Newsweek

Greetings! sorry for my absence, well, not really actually, this blog and it's audience have actually become quite the chore *sigh*.

not...(ish)

We just took a 55 hour train ride completely across the country to get to Bodhgaya, the exact place where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree, but more on that later, there is a story to be told!


The Trip wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it was actually kind of nice...well, as nice as a two day plus train ride can be I guess. We went from the south-western coast in Kerala, to the north-eastern state of Bihar, just below the Himalayas and Nepal. The train was as eventful as a train ride can be in India, which is to say, it was eventful by Canadian standards. The biggest and strangest part of the trip was on the second night, when we crossed the equator and woke up in the morning in the fetal position and my saffron coloured Tibetan shawl vacuum sealed around me. It was like waking up in a whole other country, everyone was wearing scarves around their heads like little old ladies, and pants and sweaters that came straight out of 1975. The night before they were wearing Longees(Man skirts) button ups, and sandals, all of which would also be right at home in the 70's. The food vendors were selling completely different foods, the temperture had dropped by about 20 degrees celsius and I had to dig out my shoes,socks, sweater and jeans that had been burried deep at the bottom of my backpack for the last month or so. The writing on the signs and buildings had all changed from Tamil to Hindi(Tamil is the language spoken by most of the southern provinces and looks a lot like burmese actually.) I could actually use the tora tora of Hindi I've managed to learn again. Kerala is India's first and only democratically elected Comunist state(wrap your head around that one.) so there were no more Comunist propaganda posters or Tamillywood movie posters anywhere to be seen. It was an extremely sudden change in scenery, climate, language and culture. A change that I my recently awoke and slightly valiumized mind wasn't exactly prepared for, but one that I excitedly embraced. Woah woah woah woah woah, I did NOT just write that. Excitedly Embraced? Who am I? What is this?
Jesus,Vishnu and Buddha.

AS I WAS SAYING...

I Excitedly embraced the very dramatic and slightly un-nerving change of South to North with the fervor of an obese child presented with sweets.

A few interesting facts about Indian Trains:

1: Go and see "The Darjeeling Limited".

2: Good, now forget everything you loved about the train they stayed in except for the scenery and the fact that the main characters were, in fact, on a train and in India.

3:In reality There are but two trains like the one in that movie and it's called "The Palace On Wheels" and for about $300 a week you can live like a king on a train similar to the one in the movie(Anyone interested in going, talk to me after europe this summer, I'd be more than happy to make the trip.). The rest of the trains that you sleep on are pretty, ok very basic in design.

4: The outside of the train is blue, the inside of the train is blue. There are 72 beds per Sleeper class train car, there is one corridor/hallway that runs the length of the traincar and there are exactly 9 doorless compartments that sit on the left hand side of the corridor. The bunks are...you guessed it, blue. Throughout the day starting at 5 or 6 am and finishing around 7 pm, there are kitchen staff that haul around big pots of coffee and tea, yelling, "CofFEEyah, Coffee Garam!" or "Chai! Chai Garam!"(Tea, hot tea!) I must have drunken about 20 to 25 of those little paper cups of tea from the bastards in 55 hours, and came up with as many or more plots to kill them for waking me up in the morning. Plots shared among my associates I am sure.

5: The food.
As one of our Indian coach-mates(oh yes, coach-mates.) put it best, "Train food is not good, but it is not bad." Meals consist of vegi-curry, rice, dhal and pickled mango. Mmmmmmmmmm mmm. Other than that anyone and everyone seems to be selling toys, jewellery, fried bananas, cashew nuts, pens, stickers and tatoos. Not to forget ou good friends the Chai and CofFEEyah men that harass us eternally, and the beggars that paw at you and children that look at you with kitten-like eyes and ask you for rupees. Fortunately for me, my heart is made of ice and I am immune to their guilt-tripping ways. Yes indeed, riding on a train in India is quite the experience.

I really hope none of you took that last bit seriously, I really do feel terrible about seeing people living like that, my travels melted the glacier that was my heart long ago, don't worry. Giving to Beggars is frowned upon justifiably by the community because if tourists give them money, they will keep on begging. If someone someone asks for rupees or food, or "just some rice for my baby, sir", a lot of the times they just sell back whatever you just bought for them to another, or the same shop(and it happens a lot, which is depressing). Actually, I just bought a little boy outside some books for writing, and Joseph just came in and told me he'd just done the same to another little boy. It was a scam, and we fell right into it, the little kids justsell the books right back to the bookstores. You want to give to everyone because you have so much, but the sad reality is that beggars are beggars here because it's a job, and it pays pretty well. I just read in India Today that Beggars in India make more money than the average working Indian. This fact was re-inforced to me today by two teenaged monks Joseph and I hung out with all day today, There are A LOT of poor people in India, but you cannot give to everyone, and a lot of parents get their kids to beg instead of go to school to support the family. It's a terrible cycle. That's why I try and give only to those who are in need and are polite and kind about asking for something, not just, "hey! Hello! money? rupees? please sir, I need to eat, one biscuit" It happens everytime I go outside of the hotel room, every single day. The two monks I got to hang out with today were really smart kids, and both left their extremely poor villiage lives to become monks to study. Unlike in Asia, Buddhist monks aren't supported much by the community and they rely on donations and sponsors from people in the community and visiting Buddhists to study. I was truly humbled by their dedication and honesty. I helped them out and they were extremely thankful. These are the kinds of people I wish I met everyday, I wouldn't have any money left, but I'd feel great about ACTUALLY helping someone out. It was a fun day, and I wish those two monks the best of luck.

tear.

By the way, Joseph is a Frenchman we met in Goa and who is traveling with us now. he's 6 feet tall, with light brown hair, great bone structure and a killer smile, he likes long walks on the beach and has modeled for Dolce and Gabbana. But really, he's done just about everything you can think of, including proffessional GoGo dancing

What started as an expose on the Indian Railway system turned into an expose on poverty and Buddhism, and now it's an ad for hot singles. I'll take that as my cue to stop writing. I've got a ridiculous wholly wardrobe I need to start building now that I'm in the northern hemisphere again.

Buh Bah,
-Ben