15/12/2014 [Agra - Varanasi]
It was nice to have some decent rest again last night - we had a fairly late start this morning and my cold is feeling much better after a good sleep. A few of us went for a stroll through the town this morning, and I enjoyed having a little bit of an insight into daily life in Agra, rather than just seeing the tourist attractions. After lunch, we went to check out the Baby Taj - which was actually built before the real Taj and provided inspiration for its design. It was so beautiful and serene, and I really enjoyed the peace after the craziness of the Taj yesterday! We then moved on to the gardens on the opposite side of the Yamuna River, which mirror those of the Taj Mahal to create the 'perfect paradise'. The weather was a little bit clearer today and there was even a little bit of sunshine around, so we had a really nice view of the Taj Mahal from the banks of the river.
On our way back to our hotel, we came across a little boy who had somehow managed to fall and get his foot stuck between the front wheel and the bicycle frame - the poor little thing was so scared and in a lot of pain from the way his foot was twisted. We stopped to help, along with a group of locals, and it really restored my faith in humanity to see so many people genuinely concerned and trying to help someone in need. Someone had even run to the closest village to collect some tools so that they could dismantle the bike and set him free.
Later this afternoon, we headed off in search of a mall to stock up on snacks for our overnight train journey - it should only take 12 hours, but lately there have been significant delays with the trains due to the fog, so we wanted to be prepared! The mall that we had spotted on the map turned out to be almost deserted and really creepy. I felt like we were going to be chased by zombies at any moment! We eventually found a MegaMart, which is basically an Indian version of Aldi, so we bought an enormous amount of snacks - so many, in fact, that we had to get a tuk-tuk back to the hotel because there was too much to carry. The tuk-tuk driver kept stopping in front of his 'friends' shops and trying to make us go in for a look, but we've been here long enough to know about the commission system now! He eventually got us back to our hotel, where we all ended up hanging out on the rooftop again, just talking and laughing and enjoying each others company.
Last night I accidentally dropped a bunch of my stuff in the toilet - I didn't realise that the front pocket of my daypack was open, so it all fell out when I picked up my bag. I was pretty bummed, because the casualties included my first aid kit, hand sanitiser, face wipes, and my deodorant. Let me tell you, sticking my hand into a toilet to fish out m belongings was definitely not one of my most pleasant experiences here in India! I threw it all straight into the bin, then used HEAPS of my backup hand sanitiser (thanks Mum!) trying to make myself feel clean again. This afternoon, as I was sitting up on the rooftop after checking out of my room, one of the hotel attendants came upstairs and asked who owned the first aid kit and hand sanitiser that he was holding - he had dug them out of the rubbish bin for some reason. I explained that they had fallen into the toilet, which is why I had thrown them away... he simply shrugged, and proceeded to put them on a shelf in the kitchen to keep. Remind me never to ask for a bandaid here!
After dinner we had a short bus trip to the nearby train station - the bus ride turned into a mini karaoke party when the driver randomly cranked 'Sexy Eyes' on his stereo, and we all sang and danced crazily and attempted to do our group leader's trademark 'snake' dance. When we arrived at the station, we were informed that the train had been delayed by an hour or so, so we were taken to a waiting room which smelled like a toilet. While we were hanging out in there, I got chatting to two Italian girls who live in Australia. They were both really lovely and we had a great chat about our experiences in India so far. By the time the train arrived it was quite late at night, so we set up our beds and went to sleep shortly after boarding.
16/12/2014 [Varanasi]
I'm not sure that I slept at all last night. I dozed on and off all night, but I was pretty paranoid about our luggage being stolen, and the random Indian guy sharing our cabin kept climbing in and out of bed, somehow using all of our beds in the process of climbing. The train ended up being delayed because of the fog, so we ended up being on the train for five extra hours. We put this time to good use, by devouring an entire 1kg bag of peanut brittle between us - our sugar highs made for some very amusing games of charades and 'Heads Up'!
The random Indian guy who was sharing our booth turned out to be a bit of a creep - he came and sat next to me on the bench, and put his hand on my knee. When I attempted to move away, he moved even closer and had me cornered between the wall, a table, and him - with his hand still on my knee, which was quite uncomfortable. Our group leader soon came to my rescue though, and arranged for him to move somewhere else so we had no more issues with him.
When we eventually arrived at Varanasi, we went for an evening walk along the Ganges River and saw the sacred place where they perform human cremations on the banks of the river. This was a very powerful and moving moment, and one that I think will stay with me forever. You could feel the spirituality in the air, as well as a certain heaviness.
I'm not sure yet whether I will like Varanasi. I get the feeling it's a place you will either love or hate - hopefully it's a place that I love!
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