India 2006, 2010

India is one of the most amazing travel destinations. Our first trip to India was in 2006; to Assam in the northeast, a small and remote area separated from the rest of the country and known especially for its tea production.

We're in Delhi now - arrived yesterday from Varanasi which at this point I think is the most incredible city we've ever visited.  Hard to describe with words. They claim it is the oldest continuously lived in city in the world- about 4000 years old.   The population of about 2 million plus is always on the streets- the noise from beeping horns and rickshaw bells is deafening- crossing a street is almost impossible- and a ride in a tuktuk or rickshaw a real thrill.  I thought Bangkok and Saigon were exciting cities- they seem like a small town in Kansas compared to Varanasi.

Two days ago we saw the ghats (steps) in Varanasi - not many places in the world where you can watch tens of thousands of people bathing in the river (Ganges) while just a few hundred yards away they are burning bodies and dumping the ashes (and sometimes bodies) into the river.  This apparently is a world attraction because tourists from everywhere are here.

Not many places where you see two stark naked grown men walking nonchalantly down a crowded street- they’re Jainists a religious sect that foregoes all material things.  Or go into a monkey temple populated by thousands of very malicious monkeys who apparently have learned over many years that it’s not advisable to harm humans- just scare them.

The two week boat trip on the Ganges was very special- we were pioneers since that was only the seventh boat trip on the Ganges ever and only about 300 people had made this trip.  Before Pandaw started this cruise in September, 2009 there was no boat traffic on the Ganges from Calcutta to Varanasi- a distance of about 800 miles- only small local ferries that just crossed the river.  Pandaw tried working out lots of kinks and the Indian government was helping them- free of charge- by providing large flat bottomed support tugs (the IWA or Indian Waterways Administration).  The government also built several docks hoping the Ganges river cruise would develop into a tourist industry and open up some of the more remote parts of the country.

Pandaw, the name of the boat, has 24 cabins and we had a total of 44 passengers- mostly Brits with some Swiss and Belgians- we were the only two Americans.  The boat is about 140 feet in length which easily made it the largest boat on the river.  Hundreds of thousands of people - mostly kids- lined the shores of our roughly 800 mile trip waving at us. The boat was built in Burma and is all teak - a sun deck on top and a beautiful restaurant and lounge- quite luxurious as we steamed our way down Mother Ganga (Ganges River).  Even though from a distance it essentially looks like a garbage scow- it is a wonderful vessel. When one is in the heart of India away from all what we consider civilization- getting back to Pandaw after a long and hot day trekking and having a Burmese crew member take your shoes to be cleaned and delivered to your cabin while giving you a cold towel to mop your brow and a cold drink- you know you’ve found heaven in a faraway place.

We grounded several times- twice where we had to spend the night because the tug couldn't get us free.  Because of low water in the river and the fact that it isn’t charted , we finally ran aground and broke the rudder which meant we couldn’t continue on Pandaw all the way to Varanasi. So we transferred to Lily (our companion tug who was there to keep us out of trouble) for an hour’s trip to shore and then in a convoy of SUV's – for a four hour drive to Varanasi.  All great adventures that made for a fun and memorable trip.

There are several bridges across the Ganges with low hanging wires- so the government had the wires disconnected which turned off electric power for tens of thousands of people- to allow us to pass.  There were two pontoon bridges that had to be temporarily dismantled to allow us to pass- holding up truck and pedestrian traffic for hours.  Quite amazing being a part of all this and I can’t imagine this happening in the US.

While intentions were good, after our voyage there were eventually conflicts between the company that operates the Pandaw boats (headquartered in Burma) and the Indian government- and guess who won?  The government seized the boat (there was only one in India) and sold it to another company that now operates it on the Ganges. 

On our way down the Ganges we passed through two provinces which are rarely visited by tourists- Bihar with a population of a little over 100 million and Uttar Pradesh with more than 200 million – combined they are a fourth of India’s total population of 1.2 billion.  These are also two of India’s poorest provinces with the poverty surpassing anything I had ever seen.

I feel that we've seen a lot of the real India- for sure away from the tourist trail.  Bihar province- where Buddha found enlightenment- has no tourists at all only pilgrims coming there to be close to Buddha. I don't think there is an airport that lands jets- Patna is the main city and there are no tourist attractions there.  I guess because it's so poor- Bihar is unbelievably dirty- trash, plastic containers, cow and goat shit, everywhere- enough to make your stomach turn.  Cows are sacred in India and roam the city streets at random- even sleeping on streets while cars and trucks go around them.  It's amazing that cars don't run them over but apparently it's a major sin and fine to injure a cow.  Goats also roam all over Bihar eating whatever garbage they can find- but most of the trash is plastic.  Someone needs to invest edible plastic which would clean up much of India.

We went to several small villages where they make cloth, cigarettes, bricks, etc.- and these are places that never see Westerners- we were the main attraction.  The people are as yet unspoiled- we were told not to give the kids any gifts because then they start begging for things the next time they see tourists.  When the boat arrived in Bihar there was a high school band and kids on elephants there to greet us.  The local Bihar government was hoping this would be the start of tourism to this very remote part of India- but I doubt that will happen. 

We're about half way through our trip- we get on the Palace on Wheels train this afternoon for a seven day tour through Rajasthan- the prettiest and most historical part of India- lots more to see.

Art Faibisch