October 8, 2009 – Day 287 – Delhi, India

Within one hour of arriving, we enjoyed a bright and friendly Delhi-welcome: Saben’s debit card was taken by a rigged ATM. We had not even been able to get breakfast before having to run around for 2 hours until we could finally get a combination of international phone calls and internet cafe visits to try to remedy the situation.

Some days are just like that

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October 5-7, 2009 – Day 284-286 – Khujuraho, India

Got stuck here because train tickets are absolutely impossible to come by for the next few days. We left on the 7th destined for Delhi after a few very uneventful, rainy days in Khurjuraho. We will spare you the details and leave only crazy scorpion bugs.

Our roommate, Esteban

October 4, 2009 – Day 283 – Khajuraho, India

A great day to see some kama sutra temples! The rain held off til late into the evening so we had a sunny if hazy day at the western temples. (Fair warning the following includes pictures that may be considered NSFW)

Kama Sutra temple

October 2-3, 2009 – Day 281-282 – Khajuraho, India

At 6:15AM, we arrived in a tiny town called Setna from which we had to hire a shared jeep taxi to take us the remaining 2 hours to Khujuraho. It was quite a difficult task though we evenutally got someone to take us and another couple we met at the station for Rs. 150/pp (US$3/pp).

It's a parrot, what did you think it was.

October 1, 2009 – Day 280 – Varanasi, India

With nowhere to go and nothing really to do, we spent the day hanging around the quiet ghat between Small Burning ghat (where they burn the bodies of the deceased and the ashes are swept into the river) and Assi ghat. It was a nice place away from the smoke.

Universal bath time

September 29-30, 2009 – Day 278-279 – Varanasi, India

Though we have little of interest to write about, we are experiencing our first days of India and trying to adjust to how different and utterly foreign this place feels, looks, sounds, smells, and even tastes.

Tasty clay pot masala

September 28, 2009 – Day 277 – Varanasi, India

The train was late getting in by a few hours but it afforded us some honest views of India. Rolling into the station we were faced with flattened piles of garbage covering acres of land in which people walked, shat and lived. Stray dogs and children pick over the garbage on the ground, chaotic traffic on the roads below with horns blaring for any or no reason at all, cows and goats roam the city and life in general moves furiously and noisily all around.

Peanut Vendor on the ghats

September 27, 2009 – Day 276 – Gorakhpur, India

So this is it: Today we cross into India. Taking a deep breath we got out of the rickshaw at the border and walked into the dust cloud, chaotic moving mass of our first taste of India. We had taken a local bus from Sauraha to the border and then a rickshaw the remaining 2km to the Nepali immigration office. It was a quick stamp out and we crossed unsteadily beneath the grimy once-white arch bearing the greeting in plain terms, “WELCOME TO INDIA.” Thanks…I think.

Inside the train station