After 14 hours on a train we have arrived in the South Indian state of Maharashtra. The train was surprisingly very comfortable. It had full working AC and each person had their own bed. Brian and I shared a cabin with an Indian family of 4. The beds are set up like bunks and we had the top two. It was a little tight, but once you were laying down it was quite comfy. I was especially happy to be on the top bunk after spotting a few mice scampering around on the floor.
The train ride went by quickly because it was an overnight ride and we slept the entire night.
This morning we arrived in Jalgaon, a transit town on the way to the Ellora/Ajanta caves. The caves are ancient man made temples (a mixture of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain) that have been carved out of a mountain side and supposedly have remained almost fully intact.
Right now we are sitting on a bus that will take us to a city called Aurangabad which is close to the caves.
The second we got on the bus we were bombarded with questions by a fellow rider. He spoke decent English and was excited to practice with the only white people on the bus.
Everyone in India is very keen on practicing their English. Everywhere we go people stop us to ask where we are from and want to take pictures with us (we've recently started politely refusing to take pictures because it has become a little irksome). We suddenly feel like overnight celebrities. Everyone is very friendly and looooves when we speak Hindi. They also love Barack Obama. Every time we say we are from the United States they always say "Barack Obama" and give us a thumbs up.
We also noticed that people are very touchy here. Men hold hands (as friends) when walking down the street and they always put their hand on your knee when talking to you. This doesn't just happen to me, it happens to Brian too!
One thing that we hear over and over from the Indian people is,"you must take the very good enjoy". The saying has definitely grown on us.
The train ride went by quickly because it was an overnight ride and we slept the entire night.
This morning we arrived in Jalgaon, a transit town on the way to the Ellora/Ajanta caves. The caves are ancient man made temples (a mixture of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain) that have been carved out of a mountain side and supposedly have remained almost fully intact.
Right now we are sitting on a bus that will take us to a city called Aurangabad which is close to the caves.
The second we got on the bus we were bombarded with questions by a fellow rider. He spoke decent English and was excited to practice with the only white people on the bus.
Everyone in India is very keen on practicing their English. Everywhere we go people stop us to ask where we are from and want to take pictures with us (we've recently started politely refusing to take pictures because it has become a little irksome). We suddenly feel like overnight celebrities. Everyone is very friendly and looooves when we speak Hindi. They also love Barack Obama. Every time we say we are from the United States they always say "Barack Obama" and give us a thumbs up.
We also noticed that people are very touchy here. Men hold hands (as friends) when walking down the street and they always put their hand on your knee when talking to you. This doesn't just happen to me, it happens to Brian too!
One thing that we hear over and over from the Indian people is,"you must take the very good enjoy". The saying has definitely grown on us.
This is such a great blog! We are heading out for Egypt tomorrow so will send a few emails about our highlights but I don't think I can match your exotic experiences.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures! Great barber shop photos!!
ReplyDeleteLove reading these-light up my day living vicariously through you two! Miss u
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