Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Bodhgaya and Varanasi via the crazy Indian railway
Hello everyone- We've been on the road and I've enjoyed spending time away from a computer screen, while at the same time craving contact with home. I want to share a little story that I hope paints a picture for you of how traveling in India can be.
The train station is a daunting place to say the least. The station is PACKED! People are everyone, travelers, beggars, thieves, families... you have to be on the watch all the time. We were headed to Bodhgaya, (where the Buddha became enlightened sitting under the Bodhi tree and hence, a holy Buddhist pilgrimage site)and we found the platform for our train, although we must wait for the train to arrive because we can not figure out where our car will be. We sit on our packs and wait. And Wait. A couple of trains pass through and everyone around us jumps to their feet and piles closely in a line in front of the rails... nope, it's just another local train. I have no clue why people are lining up. Two hours after our train was due to depart, there is a crazy exodus of people. Our train has arrived and it's at another platform. People start running, hundreds of people with their packages through the station. There was no announcement, just word of mouth that it'd changed. We have no clue what is going on and grab our packs and run with the crowd! I'm laughing and having fun at this point because it is such a hectic situation. People start jumping down to crossover the tracks and climbing through a parked train so that they can cut across to our train. Absolute madness! Later we realize these are general admission car passengers which are first come first serve, and therefore they ran to get in line. We were fine because we had a reserved seat, although it took 6 different people to get us in the right car! So basically people get to the station super early, camp out and wait... then lose their spot in line if the train shows up at another platform. Then these people stand up on the train overnight, packed like sardines because their cars are for standing room only. The police actually use their sticks and beat people in an attempt to quell some of the chaos... but people get angry if they miss the train, and I can not say I blame them.
India is crazy, I do not know how else to describe it sometimes.
We stayed in Bodhgaya for a few days and it has been my favorite place so far. People of all religions and walks of life come to this town to learn and walk around in the many temples, Tibetan, Japanese, Burmese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese to name a few. I loved it because it has a small town feel to it and is very peaceful.
Now we are in Varanasi which is one of the oldest cities in the world and a holy pilgrimage site for Hindus right along the Ganges River. We took a sunrise boat ride this morning to view the ghats (sort of stairways built into the hill just off the river). Thousands of people bath here, pray, do yoga, send flower and candle offerings into the water, and there are even burning ghats. The burning ghats are where they perform cremating ceremonies, and it is a 24 hour occurance. It is considered an honor to be cremated here and have your ashes spread in the Ganges. I am amazed at how death rituals vary across cultures.
I am learning so much and am amazed daily by the resilence and kindness of Indian people. I look forward to coming home soon and sharing some of these experiences along with a few photos. Somethings are better explained over a cup of tea and a good conversation, face to face!
Be well and lots of love.
The train station is a daunting place to say the least. The station is PACKED! People are everyone, travelers, beggars, thieves, families... you have to be on the watch all the time. We were headed to Bodhgaya, (where the Buddha became enlightened sitting under the Bodhi tree and hence, a holy Buddhist pilgrimage site)and we found the platform for our train, although we must wait for the train to arrive because we can not figure out where our car will be. We sit on our packs and wait. And Wait. A couple of trains pass through and everyone around us jumps to their feet and piles closely in a line in front of the rails... nope, it's just another local train. I have no clue why people are lining up. Two hours after our train was due to depart, there is a crazy exodus of people. Our train has arrived and it's at another platform. People start running, hundreds of people with their packages through the station. There was no announcement, just word of mouth that it'd changed. We have no clue what is going on and grab our packs and run with the crowd! I'm laughing and having fun at this point because it is such a hectic situation. People start jumping down to crossover the tracks and climbing through a parked train so that they can cut across to our train. Absolute madness! Later we realize these are general admission car passengers which are first come first serve, and therefore they ran to get in line. We were fine because we had a reserved seat, although it took 6 different people to get us in the right car! So basically people get to the station super early, camp out and wait... then lose their spot in line if the train shows up at another platform. Then these people stand up on the train overnight, packed like sardines because their cars are for standing room only. The police actually use their sticks and beat people in an attempt to quell some of the chaos... but people get angry if they miss the train, and I can not say I blame them.
India is crazy, I do not know how else to describe it sometimes.
We stayed in Bodhgaya for a few days and it has been my favorite place so far. People of all religions and walks of life come to this town to learn and walk around in the many temples, Tibetan, Japanese, Burmese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese to name a few. I loved it because it has a small town feel to it and is very peaceful.
Now we are in Varanasi which is one of the oldest cities in the world and a holy pilgrimage site for Hindus right along the Ganges River. We took a sunrise boat ride this morning to view the ghats (sort of stairways built into the hill just off the river). Thousands of people bath here, pray, do yoga, send flower and candle offerings into the water, and there are even burning ghats. The burning ghats are where they perform cremating ceremonies, and it is a 24 hour occurance. It is considered an honor to be cremated here and have your ashes spread in the Ganges. I am amazed at how death rituals vary across cultures.
I am learning so much and am amazed daily by the resilence and kindness of Indian people. I look forward to coming home soon and sharing some of these experiences along with a few photos. Somethings are better explained over a cup of tea and a good conversation, face to face!
Be well and lots of love.
# posted by Kate @ 4:49 AM 
