Northern India

Two words can sum up how we feel about India after spending two weeks in the North. Pleasantly surprised. The people have been helpful and kind, the touts have been fairly easy to handle, the poverty, though bad, hasn't been as pervasive as we feared, and the food has been nothing short of fantastic. That being said, India is not a country in which you can just 'cruise' through, and by overloading all five senses on a daily basis, it manages to leave a mark on you, whether you want it to or not. Luckily for us, so far that mark has been a mark of approval.

Prayer flags and stones decorate the circuit around the Dalai Lama's residence in McLeod Ganj.

Those five senses then . . . we saw a cows make a diving grab for a vendor's goods, moving faster than we've ever seen a cow move before. We watched a ten-year old boy approach another, look at his goods he had for sale, and jokingly barter with him before returning to his own stall full of goods to buy. On the Ganga River, we saw three boys using the river as a latrine, while around the bend and downriver, older men brush their teeth and the women do laundry. Meanwhile, at our knees, our guide dips his hand in the river and shows us the water, "See? It is clean, you no have worry". And all around you, people, with a light dusting of wandering cows. Then there's the garbage piles and the river water . . .

In front of the Taj Mahal just before sunset.

Our ears are blasted by car horns, pierced by autorickshaw wails, and deafened by truck and bus honks, while "Sir, you want to buy? Sir, just looking. Hello Miss, you see? Good price, good quality. Hello! You want taxi, see here (showing us a piece of paper) nice city sightsee" is whispered, yelled or thrown at you as you walk by. In Varanasi, population 1.6 million, we awoke to a loud 'mooo' outside our window, which, being a holy cow, could be taken as quite an auspiscious start to the day.

The nose is perhaps the least well-off of the sensory organs, as a poupourri is throw at you at every step. The morning air is made pungent by the garbage left over from days before. At any point you could meet the sweet smell of incense burning, or of holy sticks/flowers being burned, or the strong smell of cologne on a passing man, proving his wealth in his scent. The cities burst with cars, emitting deisel, gas and propane fumes by the ton, while the sides of the roads and rail tracks are used as toilets, emitting a surprising variety of stenches from sun-baked to . . never mind. Riding on all of this is the scent of curries cooking, which is like finding an oasis.

That being said, if the nose gets the shaft, the mouth gets the gold. Curries come in all shapes and sizes, from creamy paneers to light dhals to curry soups. The meals often include more than one taste, so your taste buds are pulled in all directions as you work to take breaths between bites, and every order starts with, "Two chai please", often to be followed by "two more, thanks". The heavy use of beans, peas, tofu and cheese has allowed us to veer away from meat - we haven't had any meat since we arrived 18 days ago, and are loving it so far.

And the body - what jostling it takes in the back of an autorickshaw! Or in the train station, where Emily rounded a corner and promptly ran into the nose of an oncoming cow, which was ambling into the station's main hall. The gentle rocking on the trains is forgotten when we get on a bus, which roars down roads irregardless of the people, dogs, cows or goats in the way, let alone oncoming traffic or the pot holes. The cool of the hill stations to the heat of the Gangetic plain to the sultry smoothness of river-side in Varanasi, the body does take a beating!

Sunrise on the holy Ganga (Ganges) River, Varanasi.

On top of all this is the sights to see. Delhi was done in quick-like fashion, hitting the spots we wanted to while taking in the inbetweens as much as we could. It suprised us how wide and open the streets were, and lots of trees and parks dot the map. The hill stations were fabulous, and the Tattapani hot springs were a major bonus.

Being in McLeod Ganj and seeing where the Dalai Lamas holds residence was a real thrill. He was away in the States at the time, but soaking up the atmosphere created by all those Tibetans, monks, aged hippies and vendors amid gorgeous mountains was three days well-spent. It was also very refreshing for us to think that no matter how harshly China stamps out the Tibetan life in Tibet, at least there is somewhere that it can continue to thrive, if not grow, again.

A leaf from the Bodhi tree, under which the Buddha reached Enlightenment, Bodhgaya.

Agra was nothing short of dirty, so the Taj Mahal, already a stand-out, was truly stunning. It's pleasing design, intricate marble carving and ridiculous amounts of inlaid gems and stones made it something to behold. The holy Ganga River flowing behind it only added to the timelessness one feels when standing next to something so famous and aged. The babble and flow of the thousands of onlookers contrasted sharply with the quiet reverance we encountered while sitting under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, where Gautama became Englightened. The tree you see there is actually an off-shoot of a tree that itself is an off-shoot of the actual tree the Buddha sat under in c.500 B.C! Like in Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first sermon, King Ashoka created a stupa to commemorate the occasion, which is impressive in itself.

The Ganga river, so important to the Indian traditions and past, was wonderful to see waking up at dawn. Watching the people go through their morning rituals - the bathing, washing, brushing, toiletering, swimming, was quite the sight. The ghats, or large steps rising out of the water, were topped with pagodas, temples and in one place, the area where bodies are burned daily for cremation. The river lives and breathes as the people do, and it seems that in every Varanasian a little bit of that river resides. We abstained from ingesting any of the water, being the prudes that we are.

So India so far has been great, and we're not even half way finished:) We're now in the Vancouver-esque city of Mumbai (we haven't even seen a cow yet!!!) where we're gearing up for another 24-train ride, this time to the outsourcing capital, Bangalore. Chances are that all of you have talked to someone in Bangalore in the past few years, as many businesses us them as their call centers. From there it's to the hills, jungles, backwaters and temples of the south. Be sure to check out our Picasa photo album for part of the trip. Hope you're all well, and thank you for the continual stream of emails and well wishes - all are appreciated, even if not replied to!