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So it took a long time to get here and even longer to write this blog but we made it to India. We took a bus from Kathmandu to Sunali which is the border crossing. This was not the most comfortable way to start our trip, we thought we were booking a comfortable larger tourist night bus, but when we arrived at the bus station to see no foreigners we realized this was not the case. We had a local bus, our friends Keshab and Manuj came to see us off and say goodbye and they informed us there was lots of space on the bus so we could pick our own seats and possibly stretch out. This was good but didn't last long, the bus stopped as soon as it pulled out and we stayed in Kathmandu for an extra 2 hours until the bus was filled. The rest of the ride was bumpy, squished and filled with no sleep and the usual thoughts of hitting other buses or thinking we are going to fall off the mountain.
We arrived in Sunali early in the morning to be greeted by two rickshaw drivers taking our bus tickets and saying they work for the hotel that we need to go to to pick up our tickets. It was to early in the morning the place was closed so we stopped for tea. While waiting we started talking to the guys and they informed us the bus which we thought was 8 hours was actually about 12 hours and it was another local bus. We were tired and didnt want to be cramped so we decided to scrap the tickets and take a train like the guys recommended. So they took us to a different hotel, one they actually worked for and helped us arrange a train ticket. Big surprise we were paying more than we thought for the train since we are booking the day of, or so they say and the train leaves in the evening so we are stuck in town for the day. Luckily Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha was nearby so we spent the day there walking around.
To get to the train station we needed to take a 2 hour taxi, first across the border then to the train station. The border crossing was surprisingly way to easy. First the taxi took us to the border on the Nepal side to a little building saying Nepal Immigration Services, we went in and they stamped and put a sticker in our passports saying we were out of Nepal. We then got back in the taxi, drove through the Indian border and down the road a few blocks past a busy market. In the market was a couple tables and chairs set up outdoors with 5 old men sitting at it. We went up to them, filled out a form and got our passports stamped and we were officially in India. On our way to the train station our taxi driver picked up two other travellers and managed to fit all of us and our baggage in the car. Shortly after that we were pulled over by the military who opened the trunk and poked at all of our bags with a stick. They then reached into the cab to feel mine and Tash's bag then asked me to open mine, all it revealed was a pillow and a book (they didn't bother looking further in to see what else was there) they took a photo and let us leave. Not even 10 minutes later we were stopped again, the trunk was opened, it sounded like the taxi driver was arguing with them then we were off again. Once more we were stopped this time only for words to be exchanged between the taxi driver and military.
We made it to the train station early, figured out how everything works and where are train would be and sat around and waited trying hard not to fall asleep. Knowing it was a long train ride to Varanasi we booked a sleeper car. Unfortunatly we did not realize you should spend the extra money and book the AC sleeper cars. Not for the fact that it was hot but those are monitored and locked so noone can sneak on. We had three guys sleeping on the floors underneith the bunks and always new people sitting on the edges of the bunks. Luckily everyone was quiet and kept to themselves.
We got into Varanasi around 5 in the morning and hired a auto rickshaw to take us to our guesthouse house. He took us down several windy back alleys and roads each seeming to get smaller as we went. He kept pulling over and asking for directions or a phone to call the guesthouse. We thought for sure this was going to be a trick and he would end up taking us to a different guesthouse which he worked for. After a little while two guys gave the driver directions in Hindi then told us not to worrry, the road just gets small and windy. So the driver told one of us to stay with the bags and the other to come with him to check it out and make sure the guesthouse was okay. I stayed with the bags and the driver took Tash down endless back alleys for about a half an hour stopping and asking for more directions. Eventually we got settled in and slept for the best part of the day. When we woke up we went down to the ganges and took a small river boat cruise, we got to see the full preparation of a body about to be burned. We then got our palms read by a man sitting down at one of the ghats. We decided Varanasi was a little to crowded and complicated for our liking and booked a train out the next day. Heading to Delhi and from there we would take a bus up to Manali.
Our train got in late and we missed the morning train to Manali so we got stuck in Delhi for an afternoon. It was a beautiful day out and we were tired from the over 20 hour train we decided instead of seeing lots in Delhi we would just pick one place and take it easy. We decided to head to the Red Fort, on our way in a local military boy came up to us and decided he would become our brother and show us around. He seemed very nice so we went around with him, he was nice but it got very tiring after a while when all he wanted to do was have us take pictures or go somewhere and all we wanted to do was just lie in the grass. The Red Fort was beautiful and a good pick for a day of sightseeing and relaxation.
We got worried we got screwed over on buses again when we headed back to catch our bus, the guys from the travel company took us to a small area with benches on the side of the road beside some shops and told us to wait. We waited for a while and noticed that there was not one tourist bus drive by, eventually a jeep came by for us and two other people. We were prepared to make the 10-12 hour jeep ride to Manali comfortable for the four of us but luckily it dropped us of at a gas station where our bus picked us up. Our first 5 nights in India were spent with only one in a hotel room and the rest on either bus or train. We were looking forward to getting to Manali and actually settling down for a few days.
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