I just got back this afternoon from my 10 day trip across India, and boy, it is good to be back home in Bangalore!
So this was my trip itinerary:
Bangalore to Howrah to Jalpaiguri (Darjeeling) to Varanasi to New Delhi to Mumbai and back to Bangalore
As pastor Stephen and I left last Saturday night, our train ride from BLR to Howrah as 36 hours. We were waitlisted for this train ride, but thankfully, we made friends on the train who offered to share with us their seats and even gave us one of their beds at night. They shared their fruits and snacks with us as we also shared with them ours. During our 12 hour layover in Howrah, one of the friends we met on the train actually offered to show us around. She gave up her whole day to travel with us around Howrah and even helped us to book our tickets!
Our 12 hour train ride from Howrah to Jalpaiguri was also waitlisted, but this time, we couldn't find any seats. We made a friend, and we suffered throughout the train ride sitting on strangers' beds/seats and standing in the hallways by the bathrooms, etc. The sleeper class gets humid and hot during the day.
When we arrived in Jalpaiguri, we took a van up the mountain to Darjeeling (Stephen's home village). After about 2-3 hours, we arrived at Darjeeling. Darjeeling is such a beautiful place. The towns are small, it's green, and the weather is cool. It felt like I wasn't in India anymore. The people also don't look full Indian and rather look more Mongolian or Vietnamese (in my opinion). We spent half a day visiting his friends and family. I was also able to meet one of Stephen's friends, who is a graduate at AECS. He is currently a pastor at a church in his village. Then we headed back down the mountain to Jalpaiguri to catch our night train to Varanasi.
We finally had our first confirmed sleeper seats, and boy it felt nice (although it was really hot and stuffy throughout the train ride!). During the train rides, if you are in the sleeper or general section, there are a bunch of people that come by such as beggars and people selling drinks/snacks/accessories/etc. There are even performers and people who are transgenders who come and ask for money. We arrived in Varanasi in the evening time, and we really only had time to visit the Ganges River, which is a sacred river to the Hindus who believe that washing themselves in this river will wash away their sins. Varanasi is such a dark place, literally and figuratively. There are no street lights, it's gloomy and dusty. Also, there's seems to a thick atmosphere where it's just spiritually dark. We then headed back to the train station to catch our next train at midnight to New Delhi.
When we arrived in New Delhi, Stephen's brother picked us up and we went to his home. Stephen got to see his twin nieces for the first time! We had evening service at his brother's church and spent the night in New Delhi. The next day, we got up at 4am to visit Taj Mahal and tour Delhi. The sad part is that that Taj Mahal was closed (closed every Friday), so we drove four hours (one way) to Agra to look at Taj Mahal from the back side... Then we headed back to Delhi where we visited a few historical places. We then ate dinner at his brother's house and headed to the train station where we spent the night there.
We took the train from New Delhi to Mumbai at 5am and arrived in Mumbai at around 8:30am (after a full day). Stephen's brother's friend picked us up from the train station and showed us a few historical places. From there, we decided to join a tour bus/guide where we were able to tour the whole city within the day at a very low price! That night, we booked a room at the train station and spent the night there. The next day, we took our final train back home!
Throughout the trip, I realized that in India, there are so many different and similar cultures. As there is a common culture within India, wherever you go, each state/region has a different culture. And I think more than visiting all the famous historical places, God wanted to show me the different cultures and lifestyles here in India, and the different places where He is praised (and the places where He isn't praised).
One thing about the Indian culture that really annoyed me was when street vendors, hotel/restaurant workers, taxi drivers, tour guides, and other people would come up to me adamantly and forcefully asking to buy what they are trying to promote. Even after a simple "no thanks" or a "I don't need one", they continue to bother you. And through all this, to me it seems like they are angrily yelling at me when it is just their culture of talking in that tone. So far, I was able to a lot of the different aspects of the Indian culture, but some other parts, I am still learning to adjust.
I'll be uploading the pictures tomorrow! :)
So this was my trip itinerary:
Bangalore to Howrah to Jalpaiguri (Darjeeling) to Varanasi to New Delhi to Mumbai and back to Bangalore
As pastor Stephen and I left last Saturday night, our train ride from BLR to Howrah as 36 hours. We were waitlisted for this train ride, but thankfully, we made friends on the train who offered to share with us their seats and even gave us one of their beds at night. They shared their fruits and snacks with us as we also shared with them ours. During our 12 hour layover in Howrah, one of the friends we met on the train actually offered to show us around. She gave up her whole day to travel with us around Howrah and even helped us to book our tickets!
Our 12 hour train ride from Howrah to Jalpaiguri was also waitlisted, but this time, we couldn't find any seats. We made a friend, and we suffered throughout the train ride sitting on strangers' beds/seats and standing in the hallways by the bathrooms, etc. The sleeper class gets humid and hot during the day.
When we arrived in Jalpaiguri, we took a van up the mountain to Darjeeling (Stephen's home village). After about 2-3 hours, we arrived at Darjeeling. Darjeeling is such a beautiful place. The towns are small, it's green, and the weather is cool. It felt like I wasn't in India anymore. The people also don't look full Indian and rather look more Mongolian or Vietnamese (in my opinion). We spent half a day visiting his friends and family. I was also able to meet one of Stephen's friends, who is a graduate at AECS. He is currently a pastor at a church in his village. Then we headed back down the mountain to Jalpaiguri to catch our night train to Varanasi.
We finally had our first confirmed sleeper seats, and boy it felt nice (although it was really hot and stuffy throughout the train ride!). During the train rides, if you are in the sleeper or general section, there are a bunch of people that come by such as beggars and people selling drinks/snacks/accessories/etc. There are even performers and people who are transgenders who come and ask for money. We arrived in Varanasi in the evening time, and we really only had time to visit the Ganges River, which is a sacred river to the Hindus who believe that washing themselves in this river will wash away their sins. Varanasi is such a dark place, literally and figuratively. There are no street lights, it's gloomy and dusty. Also, there's seems to a thick atmosphere where it's just spiritually dark. We then headed back to the train station to catch our next train at midnight to New Delhi.
When we arrived in New Delhi, Stephen's brother picked us up and we went to his home. Stephen got to see his twin nieces for the first time! We had evening service at his brother's church and spent the night in New Delhi. The next day, we got up at 4am to visit Taj Mahal and tour Delhi. The sad part is that that Taj Mahal was closed (closed every Friday), so we drove four hours (one way) to Agra to look at Taj Mahal from the back side... Then we headed back to Delhi where we visited a few historical places. We then ate dinner at his brother's house and headed to the train station where we spent the night there.
We took the train from New Delhi to Mumbai at 5am and arrived in Mumbai at around 8:30am (after a full day). Stephen's brother's friend picked us up from the train station and showed us a few historical places. From there, we decided to join a tour bus/guide where we were able to tour the whole city within the day at a very low price! That night, we booked a room at the train station and spent the night there. The next day, we took our final train back home!
Throughout the trip, I realized that in India, there are so many different and similar cultures. As there is a common culture within India, wherever you go, each state/region has a different culture. And I think more than visiting all the famous historical places, God wanted to show me the different cultures and lifestyles here in India, and the different places where He is praised (and the places where He isn't praised).
One thing about the Indian culture that really annoyed me was when street vendors, hotel/restaurant workers, taxi drivers, tour guides, and other people would come up to me adamantly and forcefully asking to buy what they are trying to promote. Even after a simple "no thanks" or a "I don't need one", they continue to bother you. And through all this, to me it seems like they are angrily yelling at me when it is just their culture of talking in that tone. So far, I was able to a lot of the different aspects of the Indian culture, but some other parts, I am still learning to adjust.
I'll be uploading the pictures tomorrow! :)
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| Leaving the train in Bangalore |
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| Train station in Bangalore |
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| Sleeper class |
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| Where we would've spent our 36 hour train ride if it weren't for our nice friends |
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| Eating samosas during one of the stops at a train station |
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| Friends that were helpful and shared their seats with us! (Excuse my wet shirt. I just brushed my teeth and I had to use water from a water bottle, and you can imagine the challenge of doing that during a train ride!) |
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| Arrived in Howrah, Kolkata |
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| The train station at Howrah |
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| A famous bridge |
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| The bus drivers are vicious and definitely would not slow down for pedestrians. And it's stinking hot in those buses (which makes the hot and humid air outside seem cool) |
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| Visiting Victoria Memorial Hall (a memorial for one of the British queens). |
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| We decided to watch a show at a planetarium. The show was in Hindi, so I took a nap in the nice, A/C, cushioned seats! |
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| Busy train station right before we left for Jalpaiguri. |
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| Passengers rushing to the general seats (unreserved seats) |
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| We were waitlisted, so throughout the train ride, we had to squish with strangers like this. |
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| A friend we met that suffered with us through this train ride as she was also waitlisted. |
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| Arrive in Jalpaiguri! |
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| On the way up to Darjeeling! |
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| Finally in Darjeeling! Definitely did not feel like India here |
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| Walking down to Stephen's village |
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| Stephen's house and his father's greenhouse! |
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| Pastor Ashish's (former AECS student) house and church! |
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| Giving an offering from the IEC trust! |
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| Many vans like this is the main transportation in Darjeeling |
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| Famous Darjeeling momos! |
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| One of the famous lakes/parks in Darjeeling |
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| Riding down on the top of a van (there were no more seats and this was the last van going down from Darjeeling to Jalpaiguri for the day). This ride was for 2.5 hours and as we were going down, we had to dodge tree branches the whole way down! |
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| Back on the train ride on our way to Varanasi. Our meals on the train were prepacked snacks which included some kind of rice chips as we mixed with noodles! |
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| The rickshaws in Varanasi |
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| On the bride above the Ganges River. |
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| People taking baths as a part of their Hindu religion |
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| Taking a boat ride in the Ganges River |
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| Train station in Varanasi |
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| Super spicy chilis from Darjeeling (which are from Stephen's father's farm!) |
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| One of my favorites, garlic naan |
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| Cycle rickshaw. Definitely felt sorry for this guy that I weigh a lot... |
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| Going through the city |
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| Arrived at another part of the Ganges River. Many Hindus spend the night here after they take a bath in the Ganges River. |
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| Many people sleeping and spending the night at the train station waiting to buy tickets or for their trains. |
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| Maybe a little inappropriate? But a child taking a #2 on the train tracks |
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| Our seats once again |
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| We took some people's seats after they left the train. This part of the train ride, we had AC3 tickets |
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| Arrived in New Delhi! |
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| Gate to Stephen's brother's house |
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| Their small village |
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| Chilling down at his brother's hotel restaurant |
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| Taking a night ride on the back of the pastor's motorcycle |
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| In between the streets by the airport, there is this chunk of land. Their church would practice soccer here every week, and there was even a time where the ball went out onto the streets and a motorcyclist ran over the ball and got into an accident. |
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| A line of hotels by the airport |
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| Their church! |
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| They have daily devotionals with the church members |
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| On our way to the Taj Mahal |
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| Greeted by this closed entrance |
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| So we made our way to the back |
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| And this was the best view we were able to get! |
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| Monkeys! |
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| Then we headed back to Delhi to visit other historical places, like Humayun's tomb |
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| Passed and paid for a domestic ticket! score! |
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| I forgot what this place was... Probably another memorial with tombs. |
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| Visiting a temple! |
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| Eating momos after our long day of touring! |
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| What they use to steam and cook the momos |
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| I saw this as I was walking in the streets. An old fashioned iron. I didn't know that irons were made like this before! |
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| With Stephen's family! |
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| Chicken biryani in the train ride! |
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| Chai tea (only had it when we were in the AC3 class; otherwise, the sleeper class was way too hot and stuffy to be drinking hot tea!) |
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| Train station in Mumbai |
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| Old buildings in the city |
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| This was a hotel where a bombing took place a few years ago |
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| We then visited a museum |
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| More old buildings in the city |
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| A nice view of the beach and the city buildings |
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| Stopped by a garden |
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| I'm not sure why this big shoe is in the middle of the garden, but apparently it's a big tourist site |
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| Our tour bus! |
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| Part of the tour was visiting this theater that played 4D movies. Definitely not as advanced and exciting as the 4D movies/rides at Universal Studios |
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| Visiting a science museum |
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| On our way to the beach! |
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| A famous bridge in Mumbai |
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| A village in the middle of the city |
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| Many many people at the beach |
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| Funny story: I was taking a selfie picture at the beach, when a group of men stared at me and gave me a thumbs up. Then this man came up to me, wondering what I was doing, and then told me to take a picture with him! |
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| Trying some food stands at the beach! |
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| Along with some not-so-juicy corn! |
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| The train station lit up at night |
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| A very nice A/C dormitory at the train station where we spent the night |
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| Walking in the city right before leaving back to Bangalore |
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| Tomato and onion dosa for breakfast! |
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| Heading to our last train ride |
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| There is a list by every train showing which of the waitlisted passengers received confirmed seats |
dude this post was epic. hope you're healthy, chris! you look so skinny
ReplyDeletethanks steph! :) hope you're doing well back in the states!
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