Gan(dhi) to India: FHS

We left when Govinda said we would at "9, 9:30", at 10:45. Govinda and his bodyguard, Bisu, brought us to Puri to get a train ticket. Having 5 large men in this tiny car didn't even seem unusual or unconfortable until Connor mentioned how our shoulders were too broad for this. I've said it before, but it's amazing how your comfort level changes. The three hour bumpy ride felt normal squished between Connor and Bisu. We were planning to catch the 10:30pm train but we can't book online because we are foreigners. They also set a quota of two foreigner tickets per train, which seems unreasonably low. Either way, we got to the station and fought in what passed for a line for an hour before reserving our seats in AC sleeper class.

We went to Govinda's house and ate lunch with Bikas and Bisu before going to rest in bed. After a while, I couldn't stand waiting the whole day (most of the reason I wanted to get out of Juanga) and announced that I was going to walk to the beach. Connor and I wandered through the streets and then spent a little under two hours walking up and down the beach. It was beautiful with some super dirty areas. After seeing the row of poop, left by fisherman along the shore, we left our shoes on.

On the way back, my hands got itchy and I said something to Connor. He said his looked swollen and after a while, I had to loosen my watch band. We had fat hands syndrome. Our hands looked like they belonged on obese people. While trying to decide what to make of this new development, Bikas and Bisu passed us in the car and we hopped in. They were going to see a friend in the city who works for the governement and we sat chatting with them all (just listening to the Odia) before heading back to the house. At govinda's, we watched midget wrestling on the TV for a few minutes before going to get dinner at the "sea-fish" restaurant owned by Govinda's friend. On the way there, Govinda told us about how he busted the mafia that controlled this area when he was younger and how now most of the hotels and restaurants are owned by his friends. I believe it.

Govinda is an interesting character. He sings to us very often while we are eating breakfast about life and love and happiness. He also hasn't taken a vacation from Juanga in the last 20 years. When Connor travels through India in a month or so, he wants to go with him. Don't tell anyone, but on our ride up, Govinda drank two large Indian beers. The drinking scene here is beyond strange.

At the restaurant, where we ordered the obligatory sea-fish, Connor and I had the only conversation. I'm still not sure if it's rude or not.

We went to the train about 45 minutes early and found our car. We had reserved seats and Govinda and Bisu came to see us off. I don't think they've taken many trains and were not particularly helpful. After we found our seats, a hidjra was walking up and down the car collecting money. I'm not sure I spelled that correctly but I learned about this cultural phenomenon in one of my college classes. They are India's third gender, usually a man dressed as a woman who are believed to bring good luck and fertility blessings. They are often invited to, or show up uninvited at weddings. If they are not given enough money, they cause a scene and place a curse on the couple. They're something of a menace in India these days.

When she got to us, Govinda stood up directly in front of Connor with his arms crossed and gave the tiniest head shake. It was super intimidating and she walked right by us foreigners.

The train actually left within 10 minutes of its scheduled departure which as far as I can tell is an Indian miracle.

In the train, no one cares that there are people trying to sleep. Super loud voices, turning on lights, Connor was sitting up writing for a while and someone came and just sat on his bed. The train was 9.5 hours long (scheduled to be 7 hours) but we probably got a least a couple hours sleep each.

-AB

Rocking back and forth

Carry us through India

One grand adventure