Sunrises and Vomit

Pondicherry was a beautiful coastal French-influenced South Indian town. Although the best Dosas I ever had were in a dingy basement paint-peeling restaurant in Madurai, Pondicherry featured some wonderful food with the influence of the French. And as much as I LOVE Indian food, some French influence never bugs me too much either. Pondicherry reminded me of Pi Patel. I feel like I understand him better now. Maybe. I saw the sunrise over the Bay of Bengal on a beautiful humid morning with my friend Alexia. I slept a lot in Pondicherry. My body seemed to be sick without the actual "being sick" aspect...but that came later.

After a 36 hour train voyage to North India, our group arrived in Varanasi! If you are trying to picture India (especially because I have yet to figure out my stubborn camera and these Indian computers), you probably are picturing something like Varanasi. It is the mental picture I think we all have of India. The Ganges River, the ghats (steps) down to the water filled with people bathing and doing laundry, the banks covered in temples, cremations, and hundreds of people. But before I get into that: how cool is the idea of being sick out of a bus on a bridge over the ganges river? eh? What a view. My body couldn't have timed it better. After 24 hours of intense illness, I went into recovery mode (and antibiotic consumption mode). The first REAL "sick in India" experience. BOOM. Luckily I felt well enough to actually meander around Varanasi on our last morning to see the sights I described earlier. Eli, Dan, and I went out on a rowboat in the wee hours of the morning to see the sunrise over the river and to see Varanasi really come to life. It was a beautiful morning and (hopefully) soon you'll be able to see the pictures.

A day of vomiting. A couple of beautiful sunrises. Then off on a train to Jhansi, where we arrived this morning. We saw the famed Jhansi fort today, and got a brief taste for this city, and we head to Agra tomorrow morning. Jhansi was home to the Indian version of Jean of Arc. Apparently she died on a horse, weilding a broad sword, steering her horse with the reins in her mouth. Yikes.
I think a bunch of us are planning on seeing a bollywood film tonight (in Hindi) entitled "My Name is Khan." (first name: Sheshar?) Khan is THE bollywood male star. He's the Brad Pitt. The George Clooney. The Emilio Estivez. etc.

I don't know what else I was going to tell you. More to come I suppose. I've gotta go grab dinner. peace.