June 19 - On To Nepal

June 19 Day 124
We got up and ready in a mental fog.  Our tuktuk driver knew where to go and we were at the station in plenty of time.  We found the platform and the train but it was a very long one and we had no idea where our car was.  A friendly guy suggested we check our phone for texts and then told us our car was at the end of the train.  There were no staff on the platform until its end, where another guy told us it was at the front, two down from the engine.  On our walk back the first guy apologized but we got to our car 10 minutes before the train left.
We had the car to ourselves, with two bunks and a lockable door.  It was banged a few times, to check our tickets and drop off the bedsheets.  Someone came calling out breakfast.  We were told not to eat the food on the train as it was often cooked the day before.  Later we found out it was complimentary, and so wondered what we missed.
This was a milk run, taking more than the scheduled 4 1/2 hours to do the 200 km from Agra to Delhi.  The scenery was mostly rural and green, going through many stations and pausing as crowds of teenagers with school backpacks boarded.  Our first class car was quiet and Meg got a good sleep.
Finally in Delhi, we walked through the busy central train station and checked our bags before looking for lunch.  This was in a budget hotel area that was busy and we had many tout offers before getting to our cafe.  They had an excellent breakfast buffet and we properly stuffed ourselves.  They even offered to give us leftovers to go as they packed it up but we weren't hungry and wouldn't have access to kitchen facilities in Nepal. 
We went back out into the busy street and the heat to the train station and the metro to the airport.  I became very frustrated as a machine at my money and promptly went out of service but the guy at the counter actually left his desk, opened the machine and fished out the bill.  Just when you thought Indian bureaucrats were useless, they do something helpful.
At the airport I wasn't able to print out our documents and so had to go to a very slow counter for people needing ticket printouts.  There was security before the ticket desks and so you had to prove that you had a ticket before they let you into the building.  My confirmation code wasn't working and neither was the airport internet until finally it clicked in and we were through.  Meg then got excited when she saw that India Post had a desk there and scribbled off a few postcards before we went through security.
After customs and security it was a long walk to our gate and the plane was boarding.  We had video screens but only a little over an hour flight so I opted for tv over a movie, little knowing we would be delayed 45 minutes before takeoff.
The meal came with a beer, first time in a long time.  At landing, several passengers needed reminding that they needed to wait until the plane stopped moving before they got up. 
Getting a Nepalese visa is annoying mainly because it is done electronically and they have few staff to help you.  You have to fill in tons of information using a clumsy video screen that has mandatory fields, making me create our hotel's address and our cell number.  The passport pictures I was told to get were replaced by a camera which took a horrible picture.  We then paid for our visa after not seeing the booth we were supposed to go to.  There was no line up at the immigration desk but everything was slow and I had to dig out my boarding pass stub (Meg had left hers on the plane).  Finally through, our bags were there and so was our ride to the hotel.
Our hotel didn't have its own van before and Kathmandu looked much cleaner and newer than in 2012.  We thought we saw familiar places but couldn't be sure.  At the hotel they were very friendly and we had a welcome tea in their garden patio.  Our room was on the same floor as our old one and was very nice.  We tried to contact our friends and then relaxed and went to sleep.

Our train compartment.

June 18 - A Very Busy Day in Agra

June 18 Day 123
Another early morning so that we could start our day trip before the day got too hot.  The big leg was 40 km outside of town to see Fathepur Sikhi, the former capital city now reduced to ruins.  Some Maharaja moved the capital here to be close to his guru but it was politically unpopular and had little water so the abandoned it once the maharaja died.
We were warned that our driver might not have English but ours was quite good.  Meg rested most of the drive there was she wasn't feeling great and we asked our driver to find us breakfast before we went to the site.  He picked the best place in town, probably because he didn't know what our foreign stomachs could handle.  The prices were high and they didn't have a breakfast menu but we ordered parathas and tea and everything was good.
As we drove to the site, our driver picked up a "friend" who basically told us he was our tour guide.  we had to be quite firm that we didn't want one and it took awhile to get rid of him.  Meg liked that when we told him that we like to be alone and quiet in place he said that he could guide us quietly.  We left him in the parking lot with our driver and had to walk the last kilometre to the site as cars were not allowed.  We had planned to let the driver know when we were done but our phone (unlimited calls anywhere in India!) could only receive calls and texts so we told him to contact us and we'd do what we could.
The walk there took us through a fairly dirty part of town but with a long sidewalk, which helped.  The site had a paid area surrounded by public ruins, including the still-functioning mosque where we started.
Many people tried to "help" us as we went in and the touts were thick on the ground.  we ignored then, walked on and went in the opposite direction that any tout suggested.  The mosque was open to the elements and many of the decorations were weathered but it was still impressive.  A boy ran to get an old man who started to try showing us around, telling us he was not a guide but a holy man but we could still give him money.  Right.  we avoided looking at some picture of an elephant so that we could get away from him.
In the centre of the courtyard were two tombs.  The first was elaborate carver marble with a tomb inside sparkling with its abalone shell cover.  Childless women would come here and tie string on the marble screen in the hope of fertility.  It was small but impressive, with a grouchy man at the door that wouldn't let us carry our shoes and handed out head coverings to the men.
The other building was just full of coffins and so we headed out of the mosque complex and found an entrance to the paid area of the old capital.
The main buildings were a series of palaces kept for his wives, one Hindu, one Christian and one Muslim.  They all had elaborately carved sandstone and huge courtyards.  At the back of the first one we watched a movie about the place in Hindi while two young boys shamelessly stared at us.
We then walked through the old harem and were relieved to see that it wasn't just tourists, as a Hindi couple were followed around and pestered by a guide until they finally ditched him.  Meg crossed language boundaries in congratulating her afterwards.  The other palaces had fine work, ornamental pools and multi-labelled columned buildings.  One building had nature reliefs with the animals' heads chiseled off because they were inset with jewels.  The scale of the palaces was impressive and combining it with the surrounding ruins gave an idea of how grand the place was in its day.
On the way out we went into the small museum attached to the site, which was well staffed with soldiers with nothing else to do but hold doors for us and suggest what order we should view the artifacts.  They had some nice old Jain figures and good historical information displays but most of it was broken pottery and rusty swords.
The walk back was fairly hot but we found our taxi and headed back to town.  The traffic had picked up by now and it as slower getting to Agra Fort.  This was an old fort converted into a palace by the Maharaja who built the Taj Mahal.  His son imprisoned him here so her could look at the Taj from his cell.
The place was crowded with tourists as it was mid-day.  We saw a huge bowl cut from one stone to be used for bathing and then headed into the buildings, which really felt more like a series of palaces.  Along one wall were views of the Taj and you could see some of the outer wall, but otherwise it didn't feel like a fort.
An interesting find there was on old wooden gate put up by the British.  The description talked about how they put it up to impress the locals but the wood and style were all wrong and they lied about replacing something that wasn't there and it showed the colonial mindset.  Most descriptions were just names and dates, so this one was much more entertaining.  The gate was quite grand, but displayed in an enclosed area with dirty windows so you couldn't see all of the work clearly.
We went through a crowded maze, leading us through white marble areas with fine inlay work and a small marble mosque.  There were many large courtyards, some of them multiple stories and several gardens.  The place was in very good shape with many fine areas but we were tired and a little spoiled by not having to deal with crowds so we were glad to be finished with it.  Probably each of teh places would be best viewed first thing in the morning, one at a time.
Meg took out her phone to look for messages just as our driver rang so we were picked up quickly.  she needed a proper washroom so we went back to our hostel for this purpose.  During the day the traffic was so bad in the narrow streets of Taj Ganj (where we were staying) they we left the taxi to walk to the hostel and our driver caught us with us 10 minutes later.
Back on our way, we headed to the baby Taj.  this tomb has a similar layout to the big Taj but on a smaller scale.  The grounds and approach weren't as impressive, largely due to the water channel being bone dry.  The building itself had more elaborate carvings, inlays and paintings than the real Taj, looking more like Topkapi palace than anything else.  It was a tomb for a Maharajah's father in law and was certainly a beautiful building.  Again, if we weren't tired we probably could have spent more time admiring the decorations.  As it was, we enjoyed the building, hung out at one of the gates overlooking a river and checked out the small museum at the entrance.  This had pictures and a video display that wee either extensively touched up or the work has extensively weathered in the last few years.
During this whole time there were light showers but the rain never really picked up any further.  Our driver drove us back and we ate in a nice restaurant close to our hostel.  The food was good and we had the place to ourselves, lunching at 3 pm.  It was annoying that the food took 45 minutes to come as we were both hankering for a nap after several days of early rising.
Back at the hostel we had our nap and got instruction from the very friendly staff about how to deal with our train trip the next day.  Meg was putting on her newly purchased sari for our moonlight Taj visit but when she came out of the room I literally thought that she was wearing a duvet as it was too puffy.  The hostel guy called for help and in 5 minutes three women with kids in tow marched Meg into our room.  The activity was furious but when Meg emerged she looked great, thanks to their help and a pack of safety pins.  She commented hat she was now baring more midriff than she had in 20 years.
We were told it was a 10 minute walk to the gathering point but the east gate was empty and we were pointed down another street to find the gathering point.  After at least another 10 minute walk we saw a busy building full of buses and soldiers.  We went for a security check and were told watches and room keys were not allowed and had to go in a locker.  Only a camera, water, wallet and passport were allowed.  Imagine the damage we might have done to the Taj with our watches!
We then went to security again and were put on a bus that recovered the ground that we had walked.  We were searched again and then walked in a group to the east gate where we went through security again.  50 people at a time were allowed the viewing but our group had to be less than 30.  The weather was not our friend as it was so overcast not a single star was visible, let alone the moon.
We were marched out to the entry platform to the Taj gardens and everyone sighed with relief when the distracting floodlights were turned off.  It was us and the Taj in the evening, with it being more of a silhouette than anything.  It was peaceful and well worth all of the bizarre bureaucracy to get there.
After 30 minutes (I think, we didn't have watches) we were marched out and put on the bus back to the centre.  Having recovered our items we went out for a late meal.  Joney's place was recommended by Ian and promised to have our food to us quickly.  They were good on their word, making things fresh in a tiny kitchen right by our table and we finished before 10.
Back at the hostel we said goodbye to Ian, who was leaving on a late bus that evening, and set about packing for our early morning train.  We fell asleep easily with the alarm unfortunately set for 4:30.

The elaborate pillar in the abandoned city.

The baby taj.

Meg in her sari with Ian, taj in the background.

June 17 - Morning at the Taj Mahal

June 17 Day 122.
The alarm went off at 4:30 and we were up and out at 5 to catch the sunrise at the Taj.  There were more people than you would expect on the street.  We went to the confusing ticket office, which had a "gents" line which was wrong and a card payment machine that didn't work.  With admission you got a receipt and a scanned token.  The receipt got you shoe covers and a bottle of water.  The token was scanned for the turnstile for you by two older guys and was coded with what rate you paid as well as our gender.
There were a few security stops and then we were inside.  You walk through a courtyard through an elaborate gate and then you're facing the Taj.
There were a few people there but we were able to get a few pictures that were free of humans.  The light was still dim but it was nice and cool with lots of space to look around from different angles.  We saw our hostel friends from the previous night and they were all dressed up in Indian garb and taking lots of pictures in front of the building.  There was a slight breeze, which made the experience more enjoyable but ruined the perfect mirror effect on the water.
The place really was radiant, beyond what you see in pictures and it was great not to have the crowds.  Words really don't work, see it at some point.
We walked towards the main building and put on our shoe covers before clearing one last security check ascending up the platform.  Inside the false tombs are surrounded by marble intricately carved from one piece and creating a screen through which the tombs can be viewed.  When we entered the chamber there was one guide talking to a couple and then it was us and the security guards, alone there for about 10 minutes.  The chamber was really echoey and every time the guards spoke or a pigeon flew in it created a lot of noise with extreme reverb.  The inlayed patterns with semi-precious gems were immaculate and it was always surprising to see a wall with empty shapes in it, such a contrast to everywhere else.
We walked around the building's four identical sides, finding the best light on the east with our cloudy sunrise.  Our viewpoint from last night's sunset tour was visible along with the river and the red fort.  Many people were posing and taking advantage of the sparse attendance and just enjoying the view.
We came down by the mirror mosque which is used for gatherings.  It was built the same size and shape as the mosque for reasons of symmetry.  It was closed off for renovation but gave us a great place to sit and watch the east side of the Taj.  Many monkeys were here too, tipping garbage cans over, trying to climb up walls, wrestling and generally being monkeys.  To walk to the mosque, you had to follow a path on the riverside that was a narrow monkey gauntlet.  A few people screamed but they generally kept their distance. 
The mosque was the same as its double with Islamic script decorations, a mimbar and a marble floor decorated as prayer mats.  The inner chamber was closed, so not a lot to see here.  On the way back a monkey was stalking a couple caught up in their selfies and made off with an empty water bottle.
Heading out, you could see more people showing up and it was nice to take our time and sit on benches, checking the place out from different angles.  Another advantage of leaving is that the tour guide touts completely leave you alone.
Back at the hostel we were early for breakfast but there were lots of people to talk to.  Breakfast itself was good, if crowded, but maybe the extra people kept the monkeys from stealing our bananas.
We hung out for a bit and then walked with our friend Ian to get our tickets for the Taj on the full moon.  You can only get them 5 days a month and dumb luck was on our side.  There were four people ahead of us in line but they just seemed to argue with the people in the office and the line didn't move much.  We figured they were scalpers and might use up all of the tickets before we got our turn.
Not true! After 30 minutes we got up to the booth and it took about 15 minutes for the three of us to fill out paperwork, submit copies of our passports and visas, pay the money, have our info put into a database by someone who typed with one finger and have a customized ticket printed out for us.  The line had grown behind us and we imagined how long it must take in high season.
On the walk back it was getting hot so we got some delicious, fresh-squeezed orange juice from a roadside vendor.  We were getting brave!
As we continued, Meg and Ian wanted to check out the marble work in a store, Agra being one of the marble centres of the world.   We were in there for over an hour.  We were offered all types of beverages and probably could have had lunch if we wanted.  We met our guy's father and brother, saw video of how the inlays were done, looked at dozens of smaller items before seeing a room of larger pieces.  The work was gorgeous but none of us wanted to buy.  Every time we were about to leave the shop, one of us would be separated from teh group over some proposal and the others would wait.  We learned more than we could have imagined about marble and inlays but were completely exhausted by this point.
We walked back and remembered a restaurant along the way where we were promised beer for 90 rupees.  All of us were up for a cold beer so we headed into his place and went up to the rooftop patio.   He seemed far too glad to see us and was laughing and calling us family while we perused the dirty, torn menus. 
After ordering he left us and it started to rain so we switched tables.  The rain started to come down harder and teh wind changed direction, so our new table was getting soaked.  It continued to pour and the wind changed direction one more time, blowing at the tarp behind us until it started to give way and so we ate downstairs, where it was dry.
We shared a table with an Israeli couple who were travelling after their military service.  We talked about their experience and the hummous trail and it was refreshing that their politics was leftist and tehy were quite critical of the current government.  The conversation came easily and our food was slowly delivered by a soggy boy.  The restaurant didn't have a kitchen so he sent the boy out to the beer shop and then to where ever the food was cooked.  The food was good and the beer excellent, but it all had a garnish of rainwater.
We lingered for a bit until the rain tapered off and the river that the road had become settled down.  The owner promised all discounts if we came back and talked about how low his prices were.  We just wanted to get back to the hostel to nap so we said goodbye to our Israeli friends and that's what we did.
After waking up we booked the full day tour for the next day and met Ian and another guy to head out to dinner.  It was back to Mama's Chicken and we had more delicious bird, knowing to order less.  Everyone was impressed and that night's tour group from the hostel showed up beside us and all was friendly and well-fed.
We looked for the ice cream place we passed up the night before and found it.  They took fruit and a frozen table, scraped ice and added thick cream.  Then they chopped it with the performance of a top sushi chef, working it over and over on the frozen table until it was mixed and solid.  It tasted pretty good, but the making of was the real highlight.
Ian picked up a mixed dessert with kulfi.  I always though kulfi was mango ice cream but in his it was little gulab jamon-like things.  All was good and we took a tuktuk back to the hostel.  Meg challenged Ian to a few games of chess before bedtime and you could see he was hankering for the

An artsy pose in an artsy place.

The view back from the Taj.

The closest we got to capturing the morning light.

marble chess board we looked at that afternoon.

June 16 - Arriving in Agra

June 16 Day 121
We arrived about 2 hours late to a filthy parking lots who knew where.  A tuktuk driver attached himself to us and Meg actually bargained up from his price, still snoozy.
He got us to our hostel, who invited us to have breakfast on the roof.  We were told that the selection had been picked over as a monkey had just run away with the bananas.  These were soon replaced and we had a decent meal and a long talk with Ian, a recently graduated student from Kansas (Ian) whose experience in India was fairly parallel to ours.
We checked in and the place had a laid back vibe and a very western backpacker clientele, which we hadn't seen in awhile.  The staff were very laid back and amiable and the people staying there were friendly and comparing travel notes.
We put our stuff in our room and set stuff up.  We then went out for lunch and ate well at a place that had excellent lassis.  The owner was very talkative and an outspoken Modi supporter.  He told us of a film about his life   that just came out, documenting that he wasn't responsible for the slaughter of Muslims.  We weren't sure whether the film was propaganda or not, but the restaurant guy was willing to discuss the issue.
Back at the hostel we relaxed and hung out.  The India Pakistan cricket game was on and so many people were gathered around to watch it.  India batted first for three hours plus rain delays so it was a pretty slow progression but this left lots of time for the Indian guys to explain to us the rules and finer points of the game.
At 5:30 Matthew, sort of the hostel energy source, was doing a sunset tour of the Taj.  We had tea in the hostel and then headed out on a short walk to a riverside behind the Taj to watch the sun set.  The beach had a bunch of monkeys running around it and an Indian family was feeding them, which ended with the monkeys getting to close to them and tugging a woman's sari.  In our group there were many stories of monkeys attacking people and we compared notes.  The sunset was nice when it peeked through the clouds but the sun was on the opposite side of the river from The Taj so we didn't really see them combined.
Back at the hostel we took a break and then piled into 2 tuktuks to hit Mama Chicken, which is famous in Agra.  The menu was two pages of chicken, done invarious ways.  You pay at one counter then give your slip to two guys in headsets who are constantly calling out orders to the chefs and calling people's names for pickup.  Everything looked great and dozens of Indians were there, a good sign.  At least 10 guys were staffing grills and tandooris and the chicken kept coming.  Ours took a little longer, being tandoori but it was still pretty quick.
The tandoori was amazing, the satay was covered in coleslaw rather than peanut sauce and so was a disappointment.  Everyone who ordered chicken in gravy loved it and one of our group ordered naan, which was huge and so shared around freely. 
After eating we walked through a crowded pedestrian street but were too stuffed for ice cream.  We went to a supposed fixed price shop for some of the group to look at shirts and then got back to the hostel.  Matthew went out on a local shopping trip with some of the group members but we had an early morning the next day.  I watched cricket for awhile with the Indians.  Pakistan was falling far behind but had a bout 2 more hours to go so I just went to bed.

The Taj view from in behind.

Sunset monkey in the Taj's backyard.

June 15 - Varanasi to Agra

June 15 Day 120
We slept in a bit and didn't get going until 7:30.  We had to head into trafficed streets to get an ATM and they were fully chaotic.  We got our mission accomplished after dodging many honking vehicles and being offered at least 50 tuktuk rides.  We took a rest in a tea shop and the woman from last night found us and talked to Meg but this time she went away fairly quickly.  People next to us were surreptitiously taking our pictures and when I tried to turn the tables on them they gathered the family around and posed for my picture.  There's no way you can beat them at their own game.
We went to the main ghat to sit in the shade and see what was happening.  We were offered several massages from men who kept trying to shake my hand, I guess to show how strong their hands were.  Someone had brought a camel to the sandbar across the river and was offering rides.  We watched a drinks vendor set up with very iffy looking water and ice.  A barber shaved the head of a man sitting close to us on the steps except for a little tuft at the back.  A few boys tried to sneak us into their selfies and Meg gave them a middle finger for their efforts.  Most people left us alone and it was a good break.
Back at the hotel we had breakfast and talked to our waiter.  He owned a farm and talked about planting the rice once the monsoon came.  He was a big Modi supporter and when Meg brought up the treatment of Muslims he first said that they didn't work well and why were they here if they had their own country?  After talking a bit he changed his tune and said everyone was free in India and would only be punished if they were corrupt of a bad worker.
Back at the room we started to pack and get other stuff done.  We had a peanut butter lunch in the room and went out one last time to pick up laundry.  It was mid-afternoon and the main ghat area was almost deserted, with many people taking their siestas out in the open.  We found the laundry and a vendor who had followed us around reminded us that we hadn't been to his store and we agreed but didn't go.
Back at the hotel we got set to go.  The porters hauled our bags for a solid 15 minutes down crazy streets until we got to our taxi.  The driver complained about how bad the traffic was but it only took 20 minutes to drive to the bus stop and our hotel told us to budget 90 minutes.  We had a long wait before we could get on and Meg had to follow some cryptic directions to get to the far away washroom.
Our bus was a sleeper, so our compartment was a bottom one from the floor to about 3 feet up.  We crawled in and slid the smoked plexiglass door shut behind us.  It gave us a decent space on a relatively comfortable mattress.  Minuses were that we shared a curtain with the people above us so there was a bit of to and froing there and the tv and lights didn't work.  Overall it led to a pretty comfortable sleep, only we were never sure if we were stopping for a moment of if it was a full rest stop and leaving your compartment to ask was a bit of a pain.
We slept alright and the highway was for real, with a bus keeping up an actual pace rather than constantly slowing down and speeding us to get around tuktuks, tractors, cows, etc. We left late and had many pauses through the night and so were far behind schedule.

The sleeperbus setup - a real innovation - a better sleep than on a train!

June 14 - Ghat walk

June 14 Day 119
We woke up one our own but still headed out early, planning on walking the ghats to the end.  It was already busy at the main one but thinned out as we headed south, occasionally coming across groups of swimmers or the continuous offer of "boat, sir?".  There weer some variations and the less popular ghats tended to leave sand between the last step and the river.  many sweepers weer out in their government vests and we figured that the ghats would be much dirtier without them.
It took about 35 minutes to get to Assi Ghat, the last of them.  Beyond that, you could see a few rows of steps far from the water which gradually turned to dirt and paths.  this was a more active ghat than we had seen in awhile, with many swimmers and boats, including a large gold one with a shiny mermaid on its bow.
We headed inland in search of breakfast and saw a sign for the Brown Bread Bakery's sister cafes.  We began to lose faith after awhile, but saw a sign pointing down an alley for a guidebook recommended place.  That place was closed for May and June so we headed back and took another street and saw a series of cafes, including another recommended in our guidebook which was actually open.
This street was very different from ones we have seen.  It had a little park with kids playing and was wide and fairly quiet with a sense of air and space that was rare in Varanasi.  The cafe had a nice spot but was unable to get us coffee right away because of a power failure.  The rest of the breakfast was available so we ate with tea and had coffees later while enjoying a view of the street from their shaded balcony.  I was surprise by how many people looked up at us as they walked by as usually from elevated patios you never get a stare from anyone, their eyes are straight ahead.
On the way out Meg got some postcards form their shop which was supposed to support some kind of charity.  To avoid another long walk in the now hot sun, we asked the guy at the shop how much a tuktuk to the main ghat would cost, he said 20 rupees per person.  Two tuktuk guys insisted it was 100 and wouldn't accept our offer of 50, saying the 20 was "Indian price".  A cyclo guy said he'd take 50, so off we went.
SO how do we feel about cyclos?  It's hard work in the hot sun but he wanted our business and has to make a living at it.  The cart wa narrow and uncomfortable, with  a low roof and a forward-slanting seat.  He often had to stand on the pedals and walked the cyclo when there was an incline.  Maybe we should always take these to support the drivers or is it inhumane in 42 degree heat?
At the end he could only go a certain distance as there was a gate blocking off the road.  We gave him a good tip and walked the rest of the way to the ghat.  As we walked, other cyclos and tuktuks buzzed by us and we wondered if he didn't want to take us any further of if you needed some special permit to drive in that market area.  Either way, between his ride and the 10 minute walk to our hotel from the drop off point, it would have been quicker if we had walked the same way back, but it also would have been much hotter.
We made it back and ordered some soda and juice form our regular waiter, who was surprised that we didn't ask for any food.  We cooled off, read, did stuff in the room and the courtyard and had a nice lunch using the bread we had bought the day before.
I was outside typing while Meg was doing her exercises where I felt a pull on the bench i was sitting on.  i looked to see a monkey half my size sitting next to me.  Our guidebook warned us to be careful of them, as when they stayed there one ran off with a piece of someone's skin in its mouth.  I got up and moved away from it, keeping the laptop between us and backing away.  It opened its mouth but didn't make any moves and a security guy shooed it away while I returned to our room.
Meg went out and navigated the streets to drop off laundry and try on saris while I rested.  We headed out into the maze of streets are were able to find the fabric place where Meg picked up a shirt and sari.  We then headed to Brown Bread but were told that the classical concert only happened in high season.  We dined there anyway and it was dark when we headed out again.
The way back was more crowded, probably from people leaving the main ghat ceremony.  We managed to find our way but had some problems when Meg had sympathy for someone who looked like she might have been disfigured by acid.  She offered to buy a postcard but when the woman said they were $10 Meg said no and started to walk away.  The woman followed us and pestered Meg for a long time and many requests to leave us alone.  She finally laid off when we kept insisting but our energy was pretty tapped by then.  We headed back to our room to sleep.

Artsy time!  A bird on top of a bend roof decoration.

Meg with our cyclo driver.

The camel on the sandbar across from the ghats.

June 13 - Varanasi Explorations

June 13 Day 118
I didn't sleep too well because of our noisy AC and the 4:30 alarm came too soon.  Unfortunately, our bathroom window was across from our neighbour's so we got to hear our hotelmate go through what sounded like a violent vomiting session but way probably a local phlegm ceremony, similar to what one can hear in public spaces in China.  We groggily dressed and met our guide in the lobby at 6.
He walked us to the boat and we crossed a huge procession of several hundred tourists all walking along the ghat in the other direction.  Our guide led us down to the water and woke up our skipper who was sleeping on his boat.  He woke up, came in close enough for us to get on and we set off.
He rowed us slowly down the river, fairly close to the shore and only spoke a little, although his English seemed okay.  The ghats were already active, with many people washing and swimming in them, boats going to and fro and lots of activity on shore.  As we headed away from the main ghat there were pockets of people in the water but it generally petered out.  One of the main things to do was to take a boat across the river to the huge sandbar on the other side of the Ganges and enjoy one of the makeshift teahouses there.  We stuck to our own route.
Once we got got what he said was a power station we turned around and headed back a little further away from the shore.  Another floating store approached us but went after other boats when we repeatedly said "no thanks" to his doodads. 
The large group we saw when we first waked down seemed to be going by us on several huge motorized boats and we were glad to be in a boat where the only sound was the soft splash of the paddles.  A few local boats went by us full of women singing, which was nice.  It was a misty morning and so the sunrise was an indirect one but the air was still cool and there was lots to see.
We docked and our 90 minute tour ended up being less than an hour but we were okay being on land and so tipped our captain.  We then walked along the water towards the burning ghat.  This is where families cremate their loved ones, so it was tactical to give them space and not take pictures.  Two men came up to us as we approached the area and told us where we should be walking, but this was India and there was no way to decipher whether they were giving good information of whether they were trying to lead us into some touty trap.  We decided to observe from where we were and then head back.
Going the other way we hit the main ghat and tried to puzzle out where the main elements of the night before's show were held.  There was a big stage which  had a table laid with potted plants and a long line to approach it but nothing happening on it as we passed.  Of course, the line went directly through the tightest bottleneck on the ghat so people were forcibly pushing their way to get through the area.
We continued walking through the crowds of people, who usually took no notice of us other than to say "boat, sir?" (lots of that).  They were swimming, socializing, selling and buying and we were nothing special.
Back at our ghat we sat for a bit and watched what was happening.  Several swimmers wore strings over their shoulders and chests which apparently designated them as brahmens.  There was a guy mixing paste under an umbrellas who watched people's stuff and would bless the foreheads of those who requested it with some of the paste.  Otherwise lots of people were going in all directions, getting in and out of boats and mainly getting in and out of the water. 
Bacl at our room Meg had a quick shower before breakfast.  We started breakfast on the roof but the day was already getting so hot that we retreated down below to eat.  Our regular waited had been abandoned by his support staff so we were a little late in meeting our walking tour guide Suneil.
Our guidebook describes Varanasi as a place to take in the entire atmosphere rather than visit specific sites, which seemed to be proven true from our tour.  Suneil led us on a path we could never reproduce through narrow passages and constantly forking streets.  There were beggars and cattle and dogs, motorcycles buzzing by with almost no space between them and us and often packs of people dressed in their finery, having come as pilgrims to Varanasi.  The path was so labyrinthine you expected a minotaur to pop out and start chasing us at any moment.
We looked in at several Hindu temples.  It reminded us of Kathmandu where at the end of a deserted alley or through a deserted building a large, ornate temple would appear crammed between several shops or apartments.  He took us to a formerly grand mansion which now represented faded glory, though it was only 80 years old.  As we got closer to the main temple, the shops were selling more and more flowers and offerings and the crowds were getting thicker and thicker.  On the main street we saw the line which was already 3 to 4 hours long.  There were offerings made of ice and people giving out free drinks which we didn't dare drink. 
Suneil pointed out the spires of the temple and the nearby mosque but we never got a proper view of the temple due to the crush around it.  We could have done some paperwork to get a ticket and then waited with everyone else for several hours in the sun on a street buzzing with traffic, but we didn't entertain this options.
Back to the narrow but shady streets we went.  None of these places looked far apart on a map but we walked a long and indirect way to get from anything to something else.  Suneil did his job adequately but obviously wasn't passionate about his work.  He was able to answer a few cultural things that we saw (what is that?  Why are they doing that?) which was nice.  He answered our questions but using few words and had to be pressed for detail.  we saw many people with narrow carts, scraping garbage off the ground and Suneil told us that they were paid by the government to do this everyday and people could just dump their garbage outside of their homes and it would be picked up.  I guess that they also picked up the dead and dying animals that we saw several times while walking the streets of Varanasi.
We emerged by the burning ghat and saw piles of wood used for teh purpose and watched what was going on from a respectful distance.  Apparently there is no booking system, you just show up with a body, buy some wood and wait your turn.  This is the most auspicious place in India to be cremated but there was no visible corpse lineup that we could see.
We saw the mosque close to the temple but it was closed and them walked through and area of rubble and half-demolished buildings.  Apparently Modi is dealing with the crush to get to the temple by buying 300 buildings close to it and demolishing them to create a parking lot.  So much of the character of the place was the crush of buildings that it seemed a shame to create such a thing but the temple is apparently always dysfunctionally crowded.
We visited  a Nepalese temple which had fine wood carving and a some pornographic depictions and watched a mongoose scamper around the grounds.  Our guide then told us that we had seen everything and invited us to look in on a Muslim weaving shop, but we were warned about hotel guides taking you shopping by our guide book so we declined.
Instead we went to the Blue Lassi for some cool treats.  They churn the yoghurt for a good long time and then place it in a clay pot with your fruit toppings and you eat it with a wooden spoon.  They were delicious and we ate them sitting on the couch surrounded by passport photos donated by previous diners.
We asked our guide to take us to the Brown Bread Bakery but he said it was too far away, which turned out to be correct (our out of date guide book had it much closer, but it has moved) so we went back to our hotel.  We thanked our guide and then went down for a nap after such an early morning. 
We got up and weren't really functional until mid-afternoon and so went out seeking lunch in the middle of the day, with no proper map and only vague directions of how to get to Brown Bread.  Outside the crowds were reduced to next to nothing as anyone sane had found somewhere cool to have a siesta.  We walked along past the main ghat and looked for signs leading us on.  Seeing none, we headed up into a busy market area and asked directions from some young guys calling everyone into their shop.  They pointed us down an alleyway, which we followed for an uncomfortably long time.  At times it seemed to peter out but we kept on and occasionally asked someone until we found it.
We had some drinks and nice hummous and salad.  The menu had the sort of their charity and the women and children that helped.  They offered a tour but this being off season there was nothing to be had in June.  We had a nice chat with an Indian man before heading out.
We followed the painted signs backwards from the bakery until we hit a ghat and noted how to get back there.  We then entered the narrow streets from another spot and looked for Meg's scarf and my anti-perspirant.  She soon found a fabric store that had pretty much what she wanted at a decent price.  She promised she'd be back to try a shalvar chamese the next day and we set off looking for a pharmacy.
Our situation was a familiar one in countries where you an't say no to a question.  Everyone spoke of this big pharmacy which had everything but pointed us deeper into the market until we came to a street we had been at and they pointed us back in the other way.  Eventually one vendor speculated that it had probably closed so we gave it up and went back to our room.
After a quick freshening up, we headed out to the big show at the main ghat, in person this time.  On the way the boat captains desperately wanted our attention, one suggesting that if we saw it on land we'd just see their backs.  We walked past the big stage which had a traditional Indian band playing but only a few spectators.  The big crowd was waiting just after the band, as the steps of the ghat were quite packed and people were moving back and forth, making it slow to get by them.
We headed down by the water where we saw large boats by the shore with rows of chairs.  We were approached by several vendors who said it was 300 rupees per seat but we said we could get our own boats for 200 rupees.  We had to walk away but he agreed to our price.
We were in the second row of the boat, behind a man with a big head and various members of his family who sat next to us taking turns.  We asked an older couple behind us to take our picture and they asked a perplexed younger man to take it and directed him to take it from the opposite direction that we wanted.
While we waited people were putting floating candles with flowers in the water, boats were showing up and the band could be heard quite clearly.  Around 7:00, seven guys in gold lamee suits showed up and spent quite a while placing wreathes and praying to what we thought was a picture of someone (we only saw the back of it from the water.)  They then came down to the river with platters and scooped stuff off of the platters into the hands of some probably locally well known people.  Then they lit fires on their platters and waved them around while one of their number continuously chanted.
They returned to their podiums and blew in conch shells to signal the start of what they started next.  They stood facing in various directions while they swung stuff around with one hand and rang a bell with the other.  At this point a large group of audience members began to ring bells too and the sound was really hypnotic.  They swung around incense sticks, then smoking incense and finally flaming incense burners.  They were each given a flaming Christmas tree and swung that around for awhile. 
After this the chimes stopped and a few songs were played over the speaker.  At the first one everyone stood, which caused our boat to rock to the manager demanded that everyone sit.  The old guy behind me had to be asked several times before he complied.  A few other songs many in the audience sang along with or clapped to.  The guys on the podiums then threw flower petals into the air, then waved big dusters around and then waved some green fans around.  The blew into their conch shells one more time and stepped off the podium.  Finally, they came down to the river with metal pots with some petals in them and poured those into the river.  After that they came back to tidy up their podiums and talk to the audience.
Many people had left early and we left at this point, after almost 90 minutes of show.  The crowd had thinned and the band had taken off so the walk back was easy, if not as cool as the night before.  We had a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant and then headed down to bed.

Early morning Ghat action on the Ganga.

Water buffalo come home along the ghat, they're not sacred.

A performer with his flaming Christmas tree.

June 11 and 12 - Holding Pattern in Bodhgaya and arriving in Varanasi

June 11 Day 116
We got up fairly early but not beholden to our alarm.  Our breakfast place surprised us by being nearly full of Indian families and the orange juice was as great as we remembered.
We had some fairly mundane errands to run before everything got too hot.  We had a nice chat with Rahul and settled our bill.  The first floor of his guesthouse seems to be occupied by his extended family and while we waited for him a grandmother was watching Hindi cartoons.  He told s that the huge, strange building behind his place has supposed to be a Tibetan temple with a large guesthouse but had run into problems with the government and still hadn't been completed after 20 years.  We had been looking at it, with no windows and dusty furniture inside and cut wires everywhere.  There was a very temple-like central structure but while we were there we only saw about five guys chipping away at it so it would probably be another 20 years before it was close to finished.
We unsuccessfully looked for stick antiperspirant and a blue and white cotton scarf.  We bought some other items and many cold drinks.  We were told that the massage clinic in the Thai temple had permanently closed because the Indian government questioned the temple making money and the Thai government didn't want problems as the temple as on Thai soil in India, legally.  This came from a female monk who was eager to help us.  We also spoke to an Australian Thai woman who was there on a pilgrimage to visit the four holiest sites in Buddhism.
Walking back we were bothered by street kids selling pens or just asking for money and told them that they should be in school.  The boy persisted for a good 20 minutes as we went to shops and pharmacies but we were pretty good at this point of ignoring begging.
We headed back with more cold drinks in hand had used up some of remaining peanut butter and jam for lunch before avoiding the heat by napping, reading and catching up on stuff.
We woke the staff up at our local spot by looking for mid-afternoon tea.  One wasn't enough so Meg ordered one to go.  They didn't have disposable cups so they let her take the glass home as long as she brought it back the next day.
We went back to the same place for dinner as the night before and our waiter was happy to see us.  The food was good - some nice tandoori - but the movie was wussy with a lame musical number that could have been choreographed by a seven year old and no explosions.
Back at our room we braced for leaving the next day and slept well.
June 12 Day 117
We got up and had one last breakfast at our favourite spot.   Back at our room we leisurely packed and got prepared for a shift.  The laptop has been finicky about charging lately, which caused some concern.
We got into our taxi for the short ride to the airport.  Our driver was very optimistic about Modi's policies improving life for all Indians by cracking down on corruption and improving infrastructure.  We had to go through two rounds of security and have our bags scanned to get to the check-in counter.  There weren't many people there and we were two hours early so it was no problem.
After getting through security we had a long wait in an almost deserted airport with only one little snack counter for lunch.  We had some okay samosas and did some reading until it was almost our departure time.  I asked someone who seemed official and he said our plane would be landing in five minutes.  We were moved to another gate which was less  air conditioned and made our way onto the plane.
The people already there were socializing and reluctant to let the new passengers on.  It was a very short flight so there were no snacks and everyone rushed out of their seats as soon as we landed.  The stewardess had to remind them that we weren't at the gate yet and they needed to sit while the plane was moving and some people actually did.  An annoying habit of the people behind us was to put their hands on our side of the seat.  A woman pulled Meg's hair getting on and while we were waiting to depart, 10 old fingers were massaging the pillow on my chair.  Creepy.
Getting our bags was fairly easy again and we were braced for the worst the touts could offer and Meg got very suspicious when the guy holding our sign turned out not to be our driver but a "friend".  He didn't hang around for tips, which was something, at least.
We got into the taxi and had a fairly long ride to Varanasi which got very slow and jammed as we approached the centre of the city.  Our driver passed us off to two hotel boys as you can't take cars into the old city because the streets were so narrow.  We had a long, winding walk to our hotel, which was at the end of a little alleyway.  The owner gave us a long talk on our possible tour options, which were inexpensively priced, and we walked through a nice courtyard for our room.
We went with the hotel guide to find a place to book our bus to Agra.  The train had been impossible to book and planes only flew between the cities every two weeks or so, so we were glad that there was lots of space on the bus.  We booked a double bed on a sleeper bus and were very curious what one of these beasts were.
After a bit of settling into our room we headed for the rooftop restaurant, whose view was phenomenal.  It jutted out over the Ganges between the burning ghat and the main ghat, with good visibility all around.  We spoke to an Italian guy who had been here 7 times already and was rushing out to see the nightly sacred performance at the main ghat.  We decided to avoid the crowds and watch from a safe distance.  Over tasty thalis we saw the huge cluster of boats watching from the water and the colourful audience on the land.  There was a mixture of music, chanting and talking coming from 5 or more sources making for a crazy blur of sound.  As it got dark, we could see small fires close to shore and many floating candles on the water to go with the spinning flames of the distant performers.  We tried to decipher it from our vantage point but gave into the cool breeze and the hive of activity and sound in front of us.
We decided to give ourselves a busy morning and so booked a sunrise boat tour followed by a town walking tour.  This meant an early wake up time so we headed off to bed.

The Thai temple in Bodhgaya.

The Bangladesh monastery.

The main ghat in Varanasi from our rooftop restaurant.

June 10 - The Sacred Bodhi Tree

June 10 Day 115
We dragged ourselves out of bed and managed to get on the road a little after 6.  It was still hot but better than  it would be later on.
We headed to the main temple, which does not allow cellphones or plastic bags and charges for the use of a camera.  We got our photo permit and dropped off our shoes at the free shoe depot and headed into the temple. 
The walkway had green carpets for bare feet which led into the quite large complex.  The tower itself was similar to those in Angor Wat but with a very geometric look to it.  The only part we could go into had a small area with a 2m Buddha in it.  Two blocked off sets of stairs led off to the sides but I can't imagine there were too many rooms in the temple as there were no windows in the entire structure.
As you walked around it, several groups of monks were there and one was using a microphone to talk to a group of others.  Around the back is the bodhi tree.  The original tree was killed by a jealous wife who used poisoned thorns to do it in.  Kind of bizarre, when you think about it.  Fortunately, a cutting of the original tree was taken to Sri Lanka and they returned the favour.  The tree you can see now is probably the fifth generation and it's big and healthy.
During high season the place is probably packed to the gills but not in June, we were able to move freely wherever we went.  Close to the temple were three possible paths to circle it (always clockwise), some with gardens and one area had very high-relief depctions of Buddha's life.  All through the grounds were information boards about the different spots that Buddha spent his time before and after enlightenment and another areas had philosophic nuggets to ponder as you did your kora.
We visited a pond with a statue in the middle of it, some houses full of butter lamps (which were lit by the faithful as there was a sign in the window saying who lit how many lamps when) ad a meditation park with two big bells but no meditators.
As we left the park we wished that we knew the layout as you only needed to take off your shoes very close to the main temple and on the way in and out you were in bare feet on a very dirty road.
We went looking for some restaurants recommended in our guidebook for breakfast but found them closed due to low season (so far the only time we had been told that something was closed in India and it was true).  We went back to our dinner place of the night before and found the first western tourists we had seen so far also breakfasting there.  It was a Spanish couple and an Australian guy so we chatted and had bland pancakes and excellent orange juice. 
We had a pit stop back at the room and then headed out to check on some of the temples in town.  Pretty much any Buddhist country has there temple there.  We were later told that the property belongs to that country, sort of like an embassy.  We had a long walk down dusty roads until we got to the tourist office, looking for a town map.  The guy in there found a fourth generation photocopy of one and talked with us about our options.  As I signed his guestbook I saw that the entries in it were about three days apart, so the office was far from buzzing but a nice cool place for us to take a break from the 45 degree heat.
We headed down another street and found the Mongolian temple closed and so went to look at the giant Buddha.  It was big and impressive and we had our picture with an Indian family there before seeking delicious lemon sodas across the street.
We poked into a tiny Japanese temple which was mainly a guesthouse before heading back along another street.  There we found a larger Japanese temple but almost burned the skin off our feet climbing the sizzling marble steps into it.  The inside was large and woody with pictures on the ceiling and a more spare layout than most Buddhist temples.  We warned an approaching Indian family to ignore the shoe shelf and leave them at the top of the stairs.  Meg took one for the team and raced down to put her shoes on before walking up with mine to spare me a scorching. 
We went into a Bhutanese temple but two unfriendly guys were there and I wasn't taking off my shoes where I was supposed to so I hung out in front of it while Meg walked around it.
We settled at a recommended restaurant for a launch which was slow but tasty and cold drinks.  Somewhat replenished we walked back.  The Bangladeshi monastery was closed so we headed back to our room to avoid the heat of the day.
The power was on and off all afternoon and after that the wifi signal was weak so Meg went out into the steaming hall to get some banking done.  We left a load of laundry to be done and naps were also had because of our early start.
We went back to the main temple at night to see it lit up.  It was busier and we knew to keep our shoes on.  There was chanting and activity but most of the strings of fine lights remained unlit, with floodlights on the main temple being the source of illumination.  Like many places, it was more impressive at night.
We stopped at a bare tourist office on the way back to cool down and chatted with someone affiliated with the office who had good English.  We said teh little lights were only lit on special days and there were very few tourists.  We had been counting since the morning and had only gotten to 10.  We congratulated Rahul on this later as 6 of them were staying at his place.
We walked back to see if the breakfast places that were closed had opened for dinner, but they hadn't.  There was a bust place close by, so we tried that.  Our guidebook said to trust any place that was busy with families and the air conditioned central room of this place fit that description.  The food and cold drinks were all quite good and a big bonus was a crazy Bollywood action movie playing on their tv, which was probably made much better by not understanding the dialogue.
It was a short and uneventful walk back to our guesthouse and had another good night's sleep.

The bodhi tree, 5th generation or so.

The main temple complex.

Big Buddha with Indian family.

June 9 - On to Bodhgaya

June 9 Day 114
We woke up and found out that our flight had been delayed and so took our time.  Back on went the backpacks and we had a short walk to the metro station with relatively few touts pretending to help us.
By the ticket machines were helpers.  Ours got us a cheap ticket to the next station but told us we had to buy another ticket there.  The connection to the airport line was long but the machine quickly gave us a ticket and the train showed up quickly.  It was like the Toronto airport train, with many seats and a big baggage compartment.
Delhi airport brags that it won best airport in the world in 2017 on numerous posters.  It's a nice, new space and not crowded, but it couldn't protect us from Air India.  The boarding pass machines were quick and easy but the line to drop your bags off was painfully slow and the desks understaffed.  After waiting 45 minutes with an hour before our flight I asked the guy managing the line how long before the flight leaves do they stop accepting bags.  Either through lack of comprehension of obstinacy he refused to answer my question and asked to see my papers or talked about something else.  When I persisted and asked him why he was refusing to answer me he said he'd talk to his boss and then waved us to a desk in front of the other passengers.  I was surprised that they didn't follow the same strategy once they saw our results.
Our tickets said there was only a snack on our 90 minute flight so we found some samosas which were good but came with sweet mayonnaisey dips which weren't.  On the plane Meg took a video of the other passengers actively ignoring the safety demonstration but the stewardess asked her to delete it.
Lunch was no snack, it was a full meal and so we were properly stuffed.  As we came into Gaya, the land from the window was chopped into rectangles as most agricultural land is. Maybe 10 percent of these sections were green and the rest brown and at least three dry riverbeds, one quite large, were passed over.  Gaya was obviously needing the monsoons to come quickly.
Our bags popped out almost immediately once we wove our way through the airport, which was decorated with large pictures depicting Buddhist history and practices.  Our driver had our names and two people wearing lanyards who seemed to know him followed him to our cars and lifted our bags to the trunk from the cart our driver was pushing.  For this 2 seconds or unrequested "help" they began to aggressively demand tips, and since we weren't biting the driver tossed them a few coins.
The drive was quick with the traffic not comparing to Delhi.  Our driver was visibly glad to be tipped, probably worried about being short because of the tout money.  Rahul, who owned the guest house where we were staying, was inviting and our air conditioned room was clean but on the third floor, so a bit of a trek for us.
We settled in and waited until late afternoon for some of the heat to wane.  We walked to the central temple, which was only about 5 minutes.  We had offers of bodhi leaves and a tour but said we were just orienting ourselves.  We poked around a bit more and then headed back to a recommended restaurant close to us.
We were the only ones in the restaurant and they turned on a big AC fan next to us once we were seated.  Meg tried to order one of the house specials but they said it would take too long to cook.  The stuff we did order took a solid 30 minutes and Meg's vegetable curry was tepid, which worried us.  The food was decent, in not great.
We had been warned by several people not to go our after dark in any of the cities we were planning on visiting.  It was dark, but we only had a two minute stroll to our guest house and had no problems.  We set the alarm for 5:30 to get an early start the next day to beat the heat and went to bed.