India - Step 5.3: celebrity treatment and sunrises & sunsets at the Taj Mahal

I needed to proof how beneficial the last days of meditation in the real life are real quick. I can't imagine a bigger contrast/culture shock than finding myself back in the middle of Mumbai after 10 days of silence, meditation and isolation.

From the center, I took the train to Mumbai which took 2 hours. Traveling by train in India is a special kind of experience. You buy a "first class" ticket and end up in an overcrowded train where people jump on while it's still moving and doors are overrated.

Fortunately, there was a woman in my compartment who gladly took on the project of the "lost European backpacker on the train". It must be mentioned or warned: as a white tourist in India, people constantly want to talk to you and everyone wants to take selfies and photos with you. I think by now people here have more photos of me than I do. In addition, you are often touched and intensely stared at without exception. The enthusiasm you encounter is confusing, but you get used to it.

My flight was in the evening so I spent the day in Mumbai with my luggage. I visited India Gateways and a museum (took 283 photos with strangers) and used the remaining time in the café to write down my experiences.

I arrived in Delhi after midnight and had booked a hotel for the night. As my Uber driver drove to the address and we drove around in dark narrow alleys at 2 a.m., it turned out that the hotel didn't even exist.

So together with my helpful and willing to earn a 5-star rating Uber driver, we went to some hotel in that alley and booked a room.

A situation where you feel uncomfortable and uncertain, but in the end you manage (no. 1).

The next day, I had time to kill again and figure out how, where, and when to take the right train from the never-ending chaos that an Indian train station brings with it. I managed to do that and spent the next 4 hours in an indescribably overcrowded and indescribably smelling train compartment with about 14 men (some of whom stare at you for hours without looking away).

Passing the slums where children play in seas of garbage, cows eat plastic, and the everyday life of these people takes place. It is different than seeing the townships in South Africa for the first time and you try to understand how different this kind of life is and how for them thats the only reality they know.

A situation where you feel uncomfortable and uncertain, but in the end you manage (no. 2).

Arriving in Agra, I could easily take a tuk-tuk to the hostel and sleep a few hours before going to the Taj Mahal at 5 a.m. with an Indian guy from my dorm. Unfortunately, it was Friday and the Taj Mahal is always closed on Fridays. So you can only view it from the park on the other side of the river.

I had planned to stay only this day in Agra, as there is not much to see besides the Taj Mahal. Therefore, I had booked a bus ticket for a night bus to Rishikesh in the evening.

In the hostel, I met people with whom I visited the Red Fort and spent the day. In the evening, you could admire the beautiful sunset next to the Taj Mahal and then I made my way to my bus.

Of course, after dwindling time, I suddenly ran out of time and the tuk-tuk I wanted to take didn't come, so I missed the bus. So mission canceled and booked another night at the hostel.

A situation where you feel uncomfortable and uncertain, but in the end you manage (no. 3).

The universe know what games it plays. Thats how I ended in a group of people who were very ambitious to go to the Taj Mahal at 4:30 a.m. the next morning to be the first to experience the magic of the sunrise at the wonder of the world.

After 5 hours of sleep in the dorm with the air conditioning set to 18 degrees, we set off on the sunrise tour. This torture was worth it in the end as from 6:00 a.m. the crowds start pouring in and the peaceful vibe disappears.

That day we wandered around Agra a bit, I met new great people in the hostel and we were a group of people from New Zealand, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Germany. Walking through the streets of Agra amidst incredibly loud honking, tuk-tuks, cars, scooters, dogs, cows, monkeys, people, dirt, stench, and chaos - one realizes: India is interesting and like a lesson for life, but it's not really "beautiful".

This time I made sure to be at the "bus stop" 2 hours before. Unfortunately, even this kind of precaution doesn't help much in India. After 3 hours of waiting - between dirt, noise, complete exhaustion, sickness and ibuprofen, as well as questioning life decisions again - the guy from the travel agency told me that my bus was canceled and I should wait for the refund. After more waiting, I decided to just go to the other side of the street and check into a fancy hotel for the night.

A situation where you feel uncomfortable and uncertain, but in the end you manage (no. 4).

The next day, I had to decide whether to give the 3rd attempt for the overnight bus to Rishikesh a chance or completely reschedule. I was about to not take my original flight to Sri Lanka in 8 days and instead go straight to the airport in Dehli and leave India.

Once again, after the unsuccessful attempt to go to Rishikesh, I returned to the hostel and sat on the terrace with the guys I knew from the previous days. One of them had a fast train to Delhi in the next hour and offered to take me and then find a way to Rishikesh from there.

I would write "said - done" but it's not that easy in India. I booked the train ticket in the hostel at 10:40 a.m. and the train left at 11:25 a.m.

We rushed the ticket seller and our tuk-tuk driver, who had to put us in another tuk-tuk on the street because his had technical problems. Just in time we got on the train and for the first time I even experienced a more comfortable train journey to Delhi. On the journey, I booked the bus to Rishikesh for the afternoon.

The Dutch guy stayed in Delhi for one night, so I was grateful that he bravely took on the project of "dropping Maunzi in the Rishikesh bus".

So first 3 different subway lines to the "bus stop" (subway travel is strangely possible). The address given in the ticket as a pick-up point is not a "place" but a radius of about 500m.

We spent 2 hours asking about 26 people where the bus would pick me up. The problem in India is that everyone says something and wants to help, but no one knows anything and says just something. Everyone calls the bus company for you to give you an inconsistent, vague, and unhelpful answer.

So we waited 1.5 hours at the place where the bus might pass by. At 37 degrees and with 5 calls to the bus company which told you every time "yes, your bus is coming in 10 minutes".

I received the license plate of the bus via SMS, which we eventually recognized in the stalled traffic (meaning you stand there and read every bus license plate). The bus doesn't stop but you walk across the 3-6 lane road and go through the open bus door.

A situation where you feel uncomfortable and uncertain, but in the end you manage (no. 5).

So I hope to finally find my way to Rishikesh to relax, do yoga, and heal for a few days.

I believe these situations that are uncontrollable, stressful, energy-consuming, chaotic, uncomfortable, and exhausting are experienced daily in India. And they are each individually shitty in a new way every time. This means that you actually can't get used to them.

What india taught me is that everything is possible and in the end you will be fine. Nothing is planned or structured, you don’t understand 2838 of the things you witness here, you wonder how not every 10 seconds someone dies in this traffic, but somehow it works. So dealing with one uncontrollable and uncomfortable situation after another for sure is a lesson. Saying this: if you go to India, don’t expect it to be relaxing. All my vipassana energy and resilience was gone faster than expected, but I know it will be fine and I am only staying 1 month.