...we learnt from big signs that there was no "idle sitting" in Indian train station waiting rooms; I guess they'll have treadmills then...?
...we went through a nightmarish train trip from Calcutta to Varanasi, the holy city of the Hindus - no A/C, people stacked on each other like sardines in a can, a vendor selling tea, shoelaces, dynamite, cookies or samosas passing through every 40 seconds on the average (I counted) waking everyone up with their screaming and long 18 hours instead of the intended 15 because of monsoon delays
...we were picked up by our charming host and taken to our new establishment for the night, the only good thing about Varanasi, as it turned out; lovely dinner on the hotel's rooftop terrace set us straight!
...we wanted to see the trademark Varanasi Ganges sunrise but unfortunately after getting up at 5:30am and marching to the river bank we met with a cloudy sky
...we didn't give up and went to see some of the city's temples in a rickshaw; then took a walk and regretted it, battling hellish heat and crowd-, stench-, hassle- and noise-levels on a scale yet unexperienced by us in any other place in India - unfortunately we came during a Krishna festival.
...we have visited the area where famous Varanasi silk is produced and saw the process from A to Z. High quality silk wedding sari comes at an average price of 25.000 rupees (a bit more than €300) so if any lady would like to change her style on the big day, we can send some coordinates her way
...we tried to find a place (there are several) where the dead are burned and dumped into the Ganges, found it and were instantly overrun by self-styled guides and priests, who after showing us a glimpse of some burning stakes tried to extort a "donation" of several thousand rupee for the funeral wood and a tip of course; they weren't happy with the usual amount we offer so we told them to stick it; no photos are allowed anyway and the whole thing looks like a big bonfire so you might give it a miss altogether
...we've seen processions taking dead bodies wrapped in shrouds to the burning place;
...we got a single berth on the night train to Delhi - the only one left - and were waitlisted for the other one; needless to say we didn't get a second one and had to share; not too much fun but still we had A/C
...we got on what was hailed "India's fastest train" (Varanasi->Delhi in 9h) and wondered for a moment if the feeling of the trip dragging on was subjective and caused by the relative discomfort of our super narrow bunk; so we checked the watch and the train came 1h late; still good for India
...we arrived in the unbearable sizzling heat of New Delhi to spend one day there in some quiet air conditioned space (a mall..? :) ) and wait it out until next morning's 5:15 flight to Ladakh (Himalaya)