We left Varanasi on a sleeper train headed for Dehli. The train station was just crazy--a mammoth concrete structure, serving at least four or five seperate rail lines, with people absolutely everywhere, mostly lying on the cement as they awaited their train. While Pan-Pan and I waited for our train, we made friends with some Indians waiting beside us. First, a student from a small village was very interested to know everything about me, so we talked for a while and he shared mangoes from his garden at home. On the other side of us were two little children. They'd show us their little toys and we took a picture of them, which they enjoyed immensely.



When the train arrived, at midnight, boarding it was just mayhem. Indian trains are just packed with people. We struggled with our packs through the narrow aisles, literally stepping over piles of sleeping babies and children, at an amazingly slow pace. When we finally got to our berth in the foreigners cabin, there were Indians sleeping there, so we had to shoo them away. This little girl in my berth really didn't want to leave but really there was no choice--I needed the entire space. We fell asleep pretty quickly and actually it was a pleasant enough sleep. When we woke up in the morning, we waited for at least five hours until we arrived. The train was about two hours late getting to Dehli.

When we arrived in Dehli, we walked to our hostel, which is very close to the train station. It's in the older part of town, right beside the train station, comprised of narrow streets lined with shops and hostels, sort of like Kathmandu but a million times more "Indian" (and it isn't as touristy as Kathmandu). Everyone yells out "Hello! Sir! Excuse me..." in an official sounding voice, so that you turn your head, but in fact they just want to peddle some useless trinkets, or maybe some clothes or jewellry. The streets are very hectic and bustling, packed to the brim with pedestrian traffic and motorcycles and rickshaws and cows.

Pan-Pan gets much unwanted attention that leaves us feeling sour about Indians, and I get very frustrated with all the hawkers and with rickshaw drivers who try to rip us off or want to take us on one of their personal "tours" of the city (with stops at their friends' shops, of course). In fact one time a rickshaw driver told me to get out of his rickshaw after I lost my temper at him.
But for every negative experience we have, there is at least one other positive one that sets the balance right. We meet interesting and friendly people, for instance, who just genuinely want to chat and learn about us, no hawking or scamming involved. We went to a McDonalds (at Pan-Pan's bequest-we had a McAloo [curried potatoes] because there is no beef!) and met a nice guy and had a long conversation. We have learned to keep an open mind, as much as possible, and to not ever think that we've figured out India. It's a bewildering place that we probably won't begin to make sense of until months after we get back. There are a billion people here and so obviously they are a mixed bag, like anywhere--but generally they seem like a genuine people.

Dehli is home to hundreds of thousands of impoverished people. At intersections, when the rickshaw is stopped, we are almost inevitably approached by small, dirty children, holding out their hands pathetically pleading for a coin, or mothers holding infants, or even cripples with missing legs crawling up beside us. It's all very sad, and we give sometimes, but we can't give all the time and in fact giving is illegal in Dehli. They want to discourage begging and the purported rings of beggers that make exploit children to collect money for them.

We've seen some very interesting sights in Dehli. At the center of Dehli is Connaught place, a huge ring of old buildings built by the British and now the sheek place for fashionable shopping (or a McAloo burger). Two days ago we went to the massive Red Fort, in old Dehli, and then explored the old streets looking for Karim's restaurant, a national landmark. The same day we went to the largest mosque in India. The best, though, was visiting a Sikh temple. A man led us around and showed us where to take off our shoes, where to wash our hands, how to sit, and everything, and he didn't even expect any money in return (this was a relieving surprise for us!) This temple can house 20,000 people in its dorms, and you don't have to pay anything. You don't have to pay for food either. It's all free by the temple. It was a great experience seeing the whole thing, like the meal halls or the massive kitchens where everything is made, or the prayer hall itself.

Yesterday we explored New Dehli, first going to Parliament and then India Gate, and then Humayum's tomb, which is what inspired the Taj Mahal. I will post pictures when I have more time. Yesterday we also went and saw Shrek III at a big theatre in a very priviledged and modern part of Dehli. It was all very interesting, but the heat is incredible. I've never sweated so much in my life. Because of this, it is very easy to get frustrated and tired and grouchy. It is a significant factor when deciding how to get around (walking vs. rickshaw) or what to do. I often miss Canada.

Today we are catching a four hour train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, and the day after that we are going to Jaipur, in the desert land of Rajasthan. We're very much looking forward to seeing the Taj, and to leaving Dehli, which is just overwhelming!