Sightseeing with Sebastiaan

Once again, I have a lot of catching up to do. With all the facinating things going on, that is truly a challenge, but this time I really am going to try my best to summarize!

Sebastiaan and I wasted no time in hitting the road as we left the comforts of Delhi on a tincan government bus to Agra. Along the way, we befriended Gabor, a nice hungarian that was biking though India with an occasional bus ride on the long stretches. We arrived late at night and while Sebas and I caught a rickshaw, Gabor raced behind us. I was really quite jealous that he had his own wheels - I miss a good workout terribly! In the morning we rose early to get the promised sunrise view of the Taj Mahal from our roof, but instead found a smoggy, faded outline of the famed mosoleum. The area around the Taj was cram-packed with ugly cement tenements and hotels, but the life going on was quite interesting to watch from above. We had one focus. This image we have seen so many times, all over the world, the whole reason we were here in the first place, was barely holding back the modern, conjested, ugly weight squeezing it from all sides. Kids were going to school and people were opening up shops, seemingly unaware of what was on the other side of that great wall - did they not realize they lived right next to the Taj Mahal? Of course they did, otherwise there would not be so many foreigners in their way.

We toured the sights. Agra Fort, the "baby taj", the river but most of our time was spent in awe of the great Taj Mahal and believe me, it is everything they say it is and more. I had my doubts. At $18 a ticket, its easily the most expensive sight in all of India and sometimes these places that are so over exposed can be disappointing but I could have spent the entire day just sitting on the clean white marble surrounding the Taj (everyone must remove their shoes before climbing up to the platform). My feet absorbed the energy, my imagination sparked and I had the rare sense that lifeless stone can be hewn by human heart and infused with spirit to emenate a timeless indescribable energy even now, 400 years later. I just wished I could appreciate it all by myself, somehow have a personal viewing... Im not often that impressed.

Sebas also got the chance to peddal our cycle rickshaw uphill and when we ran into our friend Gabor again after getting seperated he joined us for the Best Thali (typical Indian meal served on a metal plate with several small servings of various dishes - dal, mixed veg etc and chapati) in town, at a locals only place Id heard about. The same helpful local had convinced me to stop in Orchha on our way to Khajuraho which turned out to be incredible - it pays to listen to the locals!

Orchha, which means "hidden place", truly is like a secret garden. Everywere you looked, there were ruins of palaces and temples and one massive fort across the wide river running through town. While Sebas paid the Rs250 for the main sights, I chose to wander off into the countryside and explore the other hidden treasures Indiana Jones style. I followed some goats through an abandoned archway to a spot on the river where locals were doing laundry and hacked my way through overgrowth to an edifice whispering stories of its past... all to myself! I loved it!

Sebas had his first brush with Hinduism as we shared chai with the priest of a temple we came upon and beamed to me with his first tika (colorful blessing placed on the forehead). To my great disappointment, our schedule did not allow us to remain another day and we had to return to catch our bus to Khajuraho, famous for its Kama Sutra Temples.

The temples of Khajuraho had some of the most intricate carving I have seen in India and reminded me of the carvings of Copan in Honduras. The subect matter of course, differed vastly. To be honest though, it was not all ancient, wild sexual positions, but rather an open display of day to day life. It was more a celebration of woman with women writing letters, bathing, battle scenes, even agriculture - and yes, wild sexual positions. It was interesting to see some carvings covering their eyes, or looking away as well as some quite interested in what was going on - there was a lot of life and movement in that simple stone.

We met a young boy of about 12yrs old that helped us rent bikes and took us to the temples outside town. We spent a wonder afternoon peddaling around the old village, everything was SO photogenic but I didnt want to interupt the scene by pulling out my camera. I also discovered a new fruit called sandala in Hindi, maybe waterfruit in english? For those that know me, it was definitely a new fruit day in both senses of the phrase!

From there we took a bus and a train to Varanassi, Indias holiest city for Diwali, Indias biggest holiday. It is a celebration of light and the triumph of good over evil and one of the things Ive wanted to witness since I started learning about India. Although I believe its a place that does not reveal itself to most visitors, we were there during a special time and I think we had superb timing. As one of Indias largest cities we again encountered pollution and crowds and overwhelming smells. I was beginning to fear that Sebastiaan was going to take away a very negative view of the country Ive come to adore.

We explored the maze of alleyways, toured a silk factory, saw young boys that had been taken in from the street to learn the art of embroidery for free room and board, joined briefly in a cricket match with the backdrop of ancient temples (no matter how many times I play, Im still rubbish, but at least I didnt hold the bat like in baseball as Sebastiaan! ;) and finally made our way down to the dirty (to put it nicely) Ganges. We strolled along the ghats until we came to the main ghat where Sebas was convinced to get a whole-body, two-person massage while I people watched - there was so much to see! People with shaved heads coming to bathe after bringing their loved ones to the burning ghats, nearly naked yogis with dreadlock behives writhing atop their ash covered bodies, tourists with cameras pointed in all directions... again, such life!

We hired a boat to give us a tour and against my desires, we took a brief tour of the burning ghats. I was very uncomfortable there to say the least, the cessation of life there... I dont know, to a Hindu its the release of the spirit from the rebirth process so its a happy occasion, but for me... well too many thoughts to express here. I also dont hang out at cemeteries to watch burials, go figure.

The best part of our stay in Varanassi was upon returning to the main ghat we were ushured to another boat to watch the Diwali great puja (prayer ceremony). Again, I cant explain everything that happened here, but it was a magnificent sight, filled with color and fire and light and fireworks and music and chanting... As many people as could fit in the stairs and as many as had been lucky enough to be out on the water watched in a glow and immediately afterwards the whole city errupted in explosions. The Indians love their ear-bursting bombs! The great thing is that Ive seen plenty of fireworks in my time, but in the states its all very controlled. Here, I was getting showers of sparks coming down on my head from fire-fountains on rooftops. Rockets were shooting every-which way and around every corner we had to see if kids were covering their ears from a cherrybomb they had lit in the middle of the alley... at our feet. It was so much fun! We were invited to light fireworks on the rooftop of a shopkeeper and I know the sight and sound of pyrotechnics all around us and giant sparklers in our hands will be with me for a long time hence!

The next day we visited temples, Sebas witnessed the craze that came over a large group of boys at a parade we were watching when I was discovered and got a couple good pictures to prove it and finally a long trip (including our bus driving in the dark with no lights) brought us to the border of...

Nepal!!!