The Worst Day of my Life (Seriously)

**I posted 2 entries today... check out the post below this one for a giant India update.

Before I close the India chapter, I thought I'd share the worst day of my life. It begins in Darjeeling where we are scheduled to take a 16 or 17 hour, overnight train ride to Varanasi. According to Lonely Planet, the city is one of the holiest spots in the Hindu religion. The diseased and dying migrate to Varanasi (which is situated on the Ganges river) in hopes of dying along the river banks. Because of the religious significance, the city is jampacked with tourists hoping to catch a glimpse at one of the body-burning ceremonies, rickshaw drivers trying to overcharge you for a tour of the city, and the terminally ill. I knew that Varanasi would be the most shocking part of India, but what I didn't realize was that the train ride to the city would be the most terrifying experience of my life.

Per a suggestion from Marco, a fellow traveler we met in Darjeeling, the third class sleeper train was the way to travel; it was cheap, comfortable, and totally safe. Marco was clearly smoking something, because the second I set foot in the train car I wanted to turn back. There were 8 beds per compartment and about 8 compartments in each train car. If you do the math, there should have been 64 people per car; but India is not logical and people do not follow rules.

In our 8-person compartment there were 14 people crammed in. Men slept 2 to a bed that was 1/2 the size of a twin, and a few others slept like sardines on the floor. (We reserved one bed per person and were the only people in the train who slept solo). There were over 100 people, easily, shoved into our non-airconditioned train car. The smell was horrific: a mix of stale air, body odor, feces, fried food, and urine. At each stop peddlers came through trying to sell chai tea from a dirty kettle or some fried dough balls covered in flies.

WARNING: The next paragraph is slightly graphic.

I don't even want to get into the bathroom situation. The floor was covered in a half-inch thick layer of God knows what and the smell made me gag. I walked in and immediatey turned around, grabbed a pack of antibacterial wipes, and wrapped a scarf around my face to mask the scent. A few hours later I tried to brave the bathroom again, but the second time was so much worse. It's as if the entire train splatter painted the bathroom. No more details necessary.

As I mentioned before, people come to Varanasi to die; therefore, the train is packed with the diseased and dying. They sleep along side of you in the cars, they sit in their own feces in between the cars, and they hack, cough, and excrete wherever they please. I think we were the only tourists on the train, which only added to our discomfort; people stared at us for hours at a time. The whole situation was awful and depressing.

Here is an excerpt from Brett's blog that describes the train ride:

"On the train, we were some of the only people who had purchased an individual bed. Most people slept two to a bed with two or three other people on the floor between them. Feet and hands poked out from every crevice. Eyes peered over the beds and in between broken boards. The stares were unnerving and the smells were revolting. People slept in feces near the bathrooms--lying in the dark space between cars too weak to move. Our train crept along at a pace that makes the FDR during rushhour seem like an abandoned highway in middle America...
The whole experience felt like a nightmare from which one cannot wake. I kept thinking that if I only pinched myself a bit harder, I would wake up somewhere comfortable or tolerable, but all I could see were hundreds of people, poor, dirty, and desperate. I clutched my passport and money belt tighter." I think that sums it up pretty well.

I was emotionally spent after 10 hours on the train and on the verge of a breakdown. I hadn't slept more than 2.5 hours, I felt so dirty, and I had to pee. Then we found out that our train was indefinitely delayed. We were stranded in Patna, 7 hours outside of Varanasi.

With no other options, we jumped off the train from hell and decided to hire a car to Varanasi. That is when I saw it: the bodies of two young men huddled together, dead, and covered in flies. I lost it. I broke into tears and wanted nothing more than to be safe, comfortable, and as far away from India as possible.

Hiring a car proved to be impossible. The only tourist agency in the city tried to overcharge us (shocking, I know!) and when we tried to discuss the details about 50 people swarmed us. They just came to stare, but the crowd was so big that we couldn't move. An hour later we were strong-armed into buying another train ticket and booking it to Varanasi.

We safely made it to Varanasi after 20+ hours, but I have never been more miserable, dirty, or tired in my entire life. This experience was the last straw for our group; it was time to get out of India. After reading this you might think we were being prissy, but I can honestly say that the things we saw on the train were some of the most awful, heartbreaking sights I have seen on my trip.

On a more positive note, this was my rock bottom. Everything post-Varanasi (sans the motorbike accident) has been absolutely amazing. I'll update more when I can!

xoxo

Highlights from India

Unfortunately my laptop broke and my camera only works 10% of the time. I'm going to go ahead and use my broken electronics as an excuse for why I haven't posted in over a month. Sorry for the delay. (Also, if you want an even more up-to-date post, check out Brett's blog. His most recent entry is a bullet-pointed list we made up of all the things we don't have time to blog about).
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When I left India I was dirty, tired, and (probably for the first time in my life) speechless. It took me over a month to digest everything I saw and experienced... not to mention their spicy curries. That being said, this entry is going to be a highlight reel of sorts, but I'll save my scariest, saddest, funniest, grossest, and weirdest stories for separate posts.

I. Hippie Paradise: A few Days in Dharamsala (aka MacLeodganj)

While Avery was back in the States sorting out her passport/visa stuff, Seth and I fled from the Delhi heat and booked it up north to Dharamsala. This city/town/village is set in the foothills of the Himalayas and acts as a capital for the Tibetan government-in-exile and homebase for the Dalai Lama.

The Abridged Version:
-We visited (and loved) all of the major tourist attractions: the Dalai Lama's temple complex, the Tibetan Refugee museum, etc.
-We freed ourselves from our bad karma by spinning the Mani Prayer Wheels. (Side note: I decided that over the past year I must have been a terrible person. Spinning the wheels did NOTHING for my karma; the proof is in the motorcycle accident, Varanasi train ride, and hellish overnight bus trips. I'll get more into my string of bad luck later).
-We got suckered into buying over-priced prayer beads. But they're from Dharamsala, I keep telling myself.
-We helped Tibetan refugees improve their English as they told us their exile stories.
-We meditated and got in touch with our Buddhist sides. Om.
-I drank 2 pots of tea per day.
-We met the Dalai Lama.

Okay, the last one is a lie... he was in NYC when we were in Dharamsala. Go figure.

II. A Night at the Golden Temple

On our way back to Delhi, Sennai dropped us off in Amritsar to see the Golden Temple. This is one of the most holy and significant temples in the Sikh religion with thousands of pilgrims visiting the temple daily.

Long Story Short:

-We ate in the communal kitchen with hundreds of other pilgrims. The kitchen is run by volunteers and feeds every person that comes into the temple. The food was pretty debatable, but I had a piece of bread and called it a day. Seth, on the other hand, devoured every last bit of the gray, goopy curry.

-We got to see the priests putting the scriptures to bed. According to Sennai, this is a rare occurance and a very cool thing to see. I would have to agree.

-The temple is incredible. We went at night and the reflection of the temple in it's surrounding lake was beautiful. Sennai also agreed that the reflection was pretty and tried to take artistic shots of the temple and the lake. The pictures are terrible, at best, but the man tried. (Seth will be posting Sennai's shots in the near future).

-Before this whole pilgrimage to Amritsar, Sennai dropped us off at the India-Pakistani border for the changing of the guard ceremony. It was hot, muggy, and Yom Kippur (and Seth was observing the holiday). Although Seth was feeling faint, we still had a good time. The area was PACKED with Indian tourists chanting, singing, and dancing and the guards were completely synchronized. I have a video of the event, but it won't let me upload.

III. Sunrise Seranades at the Taj/Brett Joins the Group

So for some reason we always get talked into taking sunrise tours/trips/excursions. Why do we willingly wake up at 4 to do this sort of thing? Pictures look better in the early hours. It's less crowded than at noon. Sunrise is peaceful. Who knows? But the Taj at 6am could not be cooler. Oh, and Brett flew in from China to travel with us through December.

Quickly:

-The Taj is way more impressive in person. I know this is obvious, but I wasn't too keen on seeing it in the beginning. I assumed that this was an Eiffel Tower/Statue of Liberty type thing that I could see a picture of and be perfectly saisfied. No way.

-We had an awesome tour guide who not only dressed like he was a cast member of Saturday Night Fever, but also told us little bits and pieces of lesser known Taj trivia.

-We met a 60-somthing year old Taiwanese man who seranaded us as the sun came up. He proceeded to tell us how Taiwan wants to be the 51st American state; after he chanted Tai-wan-five-one! he would do a little jig and awkwardly laugh. Laslty, he told me that next year he's taking his girfriend to the Taj at sunrise (because it's so romantic) and he will sing to her and if he can't help himself, he will touch her. Inappropriate? I think so, but the man was hilarious.

IV. Sucking it up and Hiking the Himalayas/Avery Returns

Some how I was talked into signing up for a 3-day trek through the Indian and Nepali (Nepalese?) Himalayas. As you know, I don't typically engage in any sort of outdoorsy activities, but the boys pitched the idea, argued that it was a once in a lifetime thing, and convinced me that seeing Mount Everest would be worth every rupee. To physically prepare I combed through Darjeeling's markets and bought a big, itchy sweater, a knit hat, and some baggy socks. (I looked gross, obviously). To mentally prepare I begged the boys not to hike too far in front of me.

In Short:

-We hired a guide, named Buddha, to lead us on our trek.

-The actual hiking was really fun and not too exhausting. I kept up with the boys the whole time.

-The Himalayas are unbelievably gorgeous (I have 384204 pictures on my semi-broken camera) and the people in Nepal could not have been more inviting.

-We were supposed to see Everest on our second day of trekking, but a serious rainstorm crushed that dream. I am still pretty bitter.

-The rain was so heavy that the threat of landslides and hypothermia kept all of the hikers from climbing. That means we stayed in a Nepali guesthouse for 24 hours playing cards, drinking tea and some weird mustard beer, and trying to keep warm. They don't have heaters up in the mountains.

-Me and the boys had to share one queen-sized bed and use 12 comforters to keep from freezing during the night.

-On the third day we got to see the third highest Himalayan peak, Mount Kangchengjunga.


V. Operation Get Me Out of India

Overall, my feelings on India are completely polarized. On one hand, the diversity, holy sights, and culture are unbelievable and unlike anything I have ever seen before. On the other hand, the dirt, poverty, and constant chaos are absolutely jarring. I think I am oversimplifying it by saying I was culture shocked.

Our original itinerary had us gallivanting all over India for about five weeks; however, after three and a half the vote was unanimous: we were over India. I was a bit disheartened, mostly because I was SO excited for the Indian portion of my trip. All summer I learned about the entire country, read India-related books (of the travel and fiction variety), and had a few lengthy discussions with my Hindu Lit professor about his time in India; despite my research, I could not have been more unprepared. At this point Avery decided to part ways and the boys and I changed flights around and decided to take an island vacation from our vacation. Sun, beaches, bars, what could be better?

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I hope this post will tide you over for a few days, but here's what's coming next:

-Taking a 24 hour train (stuffed with diseased and dying people) to Varanasi. (Yes, I will be backtracking to India, but this experience deserves its own post).

-Being a beach bum in Ko Chang (Thailand)

-My motorbike accident (also in Ko Chang)

-Going on a safari and exploring the rainforests in Sri Lanka

-Why I absolutely LOVE Vietnam and never want to leave

Oh, and it's official: i'll be home at 4:30pm on December 6th. Let the countdown begin!

xoxo