India - the home of wandering cows and floating bodies

Amazingly I am typing this short extract from underneath a mosquito net. Yes, in India I made the painful discovery that I am definitely allergic to mosquitoes. As I have never been allergic to anything before in my life, I was very surprised however it could not be denied when my whole forearm decided to swell up from one bite. Luckily for me India is an amazing country and has been able to take my mind off the agonising pain!

Our first stop was Amritsar where we discovered alcohol in India was free flowing and there were actually bars. Whilst others went to the Golden Temple and were being all cultured I went back to my Welsh roots and propped the bar up with my favourite Irish squaddie (he was much better at it than me, as after a couple of beers I had to have an afternoon nap)! And, that was pretty much Amritsar, sorry!

The following day we encountered a long drive to Delhi where I discovered Indian food is actually amazing. I have now turned vegetarian in a desperate attempt to avoid ‘Delhi Belly’, an illness which has struck many of our group down, India supplies vegetarian food in vast amounts and the curry is amazing (much better than anything you will get in your local Indian and at half the price). We ate and we drank, safe in the knowledge we would be returning to Delhi in a couple of days and could see the place then. Oh and England lost the rugby, what a pity!

We ended up seeing Delhi a lot sooner than we thought as the following morning we were dropped near the Red Fort, India’s largest mosque and the bazaar. We went and saw all of these things (see, I can be cultured when I need to be) and made up our own history for them instead of paying for a guide (to be honest we have heard so much history, all the stories are pretty much the same so I don’t think we did a bad job although deciding the ‘stream of paradise’ was a bowling alley may have been taking things a bit far). At the mosque I was given an attractive blanket to wear over my skirt and watched as local people and some stupid non-local people drank holy water from a big pond which the pigeons had just been pooing in, and they wonder why they get sick! The mosque was amazingly beautiful and very inviting.

We left Delhi to head to the Corbett Tiger Reserve where I had high hopes of seeing a real life tiger. We found the reserve, were warned monkeys were likely to come in our tents and maul us, shrugged this warning off with Ozbus spirit and congregated around the campfire before another great India meal was served. The next morning we were up bright and early ready for our safaris where we saw…spotted deer and black faced monkeys. NO TIGERS! That afternoon we sunbathed and lounged for the first time in six weeks and as the sun began to set we set out on an elephant safari where again we saw, spotted deer and black faced monkeys! Our elephant, Helena was gorgeous and safely delivered us back in time for another amazing Indian meal.

The following day we returned to Delhi where we found a bar (for a change). I think if you make alcohol inaccessible to Western people for a certain amount of time (i.e. Iran and Pakistan) then it is inevitable they will find bars the most attractive option when they get to a city which has them! On our way to the bar we decided to squeeze four people into a tuk-tuk (small automobile powered by a lawnmower engine) and our South African traveller decided to try and strike up a conversation with the driver. On realising he said ‘yes’ to everything she promptly told him that and then asked him if his mother was a man. Strange question but more strange was his answer, ‘yes’.

Luckily a cultured day was planned for the next day in India with a visit to the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately this day was marred not by the hangovers, but by the announcement from my favourite Irish squaddie that he was to leave the group for a few days to ‘have some space’. Goodbyes were said, not from me, I do not believe in saying goodbye unless you do not plan on seeing someone again, tears were shed and then the announcement that we will not be going across the friendship highway to China and Laos was made. I think after this we could all have ‘done a Diana’ at the Taj Mahal but again the Ozbus spirit came out and we enjoyed the day as best we can.

As for the Taj Mahal itself, it is amazing. There is little else to say.

We moved on from the Taj Mahal to Varanasi, the home of the Hindu faith. Hear we were awoken at 4am to see the sunrise and funerals along the Ganges. We took a boat ride and our guide took us to the area where cremations are performed which is right on the riverbed. As we watched the burning a body was brought down, covered in bright cloth and was laid by the edge of the river. This body was not to be cremated. Monks, children under the age of five and cobra bite victims are classed as more holy and are their bodies therefore have stones tied to them and are taken to the middle of the river and thrown in. The Ganges is an extremely religious place for Hindus. They wash their sins away each morning in the river, they each have a vile of river water which they keep with them, for they are to drink this with their dying breath to ensure entry into heaven. Their ashes are scattered in the river. To watch so many people wash away their sins in water that is so dirty is crazy, but this is their belief.

Afterwards we made our way back to the hotel, had a bit of a sleep, a play on the internet and a lovely afternoon by the pool with a beer. In the evening we went back to the river to see more ceremonies being performed where people swing fire around, and drop bits of the flame into the water. We were hassled by boat owners asking us to come and watch more cremations (apparently they would be much better burning bodies than the ones we saw that morning), were blessed by god with a red spot being put on our foreheads and were harassed by the cutest little girl who wanted us to buy some face paint from her (I gave her 10 rupees but she still wanted me to buy the bloody facepaint!).

India has been an am amazing country. The food, which I will say, I was a little afraid of before coming here, has been the best so far. I have loved every meal. I would recommend India to anyone I knew. It is so far removed from the life I know and so interesting to see the way people live. The people here are Hindu and have respect for everyone and everything and that is obvious when you are here. I understand now, why people come here and feel the need to help this country. I have left out of my ramblings all mention of the beggar children I have seen, the way they cling to your leg desperate for money because I do not want to taint the view of India. This is a poor country but an amazing one too. The only thing I would change about this visit was that my favourite Irish squaddie had not left and I pray that he is returned safely to us by the time I write my next instalment.