Chennai, Delhi, Agra, Varanasi India

March 6, 2011 (Day 1)

Today we made it into India. Not knowing what to expect, I went into Chennai with an open mind, hoping for the best. Once the ship was cleared, we took a motorized rickshaw through town to shop/eat. We had the same driver all day, Manni, who was 20. Indians do some type of head bob when they talk which is funny. Apparently its done when they are in agreement with what you’re saying. Later we took a our flight to Delhi. Our journey is only beginning.

March 7, 2011 (Day 2)

 Today we woke up for an early breakfast and then headed to see where Gandhi’s ashes were. After visiting that site and taking many pictures, our bus headed on the road towards our 5 hour journey to Agra. Agra is a popular placed filled with many tourists due to the famous Taj Mahal being present in the city.

After eating lunch, we got to see what I had been the most excited to see in India, the Taj Mahal. It was truly remarkable, with a beautiful infrastructure, down to the fine detail used during the 22 years that it took for it to be built. I took several pictures and also some time just to observe it. We got the opportunity to go inside but had to put on shoe covers first.

After visiting the Taj, we headed back to the same restaurant that we ate lunch at. Lets just say that I stuck to the two “N’s “, naan and noodles. Because 4 people on our trip had birthdays within the past couple of days, we celebrated with cake and wine. Some people smoke shisha, but I decided not to since I don’t smoke.

After leaving the restaurant, we headed to the train station with our tour guide. Once we reached the station I knew that the upcoming 12 hours that I’d be spending on this train headed towards Varanasi would be a time that I’d never forget. The train was a sleeper train, meaning there were “beds” throughout each of the cabins on the train. For starters, we all didn’t know where our 38 seats/beds were, so we kind of just got on the train so that we wouldn’t get left. Once on the train, we walked back and forth through the aisle, trying to din some seats that were reserved for us. The majority of the group had gotten separated from my group of about 11.

When we reached our seats, I knew that I would NOT be laying down for the night and lucky if I even got any sleep. Fortunately I had my iPod charged up for my long trip ahead of me. Surprisingly it gets pretty cool at night in India, which I would had never expected. Luckily I decided to pack a jacket at the last minute in my backpack that I’d be living out of for the 4 days away from the ship.  I zipped my jacket all the way up, placed my hood over my head and covered my face so that only my eyes were visible from the outside. As far as the sleeping position, I placed my backpack in my lap and held it, resting my head on it and kept it close to preserve the body heat that I had within out cabin. The bathroom was what I envisioned it to be, which was a hole in the ground, with two grips on the floor to place your feet on. I believe that people were trying to figure out if I was Indian because when I unzipped my hood, a couple were staring and then said “aha, I told you” O_o.

As of now we still haven’t reached our destination but have a few hours until noon, which  means that we’ll be there soon. I am not surprised that my original hypothesis was right. This would be one night that I’d never forget.