Week 39, Pune, India

Dear Ethel, Family and Friends,
We very much enjoyed Varanasi, we filled in our 5 days quite comfortably. It was pleasant to sit on the balcony of our hotel and watch the holy men and pilgrims doing their thing along the Ganges. It was nice about the Ghats along the river as there are no cars, rickshaws, bicycles or any other transport apart from pedestrian traffic. We also explored the ally ways and bazaars as well, keeping us occupied.

We left on Wednesday on the train, a massive 36 hour journey dumping us in Mumbai at 2am at a station on the outskirts of the city. Then our cab got a flat on the way into town...to be expected really. The tyers were balder than anything ive ever seen, but you should have seen the spare! Well at least it had air in it and got us to our destination. However once again we were forgotten by our hotel and we were given a room in an abandoned apartment upstairs. The room itself was reasonable, but it was a bit like a construction zone to get there.

So we ended up with only 24 hours in Mumbai. It seemed quite safe as the police presence was huge. The famous Gateway to India landmark and the Taj Hotel were still roped off and there were machine gun nests on every street corner... bit over the top but we did feel safe. (see photo, submarine on patrol in Mumbai harbor) We did a boat trip out to Elephanta Island, a world heritage site with temples built into the caves on the Island. We wandered the streets around our hotel, market stalls lining every street. We had dinner at Leopold’s, a landmark restaurant in Mumbai. There are some great colonial style buildings, churches and government buildings, we didn’t really have enough time to explore it properly. It’s a nicer city than Delhi, but we were glad to leave.

We left yesterday on the train, this time only a 4 hour trip up to Pune (Poona). We meet up with hosts, Melinda and Brian, they had another couple staying last night as well as a family visiting, so it was a great party atmosphere. Melinda and Brian are very gracious hosts to put us all up at the same time. We start our teaching on Monday for 4 weeks, so we are looking forward to it. First impressions of Pune are good, a lot greener that further to the north. I will report more about Pune next week.

All the best Ric & Louise

Week 38, Varanasi, India

Dear Ethel, Family and Friends,
I can now quiet confidently say that India’s best attraction is also in India’s most boring town. Apart from the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, (a deserted palace outside Agra), 1 or 2 days at most would be enough for Agra. We spent 5 days here including Christmas day. The Taj Mahal is defiantly worth seeing. A lot bigger and more impressive than I thought it would be. We were there on the right day at the right time, the fog had disappeared and it was not very crowded at all so we had some good photo opportunities.

Christmas in India is a bit of a non event, no one pays it much attention until after it has happened, and then they put up some decorations. We phoned around some upmarket hotels to find a place to have Christmas lunch and only one had a Christmas buffet, but due to security reasons would not accept anyone who was not a guest. So we had pizza instead. The fog returned Christmas Night as we waited for our train to Varanasi at 11.30pm. The train was only a half hour late so we were onboard by midnight.

Varanasi, another hectic chaotic town, fortunately we had someone to meet us at the train station and guide us to the hotel. It’s just as well because the finding the way through the winding streets, Bazaar and alleyways down to the Ganges would be impossible. The city is billed as the oldest in the world and India’s holiest city. It is an incredible sight looking up and down the Ganges from our balcony. A ceremony it held every night here celebrating the river. It’s an hour long ceremony, with lots of incense, smoke and fire along with bell ringing chanting, gongs, water sprinkling and flower tossing. A frantic experience. We went for a walk along the Ghats today (the stairways leading down to the river), being Sunday it is the day off for most Indian’s, so they were out in force bathing in the Ganges and washing their cloths and praying. We also went past the Burning Ghats where cremations are performed on the steps of the river. A trip along the river is a good way to get back and get a view from the other side.

In other news, we booked some ticket back to Australia. We have some business to attend to with our properties, so it gives us an opportunity to refresh ourselves back home and plan for the next step, be that a trip back to Europe, New Zealand or around Australia, we don’t know, but destiny takes care of these things for us. We will still be doing our month volunteer teaching in Puna, then a train back to Bangalore. We will be back in Australia first week in February. Mumbai next stop.

All the best Ric & Louise