The train which took us to Belur Math was quiet and unusually devoid of people. As it took us further and further north to our destination, we sat back and examined the countryside that was suddenly springing up on the either side of us.

Poor Triin, she was obviously wrung out by the journey, I could imagine what a trial, a bus-ride from Dhaka must have been. I didn't need the countryside, watching Triin struggling against sleep was quite entertaining enough (I wonder why I've been spending so much time watching people battling the sandman here in India....well ok, I've had my share too).

She was yawning every couple of minutes, probably kept awake by the constant invasion of mosquitoes.

It was fairly dark when we got to the temple. We stepped into a museum dedicated to the great Ram Krishna and his followers, but it was almost closing time for them. Nevertheless, we got a 15 minute quickie tour of the place and a guide that was shooing us along as fast as he possibly could without using a broom. Yes, it was a running commentary.

I have to admit, I was more fascinated by the architecture of the museum than its exhibits. The room inside was ALOT larger than I had expected from the visible size of the structure outside.
If I remember correctly. the inner hall was a two storey affair that wound around like a spiral staircase. All in all there was a slight "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" feel to this. You know.....being chased by hostile Indian guards, wierd exhibits and half-running down a spiral staircase plus the absolute pre-requisite of any hollywood movie ...a blonde, preferably female and a chinese side-kick.

The main temple was VERY nice. It looked awfully expensive. We climbed up the steps and wandered into a little ceremony that going on. Singapore Sidekick and the Blonde sneaked past the guards of the temple and attempted (very poorly, I might add...oh come on, how do you expect a chinese and a blonde to be inconspicuous in this crowd?) to mingle in the crowd.

We sank onto the ahhh....nice marble floor....A gentle breeze wafted through the open door. Deep in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Doom, a bizarre ceremony was being conducted by the head priest. No, it did not involved sacrifices, but there were some nifty moves with a candlestick though. There we sat enjoying the whole thing.

We picked up an little Indian girl on our way out. Hmm, actually she picked us, kept following us right up to the point we got on the bus which would take us home. I never quite figured out what she wanted with us. I guess she must have been curious. It's not every day you see such a wierd pair like us after all.

On the way we met a physics lecturer at St Xavier's college. Very nice fellow. Stopped by half-way to for a glass lassi. It was waaaaay too sweet for my taste. As you can see, I'm not a great fan of sweet stuff.

Conclusion: It was an absolutely fantastic night out. Stay tuned for Day#2.