The Eclipse at Haridwar

Werewolves and Vampires and Bellas, OH MY!
NOT. But after another jeep ride (not scary this time) Alex and I found ourselves in Haridwar. We had to catch a train out of Haridwar for Amritsar later that evening so we had some time to poke around. The Ganga in Haridwar is nice and clean and the city has a very Hindu spiritual vibe to it. Lots of Sadhus and Pundits and the like. Alex and I wandered, then crossed the Ganga via bridge to the bathing side of the river. To cut to the chase, we each took and ICY dip in the Ganga as the sun set over the mystical city of Haridwar. Next was chai with a Babaji and warming up. We kept on walking upriver and came to the main religious Ghat in Haridwar. We took of our shoes and walked around. We decided to stay a while and soak up the scene when we realized there was a lunar eclipse going on. Needless to say we were stunned. "How cool!" We said to eachother, "to be at a holy site in Haridwar, after bathing in the Ganga, watching a lunar eclipse!" It was pretty rad, but soon too cold to stay. The dark patch spreading over what was left of the moon finally won out, or was it the clouds that obscured the whole show?
We walked on, ducking into alleyways and chowing on some street food. We stopped here and there to look at handicrafts and books. We were about to call the shopping quits when a blanket store caught my eye. Alex had this awesome blanket from Rajasthan made from local wool that I was super envious of. I was in need of more warmth so I decided to check out the shop and see if they had anything comparable. They had a blanket that was thick and soft and warm and wool. It wasn't quite like Alex's, not worse, just different. I got it in green, wrapped it around myself, and was toasty like never before.
Our train to Amritsar was on time, as I remember, and we only had a little trouble getting on. We couldn't find our exact coach, but found one that seemed right and got on. We weren't bothered and after a few hours fell asleep. Soon, however, the inevitable shoulder tug pulled me from my sleep. Two Indian men stood below my bunk with furrowed brows and demanded to see my ticket. I showed it to them willingly. After inspection it came about that Alex and I were, in fact, in the wrong car. Damn. We had to get off at the next stop and frantically find our correct seats. We did and Alex left his big bag in the first car. We slept all the way to Amritsar and woke up at the end of the line once again. As I awoke a young street kid came running onto the train with a bag bigger than we was. He was looking on the floor for things of value, saw my shoes (didn't see me in my bunk) grabbed them and made to make away with them. A bellowing yell from the top bunk stopped him in his tracks and returned my shoes. I am significantly larger than most Indians and find it easy to be intimidating when I need to be.
Alex ran up to the last car we were in to get his bag. It was sitting there loyally and we regrouped in the station and made our way to the Golden Temple of Amritsar.