I conquered the Ganges

Good Afternoon from Orchha. This will be a multi day blog over the next few days as I am getting ready to travel again this evening and the wifi doesn’t seem to be co-operating this evening. We spent the past couple days here in Orchha, staying in a beautiful palace style hotel called the Raj Mahal. The services and staff were second to none. I had a big room adorned with marbles and stones. The big king size 4 poster with canopy bed was the centre piece. While here we toured several temples, cenotaphs and palaces. I have has so much information and history thrown at me in the past two days it was impossible to process. I couldn’t differentiate between them all if I tried. However I can say that they were all beautiful. 

 We have been using Tim Tuks as our mode of transportation here. With all the narrow streets, crazy traffic and back roads, it was much more efficient than a big tour van or multi cars. Tuk Tuks definitely offer an Asian experience, one part exciting, one part death defying. 

 Our first night here we attended a mosque for a Hindu ceremony. Although most definitely not religious myself, it was interesting to see…..once. I, as well as the others, felt like a fish out of water but I must say, they were very welcoming to us. 

 With the extreme heat the past few days, a couple member of the group opted out of some activities for the cool comfort of the hotel. I can’t blame them as its stifling, especially today. The key is to constantly be drinking water, in fact, I have probably consumed more water in the past week than in the first 46 years of my life. 

 This morning, after breakfast and some relaxation, a few us hired tuks tuks with a guide and we visited some local farms and family business’. We watched a man make clay pots from scratch and a lady weave baskets. Both very talented and I imagine incredibly underpaid. One of the Tuk tuk drivers then took us to his home for a little lunch and tea. It was a very nice but hot, did I mention it was hot!!

 Now we are back at the hotel, we have checked out of our rooms but have a couple day rooms until we leave tonight. I have been trying to post a bunch of pictures however the Internet is not cooperating.  Shortly we are heading to a local families home for a traditional cooking demonstration and then have supper with them. Then it’s off to the train station for an overnight ride to Allahabad. I will update again soon and post when possible. 

 Hello again. It’s a day later and I am writing this from a little camp site along the Ganges River. To back track a little, we left our hotel in Orchha last night around 9 pm for the drive back to Jhansi to catch the over night train. It was extremely crowded but we pushed our way on and luckily had assigned seats/bunks. The bunks were three high and not very wide so they were as basic as basic gets however reasonable in most cases. Last night tho, I had the displeasure of being across from a man who snored loud enough I thought he may derail the train. Not only was it loud, it was never ending. I was even looking for something I could part with to throw at him but to no avail. Needless to say I got zero sleep and by the time we arrived, I was quite tired. Once arrived we had our mini bus waiting which took us two hours to our meeting point for the Ganges boat excursion. At first site, the boats were a little worrisome however once boarded and settled, they were fine. Quite comfortable actually as the were equipped with a giant mattress, pillows etc. There was four of us plus two crew per boat. They had giant paddles and actually rowed us into the slow current and for the most part, we gently moved down river. Each boat also had a canopy to shelter from the sun which was great but we also had the added bonus of it being a little over cast plus a small breeze so the atmosphere was comfortable unlike many of the weather conditions in India thus far. As the current gently pushed us along, we took in the sites of the riverside and chatted among ourselves. We also had a kitchen boat following us preparing snacks and meals. Shortly into the trip we stopped together and enjoyed a beautiful spread for lunch. Given my cantankerous stomach, I can’t seem to tolerate the spice palate of India so the crew were nice enough to include less spicy food options for me as well.  After lunch we continued on down the river for a few hours until we reached out stopping place for the night. At first glance, we thought it was a joke as it was nothing more than a sand bar however within minutes, the crews had a whole campsite set up, a tent each, a meal area and even a washroom tent. We then watched the sunset, took turns talking about our favourite travel experiences and enjoyed some cold beverages. Shortly after, we were once again treated to a beautiful supper prepared but the crew. Later, after supper and conversation, many of us were beat as it wasn’t a good sleep on the train and then travelling all days we made it an early night. Tomorrow we rise early, have breakfast, take down the camp site and head down the river another couple hours to our pick up point. Then we board a bus and drive the rest of the way to Varanasi. This is also a bucket list spot for me so very mcc looking forward. More so however, I am looking forward to a hotel and a shower!!!!! Good night from the middle of nowhere. 

 Hello all, back again. We just arrived in Varanasi and settled in the hotel. It is a welcome event as last night was camping along the Ganges and the night before the train with no sleep.  We woke up early this morning and watched the sun rising up. Surprising enough, I actually slept pretty decent given I was in a tent out on the Indian heat. The boat staff made us a beautiful breakfast and as we ate, they disassembled the tents and packed them away in the boats. Once breakfast was complete, we were back on the river for another couple hours. It was a hot morning on the water but with lots of water, we managed. We did stop for a brunch along the way. All three boats came together and we had yet another nice meal. I have to hand it to these guys, they sure know how to take care of their guests. A short time later we arrived at our disembark site. We did it! We survived the Ganges River. By this time we were all hot, feeling less than fresh and eager for the air conditioning. That relief came minutes later when we boarded our bus for Varanasi. AAahhhhhh Air Conditioning! It was a short 1.5 hour drive and we have now made it to Varanasi. This city is regarded as the spiritual capital of India. It is also well known for its Ghats which I hope to explore later. We have a list of things in store for here in which I will cover in the next blog. Thank you for reading and sorry for the delay as I was without wifi for a couple days. Cheers!