2 - Varanasi Day 3, train day 4 and Agra 5 and 6

In episode 2 of the podcast, "Travels With My Mum Adventures In India," the hosts, Adam and Ruth, discuss their experiences in Varanasi. They talk about their day in Varanasi and how challenging their initial day of travel was. They also mention going their separate ways for a day, with Ruth enjoying a long walk along the River Ganga and having her first real coffee in India. They then discuss their evening at a rooftop cafe, where they didn't get the live entertainment they were expecting, but still had a fun time. They also talk about the beautiful murals and artwork in Varanasi's streets and how Adam loves exploring the alleys, while Ruth is more pragmatic. They briefly mention their train journey from Varanasi to Agra, describing the intimidating train station and their initial impressions of the trains. Ruth expresses her concern about the train journey but later admits that it wasn't as bad as she had anticipated. They also advise against buying food on Hello everyone and welcome to episode 2 of this podcast, now renamed Travels With My Mum Adventures In India. So yes, here's your host Adam and your co-host Ruth. Okay, so last time we'd been in Varanasi for a day or two, hadn't we? We had indeed. We were talking about how challenging the initial day of travel had been. We were a bit broken, weren't we? I think that's fair to say, Adam. We were. Just as a little preview for what's to come, do you feel like we're broken four days after that? I can't speak for you, Adam, but certainly today I felt broken. Right, well, listeners, we've got all of that to look forward to. Why does mum feel broken today? So just to outline what we're going to talk about, we're going to recap what we've been doing for the last few days. I think it's been about three or four, hasn't it? Four days. Maybe three. And maybe just have some reflections beyond that about our experiences more generally. So let's start where we left off last time. We had another day in Varanasi before we left and we spent most of that apart, didn't we, mum? We did, yes. And why did we do that? You were meeting up with a friend. I was meeting up with a friend, that's right. So we just went our separate ways. For my part, I had a lovely day. I went for a long walk along the shores of the River Ganga, apparently, that's what it's called. Not the Ganges, as I've been calling it, but the locals call it the Ganga. A long walk along the Ganga and chanced upon a rather quaint cafe which was elevated above the Ganga and had my first real coffee since arriving in India, which was heaven. Lovely coffee. So you managed to get a lovely sort of brunch. I had a lovely day with my friends and then we met up altogether later, didn't we, and went to Rooftop Cafe. Yes, for some live entertainment, which actually never happened, but where'd they go? Well, the cafe we went to advertised Indian classical music and the cafe opposite also advertised Indian classical music. We didn't know that the one we chose advertised the music because we were getting the performance from the opposite rooftop. Basically, we chose the wrong rooftop. It was a 50-50 and we lost in that instance. As you do. But we did have the opportunity to actually talk because the music was quiet enough that we didn't have to just sit there and listen to the music all night. So that was nice. We had a fun evening. We had lots of laughs. It was good to meet Adam's friends and we met some other folk as well, had interesting conversations, fellow travellers that passed on a few tips, and all in all, it was a good evening. It was good. I was particularly struck because I walked so much that day and went to the river again, which we'd done the day before, but also walked through lots of the alleys and the murals and the artwork in Varanasi when you walk through the streets are just stunning. I took lots of pictures of them and I have actually made a website now for the podcast and the blog, so you'll be able to see all the pictures that I've been taking to document our trip shortly. And if you're listening to this after we've actually recorded it on the 11th or 12th of January, then you'll be able to see it immediately. So much cool artwork. And the streets, the alleys are tiny and winding and ancient and it's filthy on the floor. There's dog poo, there's cow poo. You know, it's filthy but it's so vibrant and just wonderful and I love it and I can't get enough of it. So, you know, you have to be on your toes, you have to watch where you're going, but it's very romantic in an odd way. Very odd way. Do you get what I'm saying though? I understand what you're saying, Adam. Do I share your sentiments? Not really, no, not so much. Yes, it's fun to walk down the first few alleys, but, you know, when you've done a few, you've done them all as far as I'm concerned. Maybe that's just the city girl in me, I don't know. Maybe, yeah, I think that's where we diverge a bit. I'm very much for the kind of I can't get enough of nooks and crannies and alleys that seem to lead nowhere. I think you're a bit more pragmatic in terms of where are we going? What are we doing? How have we got there yet? Yes, yes. It's interesting. So just fast forwarding, we'll come back to the epic train journey that we made after we left Varanasi in a minute. But when we were in Agra, which is where we are now recording this, the city of the Taj Mahal, we were walking to the Taj yesterday, weren't we? And I said, mum, we're going to have to slow down or you can go ahead because I don't want to walk at this frog marching pace. It's the only pace I know. Yeah. Now, for context, I like exercising by walking. And if I'm in a place that I know well, like when I lived in Sheffield and I walked to work, I power walked to work and back because I would walk that route every day. But when I'm traveling, I like to be a bit more leisurely to be able to take in the sights. And I think you weren't averse to going slower, were you mum? But it took you a while to get your brain to force your legs to do it. Yes. I like to move and quickly normally. So it is quite difficult for me to slow my tempo and speed. But yes, we managed. And you've jumped now, Adam. We're in Agra. Are we going back to the train? Let's go back to the train. Shall we go back to the train? Let's go back to the train. So Varanasi was great. We had a lovely final day. We woke up. We got to the train station OK, didn't we? We did indeed. That was a shock. The train station was really... I've never been to a train station like the one in Varanasi. Can you describe it for our listeners, please? Well, what is there to describe? I mean really and truly. All I had visions of as we were walking towards it was the new train station in Reading which is ultra-modern, ultra-clean and built for a purpose. And Varanasi is none of that. So Varanasi train station is about a 35-minute drive from the centre of Varanasi. And as you drive out, the highway becomes very poor. Lots of huge trucks line the roads and it's completely barren and desolate and industrial. And it doesn't get any better until you reach the train station. No, it's awful. So when we got out of the train station, I mean it reminded me a little bit of sort of a scene from Blade Runner or some sort of post-apocalyptic like District 9. That's a good description. And quite intimidating really, wasn't it? It was indeed. Because outside the train station it's very crowded with people just milling around. Not necessarily train goers but just people who are milling around and it did feel a bit threatening. First time I felt threatened actually in India. Well, I have to say that we sat on the platform. Once we'd finally reached the platform, we sat on it waiting for our train because they advise you to be at the station 60 minutes before your departure. Why, I'm not sure, but obviously we followed the rules. Mum, I hope we don't have to find out why. Because there's probably a good reason. But in this case, listeners, we didn't need to be there an hour early. Right, we sat and the first train pulled in. Not ours. Well, really and truly, listeners, you've never seen a train like it. It reminded me of scenes I've seen in films of the cattle trains that pulled in to take Jewish prisoners to concentration camps. The trains that I saw prior to ours arriving looked to me as though they were fit for at best, a scrap heap. That's a stark image, Mum. That's a strong one. That's how I felt. That's a strong one. Now, I wouldn't go that far, but clearly you were quite affected by the state of the first trains that we saw. And the station. And so emotionally speaking, how were you then after seeing those initial trains? And maybe you can give some context to the listeners about how you felt generally about this nine-and-a-half, ten-hour train journey before we actually got on the train. Well, I was not looking forward to it. And can I also just point out at this stage that I sat on the platform marvelling and actually remarked to Adam at the time, do Indians not go to the toilet? Because everywhere we've been there is not an abundance of toilets, which fills me with dread, quite frankly. And obviously the train journey ahead of us, it was not filling me with delight. I was concerned. Everything I'd read did not fill me with hope. In reality, I will just say, for anyone that's thinking of coming to India, is that the train journey was nowhere near the nightmare that I'd envisaged. And the toilets, whilst not tip-top condition, were acceptable. Can you expand on acceptable, please? Be more detailed. Well, they were okay. Were they dry? They started off dry. They started off dry, and the train had left 14 hours from its destination before it arrived to us. That's very true. So they didn't start off dry. They were dry 14 hours into a train's journey, by the way. But no, the toilets were acceptable. I was quite surprised and pleased to find that they were not as bad as I'd expected. And there was nothing wrong with the bunk we had. We were given clean sheets. We were even given a clean hand towel. And we had curtains that pulled across that gave us complete privacy, really, if we wanted it. Adam foolishly bought food. There are vendors walking up and down the train for the duration of the journey. And my overriding memory of that train journey was the shouts of, chai, chai, chai, chai, every two minutes, folks. Every two minutes is an exaggeration. But yes, it was chai, coffee, and then the various foods. I was hungry, and also I'm curious. I love food. So I like to try food from all sorts of different places. The samosas that I had on the platform before we caught the train were crap. First crap food I've had in India. So why I thought that the food on the train would be any better, I don't know. It was worse. So please do not buy food on trains in India. Get food from street food stalls beforehand, is my advice. I've had lots of good street food so far, and no stomach problems. So yes, street food stalls. Yes, that's good advice. So... So I'd like to say that people are so willing to just offer you, help you. Yes, I agree. You know, it's been a wonderful... India's been crazy so far. It really has. It's been wonderful, but it's been quite an experience. I think slightly more of a shock for you, Mum, than for me, because I've had 18 months travelling around Southeast Asia, so I've got a bit more context. But the people have just made it more than manageable, haven't they? The people have been extremely kind and very friendly, and no more so than today for me. More of that later. Yes, so train journey, successful. Got off the train, and we met a lovely chap who has brilliant English, Celine, who we ended up going with for taxi service, because Uber wasn't picking up the booking that I was trying to make. And he chatted to us all the way to our homestay and gave us his contact in case we needed a tour guide. But then when we got to the homestay... While Adam was filling in the forms, they'd put our bags into our room, which was on the ground floor not far from reception, so I decided to take a quick peek and give it the once-over. And when I opened the door, I was horrified, because I didn't feel that I would be happy spending three nights... Even one night. I wouldn't be happy spending one night in there. So I went back to the desk, said to Adam, I'm sorry, I can't stay here. You actually said, what do you think? Which is classic, Mum. And I can translate that already, because could you go in there and tell me what you think? I mean, I hate it, so I already knew. I think a little of the devil in me. I came back and said, well, I think it's fine. I think that was me just playing with you. I have to say at this stage that the staff at the homestay that we, or certainly I did not want to stay at, I think it was a very good call on my part, they went above and beyond to accommodate us, to get us settled. Yeah, so I'll just describe what happened. So basically they were like, oh my God, what's wrong? And I said, nothing, but we need more comfort. And he said, yeah, yeah, totally understand. Got us in touch with the sister homestay property. They took us here on their bikes. It was great. I've got a video of Mum getting on the bike, which you'll be able to see shortly, and wished us off to this homestay. And we got booked in, lovely room, really comfortable. We're sitting in the room now at the table with two chairs beside the bed recording this podcast. We've got a heater. It's luxury, folks, it's luxury. It's freezing cold in Agra, by the way. I mean, if you're in England, you're going to laugh at us, but it's four degrees, five degrees at night, and it's 18 degrees during the day, but it's foggy, and we are freezing our proverbial tits off, everyone. So we're very grateful that we have the heater. But yes, lovely people. And they even took us on their bikes to a restaurant, didn't they? Yes, they did, so that we could get to Ingrid, because it was getting on by then. So everybody's just so friendly. And then I had a Kindle being delivered to the original homestay, and the guy drops it off at this one the next day when it got delivered. So yay for Indian people. They're the best. They're the best. Come to India. Come to India. Just make sure you're prepared. Yeah. So yes, Agra. So we've been here two days, haven't we? We have indeed. And yesterday was the big day, because we decided that we would visit the Taj Mahal, which is just, you know, it lived up to everything that you see, read and hear about it. It was all of that and more. And it just is, when you look at it, it's just so beautiful. So, so beautiful. And I'm really happy that I actually got to see the Taj Mahal. Me too. It is stunning, everyone. And if you do come, then get the extra ticket to go inside to have a look at the mausoleum bit. That's only an extra two pounds. It wasn't that busy, was it? No, not really. Mum has said that apparently there's no down season, and I'm sure to a certain extent that's true, but the weather is crap here at the moment. It is. It's foggy from, you know, 7pm until 1pm, you know, solid. It's really foggy. So we went in the afternoon to catch the sunset, didn't we? We did. And we managed to get great pictures. There was not a single moment where we got jostled by anyone. No. We didn't have to shoulder our way through anyone to get anywhere. It was very, it wasn't overwhelming, was it? I expected to be completely overwhelmed by the whole thing and fed up by the time we walked around. No. But I felt quite relaxed. Yes, I felt exactly the same. I concur. So, folks, if you want a relaxed experience of the Taj Mahal, come at the worst time to see it, which is January, when it's foggy. Oh, no. But we've had some lovely chats, haven't we? We have, indeed. And we've had some fun chats. We have. And today's been a very chilled day again. So I did some work today because I had lots to get done. And I took myself out for, you know, a little stroll. Decided that I would treat myself today to a Starbucks coffee. Got Starbucks up on my Google Maps, which I will just say in my defence, I never use Google Maps. I don't know how it happened, really. But a six-minute walk turned into a nightmare, really. I went the wrong way. I took a wrong turn. I mean, it's easily done, folks. Come on, we've all done it. Yeah, it is. It is. I mean, let's be fair, it is. And the solution? Just put your volume on and let the lady tell you what to do on Google Maps. Well, I didn't know. I'm a techie. I know. You all know that. You don't know until you know. Anyway, I walked for 45, 50 minutes before I thought, well, I don't think Starbucks is, I'm finding any Starbucks. So I turned around, went back, asked a few people, and they pointed me in the right direction. But unfortunately, I didn't see a girder in front of me. I tripped. Whilst I was trying to save myself, my phone flew out of my hand and smashed on the concrete floor. So when I retrieved it and saw the screen, I thought, oh, dear. Anyway, I did get to Starbucks. The man in there was very nice, and I decided to just sit down, chill, think about what I was going to do. I read my book for an hour. My coffee was divine. When I eventually set off again, I asked the Starbucks staff if they knew of anywhere that I could get my phone repaired. They sent me off in the right direction. When I arrived at the repair shop, again, everyone was super helpful, super friendly, super nice. And the guy in the travel shop next door even took me again on another bike ride. It's becoming a bit of a habit. And half an hour later, through the streets of Agra, we arrived at the phone repair shop. They repaired my phone, and my phone is now in mint condition, working order. And I had a lot of help on the way. I was very grateful for it. And I got back here in one piece, thankfully. So, we're off to Jaipur tomorrow. We are. Taking the bus, not the train. Yes, the bus. Six-hour, five-hour bus. Something like that, Adam. Yeah, that'll be fun. I've taken loads of buses in my time in the last 18 months. Some epic 14-hour ones. This one's a short one, by comparison. Five, six hours. It's nothing, is it? I'm a bit worried about the toilet situation again. Did you say we have a toilet? Well, I did tell Mum that we would have one, but I don't know. Oh! I have no idea. I suspect not. Oh! It gets worse. But, Mum, you can just do your trick of not drinking any water. Oh, great. I'll be dehydrated when I arrive. Oh, just take me to the nearest hospital. No, on a five-hour drive, we'll stop at some sort of petrol station. Oh, can you imagine what it's going to be like? Well, listeners, episode three, you'll be able to hear about what it's like. I'm sure, as with the train journey, Mum's going to be pleasantly surprised. Although I could be wrong. I could be wrong there. We'll have to wait and see. OK. So, I'd like to move on to some general sort of reflections on our time together. How have you found it so far? Well, Adam, how would you describe it? Well, I'd say it's been tough, actually. Yeah, I was going to say challenging. Definitely. It's not been the picnic I was expecting. No. But, like, aside from all the travel stuff, like, if we take the travel stuff out of the equation... Yes. I want to talk about us being together, because I also found that challenging. Yes, me too. Like, if I take out all of the extraneous things, which to a certain extent you can't. Like, yes, you travel for 24 hours, you're in a bad mood, you're exhausted. Yes. All these things. But I found it tough seeing you again and sort of being in close proximity with you all the time. I don't know if you have or not. Yes, I'd agree with that. Me too. Yeah, yeah. I think for context, Mum and I, like, we only spend, like, two or three days together a year, max. And that's not even a whole day, because Mum and Dad never, haven't stayed with me for a long time. That's true. You know, they've just, you know, got a hotel in whatever town I'm in and come for dinner. We've had lovely times, for sure. But Mum and Dad have lived in a different country to me since I was, like, 18. Exactly. So we rarely see each other. We're close. I mean, we're close enough to arrange this trip, right? Whether we arrange any more remains to be seen. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I found it difficult. I think, I found it, you know what? I found it tough when I saw you, because I found it difficult to see that you'd aged. I don't want to, I don't want to hurt your vanity, but I, but I haven't seen you for a few years. No, you haven't. And I found it quite difficult, because firstly, you were tired. You were shattered from a long leg of travel, as I saw you. And we all look a bit haggard when we're tired. But I was quite, I was, it just shocked me, and I think that put me on an unbalanced footing. Because I don't know, seeing your parent get older is quite difficult. It's daunting. Yes, absolutely. And I do know what you mean, Adam, because when we lived in Dubai, I'm mentioning no names, but someone came out to visit us, and I hadn't seen them for, well, only a couple of years. And when we met them at the airport, I couldn't believe how much they'd aged. Now, they probably thought exactly the same thing about me, because, you know, it was never mentioned. But when you don't see a person of a certain age, yes, if you don't, I understand what you're saying about that, because I've experienced it firsthand myself. But I think also your loss of strength since my memories of you younger. Oh, my strength has declined rapidly. And so I think that sort of knowledge that you're becoming more frail, I'm going to put it honestly, I think that scares me a little bit. Yes, it's true. You do become, well, Adam's making me feel about 90 now. Oh, yeah, no, I'm sorry. I don't mean that. And actually, you look very good. On a good day, I look very good. I'm not looking good at the moment. No, I'm sitting here looking at you now, and you look exactly as I've always remembered you. Like, so, you know, obviously, I saw you when you were shattered, and you had awful bags from tiredness, and all that, you know, and you looked small, because you're quite short. And you had this big baggy, you had all these baggy clothes on, and you just looked very, I don't know, vulnerable. But yes, I mean, I suppose, so it's been difficult, I think. And also, I mean, I'm 35, you're 67. We haven't lived with each other since I was 18. It's just difficult finding a balance, isn't it? Yes. So what's difficult for you? I think, for me, Adam, you have obviously travelled, and a lot of that time you have spent on your own. So I think you're used to being your own boss and doing what you want to do. Sometimes, I think, maybe not with enough consideration for the other person. Generally speaking, we have had difficulties. But they've not been, I'd just like to point out, that they're not difficulties that have existed every day for all of the time that we've been in India. They've come and they've gone. And I think we've dealt with them well, both the difficulties I've had and the difficulties you've had. And I really believe, we talked about this quite a lot when we retired last night. I really feel that at the end of the month, regardless of what we've battled through, we're actually going to both come out on top. That we're going to survive. And thrive. Yes, survive and thrive. I like that, Adam. And it will make our relationship even stronger than it was to begin with. Yes, I agree. I do believe that. And we did talk about that, and I do agree with you. Absolutely, and I think we've rabbited on for long enough now. Yes, if any of you have managed to stay tuned and get to the end, well done. And we'll look forward to bringing you Episode 3 in a few days. In a few days. All right, thanks everyone. Okay, thanks. Bye. Bye.