Made it to Varanasi!

After waiting in a small airport for over six hours with food/water only provided by the airline or OAT, we boarded our local carrier (Vistara) and landed in Varanasi at 9:15pm. We were jubilant and exhausted at the same time upon landing! The 30-minute journey to the hotel was fun because there were dozens of weddings taking place along the route. One after the other....so colorful and lavish and loud. Abhi fed us pizza and rum on the bus.

Below are some photos of some of my travel mates playing games I made up at the airport. When you have time to kill and a lot of space, but no ball, there’s always some kind of sport to be played! It’s always interesting to me to see who comes over to do something “athletic,” and I wasn’t one bit surprised: Abhi, Charlie, Diane, and Tim.

In the first game we had to kick a water bottle cap down the floor and get a “goal” without touching the two red borders on the floor. Abhi was the winner (he did it in 5 kicks twice!) and Diane came in second. In the second game we had to toss caps into Sharon’s neck thing (those “braces” for traveling). You stood close and tossed it once, then backed up a tile and got two chances, then backed up again and got three chances, etc. I think Charlie did the best at that one.

Tim kicks the cap as Abhi intently observes

Charlie tosses the cap as Diane and Tim observe

Charlie in action!

Panna National Park

Hello from the Khajuraho Airport, where there is only one outgoing flight a day and the one today is delayed several hours. Ugh. We were supposed to leave for Varanasi at 2:30am but that time kept getting pushed out further and further and now we’re not supposed to leave until 7:50pm!!!! I guess the incoming plane is coming from Delhi and the delay has something to do with the night landing. Who knows. We’re just sitting around, waiting, waiting, waiting. The thing is...this airport is so small that there are no restaurants or shops or ANYTHING. They gave everyone a boxed lunch, which was really nice but I will definitely need more food soon.

Our plans have changed for the day, obviously. Once we got settled, we were supposed to do some sort of musical thing and the women were supposed to dress up in saris and then we were to have our farewell dinner. So at least it isn’t anything major that we’re missing. The flight is only 40 minutes long!

The new plan is to eat a very late dinner at the hotel when we arrive and then still do all our Ganges River activities tomorrow. And have our farewell dinner tomorrow. Right now it’s 4pm, so four more hours to go.

Below are some photos of our safari this morning. (I went with Paul, Diane, and Charlie). We didn’t see any tigers, but we saw paw prints, heard deer alarm calls, and also heard a tiger growling! Our naturalist, Mint, said it was probably a female tiger calling her cub. We had boxed breakfasts from the hotel, and ate them at a spot high above overlooking a river. While there, an American family (Mom, Dad, two adult daughters) came over and chatted with us. Turns out the older daughter got her undergrad at Loyola in Chicago! And then she worked downtown for a while. So we talked about Rogers Park for a while. Small world!

The best part happened toward the end when I happened to be facing forward in our stopped Jeep and saw a tiger! “There’s one!” I shouted, and the Jeep lurched forward and sped toward where I saw it. It had walked across the road about 50 feet, past a mound of dirt. I was wrong about it being a tiger—Mint knew right away that it was a leopard, which really excited him because seeing leopards is less common than seeing tigers. Yay! When we stopped we could see the leopard in the tall grass, walking slowly away from us but turning around every now and then to look at us. Sooo cool!

Now it’s 4:16. I hope we get out of here tonight.

Morning mist

Ari, our driver 

 

Savannah

Tiger cub prints

The entrance

Safari traffic jam

Khajuraho Jain Temples

The Jain temples looked like twins of the Hindi ones, but Abhi pointed out some differences. Jainism was formed when people who did not believe in the caste system broke away from Hinduism. The temple area was tiny compared to the beautiful park setting of the Hindu temples. Also, many of the temples were ruined, so the broken parts were replaced with concrete painted yellow. One major difference is that there are monks who still live and practice their religion in the Jain temple complex.  They’re all women, and they wear white robes and carry beautiful peacock feather brooms that they sweep the ground with as they walk because they don’t want to harm any ants or other living things. We had to take shoes and socks off in the entire place, not just inside the temples.

We actually stumbled upon a monk teaching a teenaged girl in one of the temples. Abhi asked the woman if we could sit down and talk to her, and she kindly said we could. She was very talkative (through translation), and the main thing she wanted us to take back with us is the promise to eat less meat than we usually do. She just kept saying it! She said if we ate meat four times a week, we should reduce it to one, etc. Abhi told her I was a pescatarian, so my “job” is to eat fish and eggs only twice a week. She was very passionate about a non-meat diet.

A Jain monk with her peacock broom

Ancient and reconstructed temples

The Jain monk we talked to, with her student

Not long after we visited the Jain temples, we went to an outdoor sound and light show that told the history of the temples. Then we walked over to a restaurant and had dinner outside. I really enjoy talking to the people in my group. So many interesting stories!

Tomorrow morning Charlie, Diane, Paul, and I are going on a safari to a tiger park called Panna. It’s an option to do that we have to pay for, but since 4 of us are going, it will only be 1875 rupees each, which is just over $25. (I am a pro now at rupee to dollar conversion!) Since we have to meet in the lobby at 5:30am, Abhi has already arranged for us to have boxed breakfasts to eat on the road. The four of us are bound and determined to see a tiger, and this is our last chance! Apparently a group that went today saw a mother with her cub. Crossing my fingers! Bob and Teddy are going to a waterfall, and everyone else is just hanging out at the hotel. The six going on excursions will be back around 10:30, and then we’re all eating lunch at 11:15 before we catch a flight to Varanasi from the airport in town.

We’re one of the last OAT groups that is fortunate to visit Khajuraho. The long, crazy highway drive to get here doesn’t get good reviews, and I think the airport is probably going to close soon. It’s really sad because this small city depends so much on tourism. There are several high-end hotels and the temples really put this place on the map.

Hey, how did my formatting work so well this time?!

Khajuraho Hindu Temples

What a great day so far! I went to the gym and Charlie and Diane were there too (it’s always us three!), then had breakfast, then boarded the bus for the 10-minute bus ride to the 1000-year-old Hindu temples. Absolutely breathtaking! (Sorry I keep using the same words over and over!) Abhi handed us over to a local guide named Ashwami, but Abhi always called him Peter Sellers because of his likeness to him. 

It was very interesting to learn about the temples, including all the stories embedded in the sandstone, many of them erotic. Think kama sutra. After he spoke for an hour or so, we could explore on our own for 45 minutes. We could even climb up and go inside them. It was like being inside a living museum but not exactly a museum because you could touch and climb. Loved being there. So peaceful, too, away from the traffic and honking and pollution. The temples are scattered across a very large park with no litter. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage site. They look similar to the temples in Angkor Wat but they’re older. Some people in my group have been to Angkor Wat and said another difference is the intricacy of the artwork here.

Next we went to lunch at a place called Garden View Restaurant, run by two sisters. Then we drove back to the hotel for free time. On the way we passed a Hindu funeral procession and Abhi took the opportunity to tell us all about the ceremony. Very interesting! There were about 20 men walking in the road, four of them carrying the body on a stretcher made out of sticks and cloth, covered with large leaves and pink flowers on top. Next will be the cremation, which is all done by these men in a very ritualistic way. 

For our free time, we had several options. Paul, Sharon, and I walked for 15 minutes to the tribal museum. (Yesterday when Abhi was telling us about it, everyone thought he was saying travel museum!) That was great! A tiny little museum filled with ancient and modern art of nearby tribes. Sharon and I were disappointed there wasn’t a gift shop. The guy there was a young man with excellent English who explained all the details of the art. He was so sweet and even invited us to come to his village home for a meal! We politely declined but did give him a tip since the entrance was free. He kept telling Paul he would keep him in his heart and at one point he said “I love you” to Paul. It was quite endearing. 

Pretty soon we have to meet to go to the Jain temples.

 

 

Transportation

Happy Thanksgiving! This morning we got up bright and early because we had to catch a train at the Agra train station. Last night’s henna painting was fun, and then of course so was happy hour. Everyone showed up for drinks, including Anil, the henna guy, and Push, Abhi’s colleague. We found out within minutes that Push is actually Abhi’s cousin! He is very charming, and the two of them bantered and told fun family and OAT stories. The two of them, Linda, Tim, Paul, and I were the last ones left; eventually we said goodnight to the cousins and went down for dinner.

I had a bit of a headache from the Indian rum this morning, and turns out Tim was sick again. ☹️ The train experience was really interesting. The platform was filled with passengers, people begging (including children), stray dogs, and monkeys. Abhi told us once we boarded that our luggage, which was supposed to be loaded on a first come, first serve basis, didn’t make it, so it was going to be loaded on the next train, which would arrive in Jhansi 2 hours later than ours. We would take a bus to our final destination, Khajuraho. Abhi figured out a way to kill time in Jhansi—first we had lunch, and then we went to a Catholic Church and wandered around, met the priest, etc. Mother Teresa had been there at one time. We killed more time by walking across the street to where they ere setting up a wedding. Then we just waited in the shade. Soon the bus arrived with our luggage and we were ready to hit the highway.

The train ride was 2 hours and the bus ride was 5.5, so it was a long day. The journey was certainly not boring, though! Everyone should experience riding on an Indian highway. First, the condition of the roads is not good. Sometimes it’s just a dirt road, always it’s a bumpy road, and it’s full of “diversions.” Our bus driver pretty much stayed in the lane of oncoming traffic until there actually was oncoming traffic, then he would either move to the correct lane or honk and pass the vehicle in front of him. So much honking and squeezing expertly past someone! At times it was terrifying! And so many cows in the way, sometimes just lying in the middle of the road. And people walking on the side of the road. Never a dull moment.

We reached Khajuraho at 6:30, had dinner (including a special vanilla cake for Thanksgiving), and don’t have to meet in the lobby until 9am!  
https://www.thelalit.com/the-lalit-khajuraho/?gclid=CjwKCAiA_f3uBRAmEiwAzPuaM9BbmYBTgNlQlzxZ5S0FZuygdMat5eKa6FBeS3Ztc2P5tOj20I2YKxoC2JYQAvD_BwE

Many vehicles are ornately decorated.

Cows are always in the way.

The back of a pedi-cab

Our train pulling in to Agra Station

This intersection was completely packed
but eventually worked itself free and traffic  started flowing again

A row of pedi-cabs

Taj Mahal!

KK and Raj

KK and Gopal

Yes, it is as magnificently breathtaking as I always thought it would be. You stand there looking at it and it really feels as if it has its own personality, its own life. Impossible to describe. Below you will see 2 photos of this structure, along with a photo of the West Gate and 3 photos of the Red Fort of Agra, which is similar to Amer Fort in Jaipur but much, much bigger! Only 30% of it is open to tourists (the rest is used, even now, by the Indian Army) and even that 30% is MASSIVE. 

Above are photos of me with Raj (bus driver) and Gopal (bus “sidekick”), as this will be the last day we see them and we had to say good-bye. Two great guys. Both are friendly, professional, quiet, and worthy of respect. There’s a little routine on every trip—as you board the bus, Gopal sets out a step stool, sometimes gives you a squirt of hand sanitizer, and then helps you up. Without expression he delivers bottles of water at various times throughout the journey. I think the bus rides are entities all their own, truthfully. “Welcome back to the bus!” Abhi will exclaim as we’re all settled. Tomorrow is a long travel day involving a train and a different bus. I forgot where we’re going!

I had asked Abhi about the trash in India and whether there were initiatives in place to help combat the endless litter everywhere. He said yes, and that even five years ago it was much, much worse than it is now. “Show pictures to your friends who have been here. They won’t believe it.” And another thing I learned about Abhi is that his brother is a professional polo player!

After I get these photos uploaded, I need to get ready for the women in our group, who are coming over to my room for a guy to decorate us with henna. I had volunteered to be the host when Abhi asked, and also to be the happy hour host for everyone afterwards, since Abhi has a colleague who’ll be staying with him tonight. Should be fun! Last happy hour the powered went out several times and we cheered like college kids hahaha. (Looks like there’s a wedding here tonight!)

View of the West Gate from the Taj

Up close and personal

Outside the Red Fort (sandstone)

The meeting place inside the fort’s courtyard

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The Camp, To Agra, and in Agra (now with photos!)

Once again....exhausted! But I will carry on with my writing. I’m waiting for the guy from the hotel to come fix my safe anyway. It’s showing “Low Battery.”) (The WiFi in this swanky hotel is not so swanky, so I will have to try to add pictures later. Sorry! https://www.jaypeehotels.com/hotel/jaypee-palace-hotel-convention-centre-agra )

Yesterday morning ten of us left on our optional safari at 6:45. Abhi didn’t come because he was having stomach issues, so we were left in Bitu’s expert care. We were soooo close to seeing a tiger, but only saw paw prints and also heard the warning cries of some of the deer. It’s so funny how it works in the jungle with all those safari vehicles....everyone is driving around, searching for tigers, stopping and waiting and listening, then moving on to a new spot. The drivers and naturalists are in constant communication, but not on phones. Instead they stop when they see each other.

Zoom in to see the print. The tigers like walking on the road because of the soft sand.

We came back to the hotel, had breakfast, and then were off to the OATCamp, a “luxury camp,” which is about a 4-hour drive away. One of the stops along the way was at this beautiful temple.

The camp was pretty cool—the tents are huge (we all had our own) with large bathrooms and everything. Regular flush toilets, a shower with hot water (only at c train times), and earplugs to drown out the sound of the jackals. But I didn’t put in my earplugs—why would I want to not hear jackals?! I slept like a rock anyway. We had a cooking demo by Abhi and the camp chef, and before we ate we were serenaded by some local farmers, who sang and beat a drum. Abhi encouraged us to dance with them but only Linda and I (and Tim for a bit) did. It was a blast! Then we had dinner and went to bed. In the morning I noticed three spiders on my towel. 😳

This morning wasn’t the greatest because after breakfast I got sick, despite the fact that I vowed that I
 wouldn’t. Grrr. The good thing is that I was prepared with the right medication, and Diane gave me extra stuff too. It’s great that Tim is a nurse. Everyone was really caring and motherly. I had it pretty much under control except when we stopped at Chand Baori in Abhaneri, a 9th-century stepwell. The archaeological site was breathtaking! But I had to run to the bathroom several times, which was a bit of a walk and extremely basic, i.e., no toilet paper and just a hole in the floor. To flush, the attendant would toss a bucket of water onto the whole area. To wash my hands, the attendant would pour water over my hands in the sink. I was happy with what I had, believe me! I’m sure the bevy of Japanese tourists who were there at the same time were not pleased with me! I survived and ate mild food the rest of the day. Damn! Anyway, hope everything is fine for me now.

Paul and Bob are the first to board the vehicle we took
out of the camp. We all stood up!

Chand Baori

Chand Baori

Some of the sculptures at the stepwell that used to
be part of the temple. There are dozens of them.

We stopped a couple of more times, once at a test stop/gift shop and once for lunch, and then in less than 5 hours we were in Agra at our swanky hotel with bad WiFi and a crappy safe lock. Oh, both days we traveled, Abhi told us all about Indian life, religion, politics, economy, etc. etc. He is very engaging! I told him he should do TEDTalks. His description of the caste system was fascinating (and sad). Today he told us that his belief is that whereas Americans value freedom the most in life, Indians value family. That’s why even though he was given the chance to work in America and make

a lot of money, he would never want to be away from his family. He says you either have freedom or family—you can’t have both. He lives with seven other family members. I keep learning more about him, by the way. For instance, he’s given private tours to
Richard Gere, Judy Dench, and Mick Jagger.

After we got settled, we headed out again to THE TAJ MAHAL! (Pronounced correctly, by the way,
as “Taj Meh-hel.”But I won’t go on and on about this yet, as we only saw this magnificent structure
from afar, a trash-strewn, bird screeching place called Paradise Gardens. Tomorrow we go see it up
close and inside. I wonder if the American who takes pictures of these tiny figurines in front of
famous places all over the world will be there. “I have a lot of followers on Facebook,” she said. I’m
definitely going to check it out. So, so odd....

For dinner we went to a place called Sheroes, which is a cafe run by survivors of acid attacks. This was probably the most moving/emotional thing we’ve done yet. Wow. After we ordered our food, we watched a short documentary in which the women who work there told their stories. It is such a tragic situation, and Abhi said the numbers of attacks we see reported are definitely far fewer than how many there really are. One woman was saying that her own mother threw acid on her.

After dinner, Bala, one of the cafe workers (age 24) came over and talked to us about what happened to her seven years ago and how she dealt with it and how she is surviving now. (Abhi translated.) She is so strong and brave and positive and beautiful! (She said it’s actually a good thing that this happened because if it hadn’t, she would have been stuck a housewife in a small village instead of working in a cafe and pursuing her education dreams. And she’s going to be in a Bollywood movie
that opens in January. One of the girls is now a fashion designer who was asked by Michelle Obama
to come to America during Barack’s time in office. Going to that cafe was definitely one of the best things about this trip. http://www.sheroeshangout.com

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Village Life

Good morning! We leave for our second (optional) safari at 6:45am so breakfast starts at 6:00 and before then I wanted to squeeze in an entry about our visit to the local village OAT helps support. The WiFi in this hotel isn’t great in the rooms, so I am sitting outside on my little porch in the courtyard.

On our way to the village we stopped in front of the school we would have visited if it hadn’t been a Sunday, and Abhi told us all about how OAT pretty much transformed it. Actually, not OAT, but Grand Circle Foundation, which is a partner of OAT I think. Somehow they’re related! https://www.grandcirclefoundation.org/ The school now has washrooms, benches to sit on, fans, a generator, etc., etc., thanks to the foundation.

Onward to the village, where we got off the bus and board one of those safari Jeep things to get to the village itself. What a treat! The young woman who is the main contact (Permila?) wold is a little bit about the village itself, and then all the children who were sitting in front of her took turns saying “My name is ______.” So sweet! The kids were delightful! And as we spent a few hours with all of them, the term “it takes a village” really meant something.

We all got a chance to ask questions of the young woman, and then she had a question for us. She wanted to know about birth control in the States. (She is studying political science and wants to be a social activist.) Bob shared that he had had a vasectomy, and there was a lot of discussion about that! Apparently in India vasectomies aren’t popular because they think it makes the men weak. I appreciated his and others’ openness about this topic.

After we talked, we were split up into groups of two and led around the village by some of the teenagers. Paul and I were escorted by Assa and Jyoti and a handful of the littler kids who ran around us and held our hands and blurted out the English words they knew. “Naughty girl!” one boy kept saying about Jyoti. Jyoti and Assa loved talking about boyfriends! “You boyfriend?” one of them asked me and when I said no they burst out into giggles. It was even funnier to them when I asked if they had boyfriends. We saw their homes (concrete structures), their fields, their water buffalos, everything. Such a great experience. “Come! Come!” they would beckon, and we climbed up the stairs of one house to the rooftop, where a mother of twins was cooking chai on a brick stove heated by kindling. We got to try some too.

After our tour we all went to the home of one couple and helped make our meal. Then we sat outside and enjoyed the meal, each group with three of us and one of the guides. Delicious! Then we came back to the hotel and watched a documentary about the tigers of Ranthambore. I hope we see one today!

Our contact at the village

Making chapati again 

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