Saturday, October 16, 2010

Ignition India

Here I am, finally in India. Made it to Varanasi at 5:30 this morning after a shitty 23 1/2 hour bus ride. Hopefully that is the worst one I will encounter, because it was a total nerve grinder. After hopping on the bus at Kathmandu at 6am, we arrived at the border and almost immediately jumped on another bus bound for Varanasi. It was a total beast of a bus, the rear axle had no shocks whatsoever and we were lucky enough to be sat right on the rear wheel. Just imagine a machine that stirs up cans of paint. Add to that Emin and I were both sick. I was the better of the two, with a bad cough and head cold I haven't been able to shake for a few days. I felt sorry for Emin who'd had a stomach bug the past couple days that culminated in him barfing out the window of the bus near the border. I'm sure it's not the first time the populace has seen a tourist do that though.

Nepal is totally India Lite. It's exponentially crazier here, Emin actually hit the nail on the head and described it as a set from the moive Land of the Dead, if anyone has ever seen that. All it needs is Dead Reckoning to pull up and launch a couple rockets. First impression is this is not a country you would want to come have a relaxing holiday in.

We're going to do a couple days here in Varanasi and see the Cremation Ghats along the Ganges River, then we'll catch a night train tomorrow to Delhi. I was happy to get through the border without having to provide proof of an onward flight, now I can keep my options totally flexible.

4 comments:

  1. well so much for the 16hr bus ride you thought you were taking. Hoping you don't intend on putting one toe into that water of the Ganges River..yuk. Do you have that movie here, maybe Danelle and I can take a look at what you are seeing "land of the dead". Well take in all you can before you move on and get well so you can get having some fun :) ps say hi to Emin for us, maybe we will get to meet him some day.

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  2. I can hardly wait to hear what the train ride will be like ...lol That bus ride sounded brutal. I'm so glad to hear you have made some new friends along the way to travel with as it makes it so much more fun to share these experiences with others. Any idea how long you will be travelling India for? I read you are off to Delhi and I would assume you will go and see the Taj Mahal sometime after that. You can check off one of the seven wonders off your list after that. Take care and enjoy yourself Kyle.

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  3. I'm not sure exactly how long I'll be here now, a couple months for sure. You bet, the Taj Mahal is within the next week, we're going to do a day trip there.

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  4. Wow I didn't realize you'd be there that long, you'll have seen a lot in that amount of time. Were you meeting up with someone from Canada over there? I remember a girl at your going away party at the pub saying she'd see you there. Also heard rumours Matt (David's friend) may join you along route. That would be great fun !! I would love, love, love to see the Taj Mahal so take some extra special pictures for me will ya !! It is supposed to be just beautiful. Have fun :-)

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