Allahabad is a city of about 1 million people to the west of Varanasi. It is the cite of a yearly pilgrimage from mid-January through mid-February. Every six years, the pilgrimage is VERY large. Unfortunately, Flat Kat and I are here for a smaller one because the large one happened last year. There are only [...]
Filed under: India, Travel | 9 Comments »
Today is my second day in Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in India. Here is an overview of the city as described by the Lonely Planet: India travel book I am using:
An Overview of Varanasi:
“Few places in India are as colorful, charasmatic, or spiritual as the bathing ghats lining the Ganges River in Varanasi. The [...]
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The tough thing about trying to keep this blog up-to-date is that I have so much to tell, and so little time. Especially when I miss a day or two of updating, like I did on Bodh Gaya because the connection was so slow. So, I’m going to try to be “short-winded” (though those of [...]
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Greetings from Bodh Gaya, the town where Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, became enlightened.
Things go a little slower here in this small town compared to Kolkata, which is a welcome break. I don’t have to worry as much about being run over by traffic here, which is a relief.
Unfortunately, the internet has been VERY slow [...]
Filed under: FAQs, India, Travel | 5 Comments »
Today I decided to finally visit the biggest attraction in Kolkata: the Victoria Memorial.
It was a decision that made for a couple interesting experiences.
To Join the Mob, or Fight Them
I decided to walk down to the Memorial (about 2 miles from my hotel). On the way, I heard the speakers coming from a [...]
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I have had some terrific questions posed to me since I have been in India.
I think I will be most efficient if I answer many of the most commonly asked questions in this one post so that you will not have to search for the answers, and I will not have to respond multiple times [...]
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The Arrival
I arrived in Kolkata airport on time at 1 am this morning. Immigration went smoothly (only 15 minutes) and my backpack, which I am actually borrowing from my 40 year old sister (yeah, she is that old!) Kirsten, arrived with only minor damage (sorry Kirst).
I met a very nice couple on the [...]
Filed under: Background, India, Travel | 7 Comments »
Well, I’m about 30 minutes away from leaving Coxsackie for the last time in a month. As you can see below, I’m all packed up and I’m ready to go.
I can’t seem to get it to upload right-side up, so this will have to be good enough.
The past few days have been a bit [...]
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As I sit writing this, I have exactly one week until my flight leaves for Kolkatta (formerly Calcutta), India. It’s hard to believe, to be honest. For so long, a trip like this was just a dream; an idea blurred by the haze of reality. It is truly amazing how [...]
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I’d like to introduce my new traveling companion. His name is Flat Kat, and is a member of Mrs. McIlroy’s 5th grade class at Coxsackie-Athens.
In a business letter, Flat Kat asked to join me on my travels and gave a whole list of reasons why he will make a terrific travel companion. You [...]
Filed under: 5th Grade, Background, Flat Kat, India, Travel, overview | 5 Comments »
