My First Train Journey! April 19th

A woman finds space amongst the chaos at the Delhi train station.

No room? No worries! A couple of straps and she'll be right mate!

A fellow train traveller enjoying the open doorway & the boy i shared some sweets with.

A counrtyside cricket match.

The train from Delhi to get us to Rishikesh left at 15:25. Chelle and I arrived on the platform at 15:23 and the train moved off as soon as we boarded. It turns out our clock was out by half an hour. If it wasn’t for the overpriced rickshaw we took to the station we would’ve been staying another night in “dust bowl Delhi”. The train was chockers, seating was three by three and there was no room for our packs in the overhead racks. No problem, we strapped the packs to the underside of the luggage racks in minutes, as the whole train stared at the crazy foreigners. We made sure they were stowed securely because a mother was nursing her baby directly below one of our packs and I don’t think we would have been too popular if a 20kg pack fell onto mother and baby.

The train ride takes about four and a half hours, with no aircon. Who can complain when it only cost 100 rupees (about 3 bucks)? I spent about two hours sitting in the doorway of the car with the wind in my hair and my feet hanging out the side. We passed by village after town after village. I don’t seem to remember seeing any land that was not inhabited or used for agriculture. We passed hundreds of villages where, due to lack of resources or money, people resort to gathering up the cow shit and baking the patties in the sun. This is then stacked into tall, well constructed towers of dung and used as a heat source in all domestic applications (heating, cooking etc.).

Poverty is around you all the time in India. As I was sitting in the doorway, a young boy dragged himself through the cabin begging for food or money. The boy had lost the use of his tiny deformed legs. I shared some sweets with him and we sat there watching India flicker by like an early animation.

Getting Bendy In Rishikesh!

A Hindu temple situated along the Ganga (Ganges).

A lady, a monkey & a cow all doing their thing on one of the "pedestrian" only bridges!

A brother & sister just trying to get something to eat.

For us Delhi was just a jumping off point to get to Rishikesh in Northern India. If you’re a Beattles fan, you may remember that they came here in the 60’s to meditate, study eastern philosophy and write music along with many other famous musicians of that time! It’s also touted as the yoga capital of the world. Situated along the Ganges it’s a beautiful setting for getting in touch with one’s inner self. The water along this part of the Ganges is clean and clear due to its close proximity to the Himalayas which is the source of the Ganges. The further South you go the dirtier the water gets. Meaning it gets down right nasty and you couldn’t pay me enough to take a dip!

As I write this I’m sitting on our balcony which is situated high atop a hill overlooking the Ganges. It’s a beautiful spot and I can only imagine how lush and green it would be after the rains. As of now it’s a bit of a dust bowl too but nothing like Delhi! And, this is the best part we only pay $6.50 CND per night for this beaut little spot. India is cheap, the accommodation, the food, the yoga, the tea, everything. We’ve pretty much cut our daily expenses in half since leaving Thailand. It’s no wonder some people come here and never leave. Seriously, there are some total hippies here who I swear have been here since the 60’s.

This is what we’ve been up to so far. We’ve shaved Kim’s head on the top and left some party in the back. He looks like a Hare Krishna. Fits right in here he does! I’m still toying with the idea of shaving my hair off. It’s so ridiculously hot here I have no doubt it would make life a lot cooler and therefore more bearable! I’m getting absolutely hammered by mosquitos while Kim hasn’t been bothered at all. The other night we counted them. 56 in total! Can you say itchy?! Oh well, at least malaria isn’t a concern here. We’ve been going to yoga twice a day and we’re realizing just how out of shape we got while lounging on the beach drinking beer in Thailand! (As for Thailand we had such an amazing time, met so many incredible people and shared so many memorable experiences that it makes it hard to put into words. That’s why we haven’t posted anything about our time there yet. It’s coming though so stay tuned!) We’ve been drinking lots of herbal teas and indulging in tasty curries. The food here is spectacular and so inexpensive. Just to give you an idea – we went for a meal last night and had an appetizer, 2 curries, rice, 2 kinds of bread and various non-alcoholic drinks and the grand total for all of that was just under $10 CND. And, get this, that was at a fairly expensive restaurant!

All in all India is shaping up to be a great part of our travels. Yes, India is a land filled with immense poverty and piles of garbage everywhere you look but it’s also a land filled with beautiful people, stunning scenery, culture rich in religious beliefs and strong family ties and a history older than any of us can imagine coming for Canada or Australia. It’s a land where you witness first hand both the best and worst of human nature. There’s no where else like it. It’s planet India!

Planet India!

Dust bowl Delhi!

Kim, a typical Indian guy & a sadhu (holy man).

Just another way of getting things done.

One of our many friends who joined us for a cup of chai!

Bye-bye Bangkok. Hello dust bowl Delhi! New Delhi is, by far, the dirtiest place either of us has ever been to. It’s a hectic city of 12.8 million people, a large population of whom are destitute and live on the street. It breaks your heart to see small, dirty, crusty eyed children begging on the streets or babies being carried by an older sister of 4 or 5 as she rummages through garbage. The poverty in India is of such epic proportions that you can’t help but feel helpless every time you walk out of your hotel. On top of that there’s a constant sea of people, cars, taxis, rickshaws, bicycles, cows and dogs. Everywhere you look there’s garbage. The stench is enough to make you gag sometimes. You have to be careful when walking not to fall into an uncovered manhole or step in a big pile of cow dung. It’s about 40 degrees and super dry which is why we’ve taken to calling it dust bowl Delhi!