with naan), we headed to the biggest attraction of all - the Taj Mahal. While the insane crowds there were a bit overwhelming and frustrating, it still lived up to all the hype. Amazing. Afterwards, we had a free evening to wander the area and relax.

Jan 6 - Caught yet another morning train to the small town of Orchha. After dropping our stuff off at the hotel (where we were assigned to sleep in the fanciest "tents" I've ever seen), we headed to the Raja Mahal, and beautiful palace that we all agreed was actually our favorite so far. It was particularly special because there were only a few other tourists there, so we basically had the place to ourselves, a true rarity in India! In addition to very impressive architecture, it had extremely well preserved 16th century fresco paintings and a resident population of monkeys that weren't the least bit scared of people. After a chai break, we had free time to explore the town a bit before going to an interesting Hindu ceremony at a local temple. We had a cheap and delicious dinner and beers at a restaurant nearby and went back to the hotel "tents" to continue the evening into the wee ours of the morning. Very fun night!

Jan 7 - Best day yet! We had a free morning, which most people (myself included) spent sleeping in, then we rented bikes and rode around the area. We toured a local NGO that makes recycled paper from cloth scraps, visited a small poor community, and saw a family farm. As our guide put it, "this is the real India." While it made me really miss The Gambia (the similarities were striking), I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to have had those experiences. It's not always easy to get out and see that sort of thing as a tourist, but it's something I was really hoping would be possible. After returning our bikes, we stopped for chai and a big of shopping, then headed back to a local woman's home for a cooking lesson and dinner. In a homey, authentic setting, she showed us how to make masala chai tea, vegetable pakora (fried vegetable and chickpea flour dumplings), chana masala (chickpea curry), rice pulao (friend rice with vegetables), guava chutney with cilantro, boordi raita (yogurt sauce) and puri (puffy bread served at special occasions here). My favorites were the chana masala and guava chutney. I look forward to making them at home. After dinner, we headed to the train station to catch an overnight train to the holy city of Varanasi.

Jan 8 - We got an upgrade on our train, so to use a British-ism, last night's train ride was "heaps" better than the last one. Once we got to Varanasi, we spent the day exploring the city and shopping at a silk shop with our guide, then we went down to the Ganges river in the evening. The river really comes alive in the evening with people doing everything from playing cricket or flying kites to conducting cremations and other Hindu rituals. We went out on a boat on the river and, while being entertained by traditional musicians, lit candles on tiny leaf and flower rafts, made wishes, set them afloat on the river, and watched our wishes twinkle away. The whole experience was hard to put into words, but it was incredible.

Jan 9 - We were supposed to do a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges today, but it was too foggy to see the sunrise, so we slept in, had a nice breakfast and went for a mid-morning boat trip instead. Two of the guys in our group and our guide took advantage of the opportunity to take a dip in the holy river to cleanse themselves of their sins. Given the level of excrement, human ashes, trash, and general filth in the river, I opted to pass. Afterwards, we wandered the city for a while longer on our own (getting lost, naturally), did a bit more shopping, and prepared for our impending12-hour bus ride to Nepal...