Unpredicable India Day 11- Day 17 @ Santiniketan

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地點:和平鄉
腸胃狀況:比較好了
身體狀況: 正常!

location: Santiniketan
stomache condition : much better
physical condition: normal


It was very hot in Kolkatta! I was always thirsty! One thing I really wanted to have was soda popsicle which I couldn't find anywhere. Yo spotted this ice cream vendor nearby and saw some pictures of the ice creme. One of them looked like a soda popsicle. I was sooo happy and quickly bought it. I didn't know what flavour it really was but it tasted like play-doh! We both felt sick eating it.

However, I was excited about leaving Kolkata! There was only so much of craziness I could bear. We took a taxi to the train station.On the way there, I saw all kinds of people. People in suits, people in traditional clothes, people with shattered clothes lying on the ground on the street etc, this always made me think a lot.

It was packed with people at the train station. One thing I really liked about India was that at the train station, there was often a ticket window just for ladies! There were always long queues at the 'normal' tickets windows. And I then noticed that only men were buying tickets! Yo asked me to go to the ladies one so I did! Within 3 minutes I got the tickets!! I was quite happy for some weird reason. In India I was often happy with little things. In Taiwan buying a ticket is easy as clicking your fingers, but I was never happy about it.

outside the station

fans on the train! In a way I felt I was inside a spaceship

I

 I really enjoyed watching people selling things on the train. You could find so many things! Food, toys, books, wallets, tissue, scissors, snacks, and things I didn't even know what they were.And everyone had their style of selling things, their gestures, the tunes they spoke. It was very interesting and fun to watch. We did buy some snacks and a  toy.

view from the train

Entertaining ourselves on the train

 

on the way to Santiniketan

HERE WE ARE!!!
But to go to Santiniketan we had to pass Bolpur. It was crazy as well. There were many cars but more rickshaws and bicycles and of course many animals. This time there were more goats!

When we arrived our destination. It was like entering to another world. It was so much quieter, fresher air and less hectic. To me it was heaven!

This is where we stayed.Tinku the owner is a friend of Yo's. He was so happy to see him again and he welcomed me to his beautiful guest house.

the bus money collector's bag I bought in Kolkatta

 The moment we went inside our room. We started making it like our home



We took a rest  in our sweet home, and I felt like practicing the sitar because we were going to have a lesson with our Guru ji the next day. I wanted to do well. So I sat on the bed, enjoyed the quietness and the birds singing outside and then started to play.  Yo decided to wash some clothes and asked me if I needed to wash anything. I thought the T-shirt I was wearing was filthy, so I would like to have it washed.Yo threw me a clean top. I closed the curtain nearby and when I was picking up the clean top, I touched something really soft! It made me jump a little and when I looked closer, it was a gecko! I screamed and flew right to Yo. He just kept on laughing. I couldn't calm down for quite a while. I hoped I didn't kill it. Where did it come from? I had no idea. Probably it was hiding in the curtain and when I closed it, it fell off. Yo said again " Unpredicatable India!!"

Having lesson with Guruji!

We went to visit Kazu san. A lovely Japanese lady who has lived in India for quite a while.
She was very kind to us and made us delicous food with the vegetables she planted in her garden.

This is her porch. I loved it.

Many mosquitos in Santiniketan! I got bitten on my feet later on and they were swollen like Mickey Mouse's feet.

 Yo and Kazu san chatting on the terrace.

 beautiful sunset!

One of my favourite Indian sweet - san Papdi

early morning in Santiniketan!

 Yo went to the barber

a corner inside the barber shop

no head cow!

It's such a sweet dog. It was really friendly and it was like smiling at me.

I think this was taken in Bolpur when we went there to get a few things

I immediately fell in love with Santiniketan. The food was amazing! I made a lot of new friends already and I felt so much relaxed there. 

To be continued..........................

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Unpredicable India Day 9 - Day 11 @ Kalkatta

地點:加爾各答
腸胃狀況:不太好
身體狀況: tired

location: Kolkatta
stomache condition : not good!!
physical condition:  tired

We left Varanasi in the afternoon, I said goodbye to the cow that's always outside our guest house. I watched the Ganga River and the kids swimming in it, wondering will I come back here again? I really hope so.

We passed the crazy traffic with rickshaw to the train station. It was a nightmare but glad we got on the train soon.

On the train sitting next to us was an old grandpa. He liked to talk a lot! Both Yo and I were tired and  needed to rest. The old man was just very happy sharing things with us. Sometimes he asked  questions such as, do you have any sisters and brothers? are you married? In Japan you have elephants? you have mangos? and so on. At first we were a bit annoyed, but later on we realized that he just needed company.There was a point when I didn't know if I should laugh or be serious because he talked to us like he was going to die soon, like the last words from the grandpa. He was actually a very very sweet man!! I wish him all the best.


I was thinking that my body was immune to India virus. I didn't get sick and was eating a lot. However, on the way back to Kalkatta we ordered some food on the train because we were very hungry.With the extremely cold AC and bad food. We both got sick. It seemed like a long way back to Kolkatta when feeling sick.

this is what we had!!

Even though I was sick I still enjoyed the time on the train

When we arrived Kolkatta, we just looked for the guest house that was nearby. We were exhausted from lacking of sleep and sickness. We just needed a room that had a toilet and beds! This was the ceiling of the room.( like the birthday cake paper plates).The door of the room was hard to close and it wasn't a cosy space. We decided to leave the next morning.

Since we didn't like the first guest house we went. Yo and I decided to go to the one he used to go to. 

The balcony of the guest house.

the view from the balcony! back to the craziness again

I loved the tea in India. We drank many cups everday

You can also buy some snacks to go with your tea.I loved the tea shops by the street!

feeling sick or not! You just have to eat the delicious Bengali food! Its soooooooooo good! Fish curry is one of my favourite!!

We often ate with hands and I think it tasted even better when you eat with hands.
We spent only a few days in Kalkatta just to buy some clothes and gifts for friends and we were heading to our next destination.. a place that's keeping part of my heart!



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Unpredicable India Day 5- Day 9 @ Varanasi

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地點:瓦拉那西
腸胃狀況:腸胃乳動比較快一點.
身體狀況:正常

location: Varanasi
stomache condition : Time to time I feel the calling of nature
physical condition:  normal

 瓦拉那西Varanasi

一個充滿特色的地方.有興趣可以去wikipedia查詳細資料Varanasi, a place full of characters.If you need to know more about it. Please check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varanasi

Ganga River is right in front of our guest house. Every morning we woke up by the sound of clothe washing and motor boats. 
People wash clothes with Ganga River.

 I loved the wooden windows in the guest house.
I immediately opened it and a piece of it just fell off.
Thinking I was too clumsy or what? But Yo said to me.
" Unpredicable India"

It was fixed later on! Thank you!

We washed our clothes in the bathroom everday and hung them just outside

 This lovely creature lived right outside of our guest house. Every morning we greeted it and wondered if it liked its food in the bucket. From the picture, I don't think so.

view from the balcony of guest house

There are many stray dogs in Varanasi.

I wanted to bring them home!!

There are many beggars in Varanasi.
A lot of them are women with babies.

a corner of a shop
I like the narrow alleys in Varansi
they are always full of personalities

near a market
it was sunny and the street were always full of life

 walking into the alley was like walking into a palette

 full of vibrant colours with varies scents

 however, sometimes you have to be very careful strolling in the alley  because you  might encounter a cow that's doing some running  or workers pushing carts carrying heavy things. You need to step aside and let them pass

 school "bus"

 it's taken near the Ganga River
 you can get fingers massaged there

We were really curious what the chow-mien and fried rice taste like there; so there we went and tried! mmmm... it wasn't bad but I think I'd like to stick to Indian food when I am in India. But the nana(lemon and mint drink) was really good!!! We both fell in love with it.

We were wondering how did the dog get up there.

India sweet
very sweet indeed!

 Our breakfast one day - Idly

We went to a sitar shop where famous sitar players have been,too. Radhey ji has the hands given by God. He makes the sitars and he can make them sound heavenly

I started to get used to the craziness in India. I thought I did anyway, but often ended up feeling frustrated in the traffic of people/cars/ noises. Most of the time I could laugh about things and appreciated the differences in India. I also enjoyed sitting in the restaurant savouring the wonderful food and away from the noises and crowds. Gradually you can find the balance. A few days in Varanasi wasn't enough. I truely enjoyed the time there and was really amazed by some Indian who spoke Japanese fluently. I would LOVE to go back to Varanasi again and it would be awesome if I could join some Indian music festivals there.
See you again Varanasi!!

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