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English is not our native language, so we apologize in advance for translation- spelling- and grammar errors.
7 a.m. breakfast, 8:30 a.m. departure.
It's a very nice ride. Not so much because of the natural beauty, but for the daily life that passes us by. The country is quite green. People are working with bullock carts. You see little houses everywhere. The laundry is hanging outside. Part of the ride is on a bad road with a lot of potholes. We see a lot of cars with flat tires. One car with everything broken is just on the road while the driver is sleeping next to it!
In the afternoon we stop at a beautiful bird park. Keoladeo. It is beautiful, although we are not very fond of birds. There are many more than expected; ibises, owls, snakebirds, white herons, kingfishers etc. Many duck species too. We take a bicycle rickshaw through the park for an hour or two.
We could spend a whole day there.
After this stop we drive on to Fatehpur Sikri. An abandoned imperial city. We had imagined more of that. We have already seen many forts and this one doesn't really add anything for us.
With the roaming livestock here, the Indians are very good at avoiding obstacles. Our driver, Mr. Singh, is an expert in dodging. He remains calm in all circumstances!
Around five we arrive safely in Agra. The time of the flower garlands when you arrive at the hotel is over. We're going to eat at the pizza hut. We had never eaten there before. After a little more surfing on the internet and a nice bath, we pop into bed.
After breakfast departure to the Taj Mahal. It is very beautiful. Lots of tourists. Very extensive checks, but that will undoubtedly be necessary. All sharp objects must be removed from the bag. And, you don't believe it; one of the traveling companions later says that she saw an English tourist who was engraving his name somewhere in the marble with something sharp! Incredible. She then said something about it and the answer was; “just because everyone does it”. What a simple soul walking around. If you get caught you will rightfully lose a very large sum of money as compensation !!
It is very beautiful but we miss the ordinary people from here a bit. We prefer temples where people are engaged in rituals. This is just a nice funerary monument.
What we really like is that at the back of the Taj Mahal, there is a grassland where a lawnmower is pulled by 2 oxen. Splendid to see. Two oxen and a man guiding the oxen. Someone else is raking the grass. Today we take a bicycle rickshaw from a man with very thick glasses. He takes us to the Taj Mahal and later to the bazaar where there are very nice original streets. Monkeys dart across the street along telephone wires. We ended up in a Muslim neighborhood. Suddenly somewhere a butcher and a cart full of cow heads????? Yes, that's possible here too.
There are also slums whose sight does not make you happy. What poverty.
We'll be dropped off somewhere. High up somewhere on a roof terrace we have a drink. We are the only customers. The waiter is napping when we arrive!
No time for a nap for us. Tonight we will take the night train to Varanasi.
Sleep moderately on the train. Our luggage is riveted to the sofa. Yet we feel that we have to keep a close eye on our belongings in the crowded, cluttered public compartment where we have a sofa bed. We arrive in Varanasi around half past seven in the morning.
The van is ready and so we leave for the hotel. Our hotel is mediocre. The washbasin tap leaks a lot and the toilet must always be closed off from the water, otherwise the bathroom floor will be flooded in no time. Later Toei advises to say something about it.
Then 3 men of different rank come to look at which they give us an extra soap, roll of toilet paper and towel with the announcement that they will come and make it the next day. We actually have to laugh about the way problems are "solved" here.
Of course nobody came the next day. But then again, we are in India, and not in a holiday park! We lie in bed for an hour before we leave for the ghats; the holy steps on the Ganges.
With hold a rickshaw to take us. What a busy road again. Narrow alleys. Orange temples everywhere. At the ghats we walk for a while in the sun, watching the people wash and bathe in the Ganges. The cows also get a wash! It's really special.
The rickshaw that would take us back to the hotel can't find our hotel and takes us to another hotel. Because… if you can't read, and therefore can't decipher the hotel's business cards, you never tell a potential customer for a ride! Just go and show your ticket at a kiosk somewhere and try to get there. Sometimes that doesn't work right away. As it turned out for us.
We are therefore only just in time for our tour to Sarnath. Sarnath is a historic town 10 kilometers northeast of Varanasi. Sarnath is home to the former deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the dharma to others and where the Sangha (in a narrow sense the Buddhist community of monks) originated. A holy place now. The guide that came along does give very extensive monologues. He is unstoppable. We are not very impressed with his story. The Tibetan people/pilgrims and monks who walk around there, on the other hand, are very impressive. The museum is also impressive. However, we prefer to walk around ourselves instead of with the guide who wants to let us dwell on something for about 20 minutes.
After this excursion we go back to our room for an hour.
Then we go with a guide found by one of our Shoestring group members to the Dasawamedh Ghat where a big Aarti Ceremony takes place. Very impressive. A Hindu ceremony by some Brahmins. Lots of Hindus clapping along with the music. Flowers and tea lights float in the Ganges.
Afterwards we had dinner somewhere with the eight of us. Very tasty.
Up at 5 this morning! Breakfast at half past six and departure at 6 am for a boat trip on the Ganges. We like it very much, but there are a few less religious Hindus bathing and a few more tourist boats than we thought.
We also sail along the burning ghats. Particularly impressive! A deceased is just being placed on a stretcher in the Ganges. The remains are then sent to the funeral pyre.
After the boat tour there are still a number of temples to see, but we choose to go our own way. Have a nice stroll. Let's take a look at the burning ghats. There are puss that keep a close eye on everyone. If they think you're filming or photographing, they try to scare people by threatening the police if you don't pay them. Also a way to earn your money.
It is wonderful to look around at the colorful people everywhere. Lots of orange, people doing all kinds of activities in the holy Ganges, goats and cows eating marigold sacrificial garlands, monkeys jumping over the houses and telephone wires, etc. etc. Many beggars. Especially if you want to sit quietly for a while, they remain annoyingly next to you. Take a picture every now and then. Everyone you photograph wants to have money for this and they are not easily satisfied. We buy some beads and go to a tailor and have some clothes made. Pick up tomorrow.
At the end of the day we sit for a while on the roof terrace of a hotel. There we follow a soap opera of 2 monkeys who steal pants from the clothesline from a balcony. Then kids find out. They try to get hold of the pants. It takes a long time, but the result is that the pants fall in the depths on the street.
We all cough. Our lungs are now quite polluted! Especially those fires everywhere with remnants of rubber and plastic and who knows what else is there. Streets full of fumes.
We have become quite tired by now. We have been walking around since 5 o'clock this morning. That's why we go back to the hotel and go to bed for a power nap. In the evening we eat in the hotel.
In Varanasi there are many runners.
• Want a boat?
• Want postcards?
• Need a guide?
• Want a riksja?
• Have a nice shop for you!
Today we slept in and had breakfast. Packing bags. Around half past eleven we leave for the center one more time, to the tailor to pick up our newly made clothes. We are there for over an hour. The tailor makes some minor adjustments. In the end we leave with a black silk suit and 2 blouses for Ingrid and 2 trousers for Jan. We are very satisfied.
We still have enough time to wander around the ghats. It remains unique. Also those burning ghats; it's impressive but it's not creepy or anything. It belongs to this place. There is something peaceful about it, too, with those goats eating the garlands again. Looked again for a while at the cows being washed in the Ganges. They seem to enjoy it. They are cleaned nicely. Then a blow to the butt. To the side and dry.
We go back to the Dolphin terrace 4 high. There we eat a delicious pancake with honey. Then it's time to say goodbye to Varanasi and head back to the hotel.
Unfortunately, the hotel is just very bad, although we don't feel like it really bothers us. The general toilet (we no longer have a room) is downright gross and does not flush. There is no tap from which any water comes out. Incomprehensible that they do not see that this costs guests!
Around 5 o'clock in the afternoon we leave for the station where we still have to wait 1.5 hours for the train. That waiting is no fun. Fortunately, there are some freight boxes for us to sit on.
We leave around half past seven to arrive in Delhi the next morning.
Last day, Delhi.
This day largely passes by Ingrid because she has started to suffer from stomach and intestines. Fortunately we do have a day room in Delhi so she sleeps for a few hours .
In the evening by bus to the airport. After a tiring night flying and transferring we arrive at home in the morning.
We had a wonderful trip. Well organized by (the local agent of) Shoestring with a great tour guide. We almost always spent the night in a very good hotel. The traveling companions were pleasant.
India.....unforgettable. We will definitely go back to India again; maybe next year already!
Trip made in the period January – February 2006, with Shoestring.
Schagen, april 2006,
photos and report: Ingrid Vogelesang
photo editing and web design:
Jan-Arend van Boeijen
