Exploring India's Spiritual Mecca

First of all, Merry Christmas!! It is December 25th and Cassie and I are relaxing in Delhi for the day before heading to Jodhpur tomorrow...

Varanasi was incredibly unique. By the 3rd day we had a pretty good grasp of things. The time volunteering at the school was interesting, as they asked us to come back at 12;30pm, which we did. We then helped serve lunch and were told that the school day was over! So much for that- but it was great to see the kids, interact with them and get to know their lives a bit better. Their English lesson for the days was Q: "What is the name of your school" A: "My school name is Learn for Life." Cassie and I had all of these extravagant plans of teaching them an English sounds song or maybe a Christmas song and didn't get to do either. The teachers overplanned, once again!

We treated ourselves to a spa afternoon at Hotel Surya; the treatment we chose included an Ayurvedic massage and a steam bath/shower which was so nice considering our hotel did not have hot water. The ladies were so sweet, though one insisted on watching me get dressed and then gave me a thumbs up while saying "verrry nice!" haha

We also spent time along the ghats and saw the evening festivals consisting of rituals and cremations. One ghat, the Burning Ghat, has cremations all day and this is where the bodies go that are carried along the path that we encountered on the first day. Of course cameras were not allowed so we have the memories only (though burning bodies are not what they are all cracked up to be! Except maybe slightly disturbing!) The next morning we were up early to take a sunrise boat ride along the ghats which was AMAZING. I am so glad that we chose to take the boat ride, it was one hour and only 100 rupees. The sunrise was beautiful and being in the water was very peaceful, even though there were so many other boats around. It is seen a purifying to bathe in the Ganges River so we also got the chance to see many people bathing, dipping, praying in the Ganges River (which is very polluted; mad props to those who venture in!). The boat ride has been one of my favourite experiences so far.

We then made it for a morning yoga class at Om Shanti. The class was 2 hours long and consisted of breathing exercises, 80 minutes of yoga, and then a meditation at the end. It was only Cassie and I so we had our instructor all to ourselves. He was very nice and forgiving at our lack of flexibility!!

After eating lunch at our favourite little bakery, we went to check out of our hotel and head to Delhi. The train ride was a much better experience that the 3 bed per side sardine can experience a few nights previous. We actually got a pillow, sheets, and a blanket! It was heaven! I didn't even have to put on my sweater that was purchased from a men's shop in Agra! (Oh yea... the sweater is HOT)

All in all, Varanasi is not to be missed. It is an amazing assortment of Hindu and Muslim cultures and the oldest city in India. The 'old' aspect has been well-preserved... and not to mention the gorgeous silk fabric they are known for!!

We are now in Delhi, taking it easy on Christmas Day. We are hoping to see a Bollywood film tonight, so that should be fun!!

Hope Santa is good to you all!!!! xo

Taj Mahal, sleep train, Varanasi = very crazy!

Hello!!!
Yesterday we went to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and it was so beautiful. Though the gates didn't open until 7am, it was still so peaceful to be there with 40 or so others instead of hundreds! We managed to get some great shots, and even got some jumping shots!! I will definitely post when back home. It was stunning- how else can it be explained? Magical. Then we went to explore Fahetma(sp?) Sikri, the capital of Akbar the Great, which is 40 minutes outside of Agra. Akbar's Mausoleum is also spectacular. It is located in Agra and again adds to the amazing collection of architectural wonders in India.
In the evening we set off to Varanasi via the night train. We bought a sleeper ticket, which ended up being 3 beds to a side = squishy sardines!!! Cass and I bear-hugged our packs (I brought my bike lock and locked it to the pole) and tried to sleep. Emphasize tried. We are currenty running on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours so yea... kind of tired!! Do all men in India snore?? I swear, snores were heard round the train last night. My favourite was this one guy who was snoring, but it sounded like he was choking through his nostrils. It was so sporadic and very distracting! Thank goodness my iPod had a great snooze playlist, which helped me.
So we made it to Varanasi and our hostel is outside the Old City, which is a lot safer for women. The Old City is like a crazy maze and there are soo many people. While walking to the ghats today we saw (no lie) about 6 bodies being carried to th ghats. The bodies were covered in orange cloth and flowers are were getting ready for cremation. The Ganges River is te most spiritual place in India so many people are cremated here. Many people also come here on a pilgrimage. Tomorrow we will see the evening festival and will also take a boat ride along the ghats. I can't wait.
Tomorrow morning Cassie and I are going to volunteer at a school nearby that helps children learn the basics of English. It was created by the owner of a German bakery, and they now even have a program to empower the women of the community - very cool. I will let you know how it goes!!
Until then - good night and namaste.
Lisa xo

I Resolve to Blog More for 2009... here is a story from India

Ok... so my last post was waaaayyy back in September. Whoops. If it is any consolation I have been having a lot of fun with a lot of work mixed in?!

Right now we are on Christmas holidays and Cass and I are in India. We arrived into Delhi yesterday after 21 hours of travel! We toughed it out, and it was all worth it... or has been so far! We didn't get to spend too much time exploring Delhi as we left for Agra this morning on the train.

The train ride was an experience in itself; it was great!!! We were put with the locals because all of the other (better perhaps?) seats were sold out. I tell you though, we got the best seats in my opinion!! The car we were in was packed, with people standing in the aisles and then entrepreneurs were bustling through selling coffee/tea/breakfast/samosas/newspapers, etc. It was BUSY! The train ride was 3 hours, but it was a great time to just watch people and watch the countryside pass by. And to think... we only paid 75 rupees... less that $2 CAD!!

I will try to add more tidbits as we go along...

Painful memory of the day... I was enjoying the views of Agra Fort when I turned the corner... and caught a guy uhmmmm "pleasuring" himself. I almost died. And barfed. At the same time. So what did I do? Well, flight or fight kicked in and I ran. I ran so fast that I scared Cassie coming around the corner. Oh yea... maybe a mix between Napoleon Dynamite and Forrest Gump. Hopefully the trauma level hit it's peak for the trip...