Tongwynlais 2 Tongaporutu: September 2010

This blog covers our short visits to Varanassi and Bodhgaya (both north east India) ...

Varanassi is said to be one of the most spiritual places in the world, and Hindus believe that dying here allows escape from the constant cycle of rebirth. We spent most of our time exploring the intricate network of alleyways as high waters meant the normal walkways by the Ghats were flooded. Squeezing past bikes, cows and street traders we had a lot of fun and saw some spectacular sights!

We took a sunrise boat trip along the Ganga to see some of the daily rituals and blessings, and a fire cereony at one of the Ghats in the evening also emphasised the strong role religion plays here. Despite relentless hassling from touts (we must have said 'no thanks' at least 100 times a day each!), the people have a lot of character there are surprises round every corner :-)

A trip to Varanasi would not be complete without a visit to one of the burning Ghats where the dead are cremeated publicly on open wood fires. We were hesitant about seeing this at first, but a local insisted that "burning is learning, and cremation is eductation", so we thought we better give it a go! Although it was not an enjoyable experience standing a meter away from a burning body, it is part of their culture and was interesting to observe. We were lucky to meet some really nice travellers who we will hopefuly meet again in their homelands, Singapore and Oz.

We took a train to Bodhgaya, a very special place, but also part of the poorest state in India. We sat under the tree where the Bhudda achieved enlightenment, went to Zen meditation sessions, met fascinating Bhuddist pilgrims and volunteered in a local village school. We're not sure how much English we actually managed to teach the children (we take our hats off to those of you are teachers), but it was a lot of fun and the children were lovely and showed us round their villages.

The poverty in Bodhgaya was very overt and we both felt very helpless a lot of the time. We contributed what we could, but it was sad to see the huge scale of the problem. We have now reached Nepal and are settling in and trying to orgainise some trekking and maybe a tour to Tibet. We continue to miss you guys loads and often discuss what food we would have if we could be transported back to the UK for a feast! Sam still dreams about our Tongwynlais fridge :-)

As usual, there are some extra photos below. Hope this gives you a flavour of our recent travels ...

Sunrise boat trip along the Ganga

Jo starting early on the drink (it's actually water)!

And then trying on Sari's with Christine :-)

Two ladys about to cleanse their sins by dunking in the Ganga! Given our slight concerns over hygiene, we decided against this!

Men shielding from the heat of the burning Ghats!

A fire cerermony at one of the main Ghats

Monks hanging out in Bodhgaya!

Some of the children we volunteered with at the school :-)

Jo losing at 'side pass' at break time!

Sam the teacher ... giving everyone A's!

Local village life on the way home after school

The big man himself, literally :-)

Watching a procession of Sri Lankan pilgrims circuiting the main temple was the perfect send off :-)

Ok, our third blog comes from the North of India. As before, there are a couple of stories first followed by general photos etc. Hope you enjoy ...

Our Northern adventure started with an eventful journey to Dharamsala via a sleeper train and 'toy' train. The toy train followed a narrow track high into the foothills of the Himalayas where normal rules do not apply! First, out of the forest, 50 sardhus (spiritual men) joined our cramped tiny carriage. Then at least another 200 people desperately tryed to cram on at the next stop! Sam was convinced there had been some kind of natural disaster, but it turns out there was a religious festival at our destination! We both had several children and babies flung upon us, and India being India, the entrance was not only by door but by window!

Having missed our stop because we literally could not get off the train, we somehow managed to get to the Mcleod Ganj region of Dharamsala. This has the largest population of Tibetan refuges and hosts the official residence of the Dalai Lama. We loved the place, which was very atmospheric.

The next stop was Manali, where we managed to see the big man himself and attend 2 of his teachings. We had amazing seats, only 10 ft away from him and next to the english translator. A great experience :-)

Meeting other travellers in Manali, we decided to head to the Spiti Valley with some of them to experience the most sparsely populated region of India. The only way however was over the Rothang Pass!!! This is a 10 hour journey on a local bus (imagine an old British bus which has been sitting in a lock up for about 20 years) over a 4500m high mountain! The road zig zags at an alarming rate with only a few inches between tyres and the edge of the mountain, aggh! Very scary, but we were able to enjoy the incredible views of snow capped mountains, deep rocky valleys and Nomadic shepherds with their flocks.

In Spiti we stayed with a family in a traditional Tibetan house where the cattle sleep underneath and the loo is a hole in the ground, literally! It was fascinating to watch the locals cook, farm and go about their daily life. Jo helped cook authentic meals and we ate the freshest snow peas in the world :-) A 6 hour trek the next day took us to Komic, the highest village in Asia, where we sipped Chai and watched monks chant mantras.

The North of India has been amazing and we highly recommend it to anyone who wants to witness the most beautiful panoramic views and stunning people. Next we move to Varanasi, Bodhgaya and then Nepal.

Our stomaches have been good for 3 weeks now so hopefully we've fully aclimatised. We still get pangs of missing home and friends, but are thoroughly enjoying our travels and are meeting some lovely people along the way :-)

More photos below ...