Ganges

We left Orchha late in the evening, after the strange mild sexual assault massage, and headed to the station for our train, which departed at 10pm. We were in class B, which is a step down from 1st class – but not by much. Unlike other sleeper trains I have been on in Asia, the compartments in the carriage were open, ie no doors between them or the coridor. Not only that, but the open corridors also had beds lining the walls – they really maximised the space. Each compartment had 8 bunks, three down each wall, and then 2 in the ‘corridor’. The first class section had a curtain blocking off the bunks to the ‘corridor’ and had only 4 bunks per section. They still had the extra 2 bunks lining the corridor though, so were not in any more private than B class, just fewer people.

I was in the middle bunk, which was fine. The only thing that was slightly problematic was that it wasn’t high enough to sit fully upright, so you always needed to be reclined or you got a sore neck. First world problems… It was clean enough and fresh linen and pillows were provided. The toilets were not as disgusting as some others I have seen, though they smelt pretty rancid. Surprisingly, all the other travellers – largely locals – were all really quiet. Had this of been China, they would have been talking at full volume all night, so it was a welcome relief when everyone else went straight to sleep. For the first time backpacking, I have travelled with a sleeping bag as had read north India was cold at night (in the minuses), and from my arrival in Delhi and every night thereafter, I have been so grateful for that purchase. It has meant I’ve never been cold despite the freezing temperatures at night,  there is no heating in the hotels or your rooms – and I’m so glad that despite my bitching and reticence at bringing it, that I bothered it in the end. Back on the train, I popped one of my special ‘prescription’ sleeping pills, got in my bag and got 9 hours straight sleep until we arrived at our final destination. Marvellous!

We arrived in Allahabad early in the morning and took a minibus through some picturesque, primitive villages until we arrived at a spot on the Ganges called Mizapur, where we boarded three simple, spacious, wooden sailing boats. I was in a group with three young Aussie girls, who were great company and very entertaining. We listened to one of my playlists as we floated down the Ganges, which made for a very pleasant afternoon; watching local life along the river banks and fresh water dolphins jumping about. In addition to the three sailing boats for us tourists, we had a fourth boat – which was the kitchen boat. These guys were tremendous and prepared our breakfast, lunch and dinner – which was some of the best food we’d had.

We watched the sun go down and it got dark quite quickly, so we were punted down the Ganges under the stars. We had an eventful toilet stop on the banks of the Ganges (or Ganga, as the locals call it) and one of Aussie girls heard breathing nearby and genuinely thought she was being stalked by a tiger, shit herself and legged it down the bank, panting in fear (it was just a guy walking by). We arrived at the location which would be our camping spot for the evening; simply a sandy bank along the side of the river, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing nearby, no buildings, no lights, no life – remote. Our Sherpas set up our tents, a communal eating area, a bonfire and ‘toilet tent’ to give us some privacy. We ate a dinner of pasta, curry, naan, veg and french fries! A rather random assortment but all a welcome break from the normal fare – and homemade french fries! Camping!

We all slipped off to bed about 10pm. Our individual tents had a thin mattress to protect us from the floor and keep out the cold, several blankets and a pillow. With the addition of a special pill and my wonderful sleeping bag, I again slept until morning completely undisturbed! I’d almost electively go camping again!

We were woken at 6.30am to total mist, where you couldn’t see a few meters in front of you. The wonderful Sherpas had already been up busying e,selves cooking breakfast and served us toast, porridge, fruit and masala chai. We then headed off in our boats for a bit more sailing. Some of the gang hadn’t slept so well and so used it as an opportunity to catch some zzz. MY boat were bright and chipper, so we enjoyed the scenery, music and each others company until lunch time – again served on the boat by the fabulous boat team.

At about lunch time, we arrived at our final destination and were met by mini buses who drove us to our next destination – Varanasi.