It seems fitting that Mark Twain had something to say about India. He wrote, of Varanasi, that it was "older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together." Veranasi, of course, is one of the most important Hindu cities, where bathing in the Ganges guarantees direct entry to heaven and the release from the reincarnation cycle. We'll be going there--perhaps to bathe?--toward the end of our trip. It's all very exciting!

Martha