The very first time that you stand over a burning body, you will be slightly confused that you are doing this of your own free will.  As you stand there and realize that there are many, many bodies burning, and each of those large fires will soon host another body, you realize this is pretty commonplace for the locals.  Things will surprise you.  As you listen to a man behind you explaining the funeral rites, the cost of wood, the expectations of families members, you realize that he is very nonchalent.  You also realize what that bone-white object is on the groung there, and exactly what it is that smells.  Later on, you will find that this smell permeates your clothes,and later your pack.  You are now on the banks of the sacred river Ganges.
Every day, thousands of thousands of Indias make a pilgrimage to the holy Ganges river, and specifically to the holy city of Varanassi.  It is here that people take their daily dip into the river (we got as far as our knees, but the river, although holy, is also the grossest river on earth.  The most fascinating thing here is of course the Burning Ghats.  Basically a Ghat is just a landing next to the river, but a burning Ghat is one where people come to be cremated.  It is good Karma to have your body cremated, and even better Karma to have your remains go to the Ganges (if your Karma is bad, you will be re-incarnated in a lower life form, if good a higher life form.  If everything goes really well, you will not be re-incarnated at all, but reach peace, similar to Nirvana).  Varanassi, because it is such a holy city, is therefore an amazing place to visit.  We got up before dawn, and while the early morning light was just reaching the river, we were in a boat paddling along the banks.   In the early glow, we watched in awe as life continued as it has, unchanged in a thousand years.  Old men were bathing in the sacred water, bodies were being burned, young were rejoicing and wailing, and locals were washing clothes and throwing out garbage.  Everything revolves around the river.  Varanassi was an amazing place.
But, as perpetual wanderers, we had to get going and we boarded a night train to Dehli, the capital.  En route, we noticed that the train was particularly crowded, but we were not worried, we had a seat.  When it got dark, I folded down my cot, and fell asleep.  At 1 am, I woke to find a man was sitting on the edge of my cot. I pushed him off with my foot and fell asleep.  At 3 he was back, but I figured no harm could come of it.  At 4 there were two sitting there, and by five there were threee.  One man was sitting so close to my chest, thatif I didn't sleep on my side, I couldn't breathe.  Anyway, I decided that maybe I should get up, and when I did, 5 people sat down on my cot.  First off, there was only suppossed to be 3, and second off , one of these people was suppossed to be Mari.  I soon realized that the entire train was packed, and Mari was stuck on her upper bunk.  My five new friends and I were joined by 2 more (with little bums) and we rode like this for 2 more hours into Delhi.  Usually, someone was walking around the train selling tea, but the train was too packed, and I sat there in a compressed state waiting for Delhi.  That was the most packed that any train ever got. 
We arrived in Delhi ready for some breathing room, but none was to be had.  This extremely busy Capital City is very crowded and very busy.  So after a quick two days, we left.  There is a lot to do in Delhi, but rickshaw drivers constantly badger you, and anyone selling anything will follow you for up to 30 minutes, just to sell you something (pop, books, silver, giant balloons?????).  One thing that we really enjoyed was the Red Fort.  Originally the capital, this huge fort sits in the middle of town, and is used now only for tourism, and on independence day the president unfurls the Indian flag here.  It was a beautiful place, but fairly congested. 
As I mentioned, we left Delhi after two days, and took an express train to Agra.  This is the most famous town in India, the home of the beautiful Taj Mahal.
It was absolutly fantastic, the most stunning and beautiful piece of arcitechture that I have ever laid eyes on. The symmetry is perfection itself, from a distance and as you move closer the perfection becomes even more apparent. Even the tiny mosacis created with precious and semi-precious stones are inlaid in complete symmetry.  We must have used over a roll of film, and we kept going back to visit.  We would walk around and just stare.  We would also sit atop our guest-house and watch the Taj change colour both as night approached, and again as dawn came on.  There is nothing that we can say, that will accurately do justice to the Taj Mahal.  EVERYONE should just go and see it.
At this point in our journey, we were running out of time, and we were starting to get very frustrated with the heat.   To compensate for this, we decided to go to Rhajastan, which is the absolutely hottest place in India.  It is also the most deserted.  Thanks to this lack of tourism, we arrived in Jaisalmer on a half empty train (very rare in India), and were not harassed as we walked the streets.  Also, we stayed in a room, that was built into the side of a fort.  Our room was huge, and was built in 1156.  It had windows that looked out over the walls of the Jaisalmer fort.  How amazing.  For the incredibly reasonable cost of $2, we spent the night in a piece of history.  We even had a balcony, that was built out over one of the pillars of the fort wall.  Backpacker Luxury.  The price of all this was a solid week of almost 50 degree weather. 
As our last official 'thing' in India, we decided to go on a jeep/camel safari.  In the afternoon we took a jeep deep into the Thar desert, where we sat in the shade of one measly tree, and waited for cooler temperatures.  Around dusk, two camels were saddled up, and Mari and I jumped on and strode around the desert, before returning to camp at dark, where a small family invited us for dinner.  That night we placed a blanket out under a star lit sky, and fell asleep. 
At 2 am, we awoke to a dust storm.  (we later learned that the storm had rocked the nearby town quite severely).  We scrambled, and gathered our gear, and under a storm of sand and complete darkness, made our way to a small village, where we begged for shelter.  We were 'stored' in a small shack, that rocked all night with the wind, but kept us safe.  In the morning all was calm, and we boldly jumped on our camels. 
What we realized that second day, is how sore your but and inner thigh will get on a camel.  As the camel ran along, Mari and I squirmed in half joy, half pain.  It was wonderful, but we were very glad when they stopped.  After a couple hours, we met our jeep and headed back to town, where we met a rickshaw to the train station, where we took three trains over 2 days, and ended up in Mumbai.  We spent the rest of our India money on a wonderful seafood dinner, and then took a cab to the airport, and said good-bye to India.  It was beautiful, and cultural, but it also left an impression on us in other ways.  We spent the next couple days taking ciprofloaxin (an antibiotic), and are now completely healthy again.  (just a little tired)