Well once again my vacation hasn’t gone as planned.  After two days on the train, which went surprising smoothly with mostly just a lot of reading as well as meeting a very nice man who bought me Chai while we talked. I’m in Thrissur right now, a town in the region of Kerala. Kerala is beautiful and green if not humid and scorching hot. Anyway,  while as a white person I am not allowed into the temple I most wanted to go. The Catholic Church has no racially discriminating rules and gladly let me come in and view the beautiful cathedral dedicated to Mary (I think). Of course as always no photos allowed inside so this shot will have to do. I did manage to see am elephant walking across the street. It was AWESOME. But by the time I got around to playing and running after it  had disappeared. Anyway, after walking around and trying to find something worth while to do I finally gave up. Now I’m just eating grapes on my bed, watching a movie and waiting for my midnight train. Next stop, the beach!  I figured,

how can I go wrong with the beach… Crossing my fingers.

So today I ended up in Varanasi. If you read my past post you will note I said I was on my way to Jaisalmer, Well getting on a wrong bus, trying to sleep on the floor, and finding out I was literally heading in the wrong  landed me here. It isn’t a total loss since I was planning on making this stop anyway. But it is quite annoying that I found out today I have to go BACK to Delhi on order to move on.
Anyway. Since I was here I figured I would get my sight seeing in.  I made my way to the Ghats, holy river water, and watched the people bathe themselves to receive the blessings. I then received an offer to sit down and before I realized what was happening I was being swinddled into receiving a blessing where the Bhrama tried to charge me 500 ruppees for something that at temples is done at no charge. I gave ten, half the cost of a bottle of water, and said thanks. Then I got lost for about two hours walking in what I swear could easily be considered an official maze. I ended up having to use a compass to find my way out.
I have to say, I think my favorite part of this whole trip so far, other than the juice,-which I’m still not sure what they put in it, is the food.  I have not tasted a food I haven’t liked. Indian food is probably one of the best cultural foods I have ever tasted.  Plus the diversity is great, I’m trying a new meal each day.
Anyway, this is a picture of me, recently blessed, and lost in the maze. Once I get a bit more time and internet will upload some of the better photos.

So my first day in India was spent getting lost on the metro and seeing the lotus temple. I had planned on seeing a few more but couldn’t figure out where they were and instead of being late for my train from trying to find them I decided to head back to get my bag at the hotel and then to the train. Good thing I did because I couldn’t remember the name of the metro station where I boarded. So after wasting an hour of back and forth on the train I made it. Getting to the train station was a bit of an ordeal. Standing at the bus stop I felt someone try to pick pocket me. I wasn’t sure or I would have blown up at him but then he tried again on the bus this time getting caught by another passenger. But sometime between the guy yelling at the thief and getting off the bus I was successfuly pick pocketed and my note book with all my sites I wanted to see, the names of the hotels I was going to stay at, and other info was taken. Thankfully the only thing I didn’t have an extra copy of was the hostels, so no worries.  Considering what else I had in my pockets I got very lucky.
But I finally, with the help of some fellow passengers, got to the bus station just in time…except the train was twenty minutes late so I was plenty early and had no need to rush at all.  This is a picture of the sleeper class car I’m riding in. It is the lowest class available, I.e. cheap, and it is a busy place for sure. People constantly are coming up and down the aisles with stuff to sell, bags, and the like. The bottom bunk during the day acts like a seat, the second bunk is the back to the seat, and only the top is always a bunk.  I managed to get a top so I am free from the over crowded lower seat as long as I don’t mind laying down the whole time.  Still, the next train I might spring for a car with air-conditioning.

Sorry there isn’t any pictures. You will see why in a minute.  So I am in India, but lets just say it has been a rough start.  I got to Dubai with no problems, but either the airplane food or the food I bought with the voucher provided to me by the airline gave me food poisoning.  I was very excited to fly Emirates, but I have to say I am NOT impressed.  Well, the food poisoning made it an uncomfortable ride, and as much as I hate to admit it, the poor lady next to me hearing the famous eruptions was probably pretty close to as uncomfortable as I was.  But, the real horror started as I got off the plane.  Having held things through the flight, I just made it to the restroom and…well I will let you image the rest.  Then through customs I was doubled over in pain, receiving more than a few stares as well as a few compassionate nods.  The Emirates official at baggage check didn’t have a whole lot to say to me when I told her how sick I was, but did provide me a bottle of water when I asked, and had one of the baggage guys help me get my bags and a taxi.  Then it was on to the couchsurfers house…except not.  I got to the area we were supposed to meet but his phone was turned off or something and I couldn’t get in touch with him.  So I had the taxi drive me to a hotel…any hotel so I wouldn’t be sick in his cab, but of course it was more expensive that I ever wanted, but since I was about to explode I accepted it and got to the room.  After a few hours rest it was out to get some juice, since I wouldn’t be eating anything for awhile, some meds, and a new sim card for my phone.  In the room I watched movies and wondered if I had made a mistake coming here.
Today I am feeling better, and while not 100%, more than what I would have needed in order to get out of the house in Ethiopia.  So after my first real food in India, (stir fried veg. with a black bean sauce) and walking around seeing what India’s backstreets looked like, I was feeling much better about my decision to come here.  Then it was off to find a hostel with a more affordable daily rates.  The bus ride to this part of town was quite nice, although it is rather hot here, with people helping me find my stop, and the bus officials finding me without a ticket, I am still unclear where you actually buy them, and am thankful the bus officials helped me get a day pass instead of fining me.  After a quick detour (read getting lost for 10 minutes), I got out my phone and used google maps, and a little luck, to find my way to the hostel. The hostel is stuck at the back of what looks like the creepy alleyways that people get murdered in on television, but once you get past the first 20 meters or so turns into a haven for small hotels, a few shops, and where I am staying tonight. 
Now for the really fun part, dealing with red tape.  That all started when I went to get a train ticket.  Of course it is in a government tourist office that has a ratio of about 50/1 of non-tourists to tourists waiting to be served.  After two hours of waiting I was told my fears, that all the tickets would be sold out as it says online, are NOT true and my waiting was not in vain.  I am now a proud owner of a ticket to my next stop, Jaisalmer.  Then there was the time spent trying to get cash because very few places accept credit cards.  And my debit card expired while I was in Ethiopia. On to the banks, well four banks and a few hours later I am finally convinced that no bank in India will let me do a cash advance on a credit card unless it is at the ATM.  Not having a PIN means this is impossible.  This is where I really want to do a shout out to Capital One credit cards.  Not only do they provide collect calls for international travelers having trouble, and no international fees, but they also helped me out by letting me get a PIN placed on the card right away, something they don’t often do.  But they did it all in a short time allowing me to get money out and not starve to death in India. 
So tomorrow will be my first day of exploring the city, since I have not exactly had the opportunity yet, and then tomorrow night I will be on my first train ride in India.  Lets see if I can make it out of the country with nothing stolen now. LOL.