We were welcomed back from our trek with a monsoon-like downpour in Pokhara . We spent our final day in Nepal in rain jackets and pants doing last minute shopping and museum visiting.

The next morning we piled into taxis and made our way to the bus station where we began our first experience with the local bus system. We spent the next 7 hours on the bus, making periodic stops along the way and watching the Nepali hills slip away. After arriving at the border bus station we got on a local bus that was so full there was no room to breathe, and made our way to the border.

There was no easing into the chaotic county of India. Right off the bat we were thrown into the madness when we were barred entry due to visa trouble. (One person's visa got wet and was illegible. So, we had to delay our onward travel and stay overnight at the border. The next day they were able to verify his visa, by late morning, and we were back on our way.) Since we suddenly had to stay overnight at the border town, we made our way to a local "hotel" where we encountered ants, bloodstains, ghosts, geckos, mildew, and little sleep . Anxious to escape, we hopped the border back to the Nepal side of the border for both dinner and breakfast. During dinner Nate exclaimed, "Watch out, there's rocks in this rice!"

The following morning the group split up into 6 and 6 and got into two jeeps (with one leader in each jeep) which were scheduled to take us to Varanasi in 4-6 hours. The Indian border had one more surprise in store, before we left the town, one of the jeeps lightly knocked a water buffalo. The entire village proceeded to gather around and pull one of the drivers from the jeep to confront him. Ten tense minutes later we drove away free.

We were learning that nothing goes to schedule in India once one of the jeeps broke down in Gorakhpur, a city roughly three hours from the border. Because of this half the group took an overnight train to Varanasi later that night, arriving early the next morning, while the other group drove on, arriving at 1:30 am.

Those who got some sleep in the Varanasi hotel that night, took an outing with one of our leaders, Heather, who was not new to Varanasi . We walked the narrow, winding streets to a temple and passed cows too large for their surroundings. Some of us were unprepared for the burning ghats along the Ganges. While it is a treasured tradition for the locals, the sight and smell of burning bodies was overwhelming for many of us.

In the evening the group gathered for a boat ride along the river where we watched the nightly Puja ceremony. The lights and noises surrounded us as we lowered our candle offerings into the water. We then traveled farther down the river where we saw the location of the larger burning ghats. Although shocking for our eyes, our local friend explained to us the importance of accepting death as a part of life, and it was an honor to be burned at these ghats.

The next day the whole group got into tuk tuks and made the bumpy ride to Sarnath where we took in the sights of Buddha's first sermon.

It was back to the tuk tuks late that night to catch our sleeper train to Agra . We laughed the night away as we disturbed all those around us trying to sleep. Remarkably the rocking of the train made for a good night's sleep. We arrived in Agra well rested and on time.

After a brief rest at the guest house we began sight seeing at the Agra Fort. The size and scale of the Fort was impressive but we were all looking forward to the main attraction, the Taj Mahal.

We returned to our guest house to put on our best clothes and then walked the short distance through a bazaar and arrived at the gate of the Taj, just as the sun was setting. We encircled the iconic monument posing for countless photos. Satisfied, we headed back to our guest house, stopping for some food along the way.

Travel to Jaipur was almost without incident. We arrived only a few minutes from our intended destination and Rishi-ji, our local director for this section of India, came to collect us from our accidental location and brought us to our welcoming host families.

After a full day of witnessing the history of Jaipur at the Amber Fort and seeing the local art, we are beginning to settle into Jaipur under the beautiful lights of Diwali.

Emily and Mia