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Varanasi

In India on May 12, 2009 at 7:45 am

It took 12 hours to get here by overnight train but the ride went fast and was very pleasant.  This was my first time on an Indian train and I was expecting a lot less, at least some livestock in the cabins.  No chickens although I was excited to hear a rooster until I realized it was the ring tone of someone’s phone.

I ended up at a really nice guest house 30 seconds walk from the Ganges River and it’s been an awesome stay for the past 2 1/2 days.  Yesterday morning started with a 5:30am 2 hour boat ride on the Ganges to watch the morning rituals.  It’s a nice way to see what’s happening since you can catch everything from that vantage point plus it means you can avoid the crush of humans on the ghats (banks) of the river.  Lots of boats at that time filled predominantly with curious white people.  Saw one energetic fellow yelling into his cell phone as people bathed in the river and people prayed to the gods.

Click here for a video of a morning on the ghats.

A pretty good hotel room about 100m from the ghats. Varanasi

First view of the ghats. Varanasi

Old man on the ghat. Varanasi

Steps down to the water. Varanasi

Flags on the ghat. Varanasi

What would India be without all the colour… Varanasi

Out on the Ganges in the early morning light. Varanasi

View from the Ganges of early morning activities on the ghats. Varanasi

Despite the legendary toxicity levels of the Ganges, swimming is a huge past time for local residents. Varanasi

Afterward I took a tour of five temples, something of a feat since I find temples as interesting as museums, ie., not at all.  The monkey temple was cool though and I spent more time in the grounds watching the monkeys wrestle and bite each other.  One was playing with what looked like some unfortunate woman’s hair piece.  He actually put it on his head and stroked it in that way that women do.  Then another monkey came, ripped it off the other’s head which resulted in a tug-of-war, tearing the hair in half.  Everyone got some, everyone was happy.  No cameras allowed so I couldn’t get any pictures which was a shame because some of those shots would have made for great storytelling.

Then went to the Muslim quarter to a silk factory and ended up buying a bedspread, BRIGHT PINK.  Yes oh yes it is lovely.

What I think paradise looks like. Silk factory. Varanasi

Got back to the hotel, met a great older couple who produced a bottle of Southern Comfort and loaded up the glasses.  This was the way in which we wandered down to the ghats to watch the evening rituals, a little tipsy and very happy.  Met the caretaker of a burning ghat so sat with him for a bit while he explained what was happening below.  A family had just arrived with the body and was starting the ritual performance.  The sun had gone down so when they lit the pyre it was beautiful in the evening light.

After that went to a classical Indian music concert and promptly fell asleep, bad form since there were only about 10 people there including the musicians.  The tabla player woke me up with “MADAM, ONE MORE SONG!!”  Afterwards he came to ask what I liked so of course I said he was very good, the result being that in my delirious state I was suckered into tabla lessons this afternoon. We’ll see how that goes, I’m not doing any cooking classes so this may be a good substitute.

Tonight I get on the train for a 15 hour ride north to Darjeeling.  I met two young guys from Montreal at the tourism booth in the train station once we arrived in Varanasi and we’re all heading up at the same time so we’ll go together.

No more sleep problems with sleeping pills in hand, G.I. is regular for the first time in two years, and have a rash on my stomach the exact size and shape of my money belt.  All in all life is pretty sweet right now.

The opposite of sticking your tongue on a frosted post, resting your arm on an iron railing in 40 degree weather. Just as you take the shot. Varanasi


Welcome to Delhi

In India on May 8, 2009 at 11:58 am

For the first time in 8 months I am finally warm.  I exited the airport around 11pm last night into 35 degree weather, not too hot, just right.  The flight was uneventful although all the airport employees were wearing masks, strange to see after only watching it on the news.  The hotel sent me a pickup and I wasn’t too sure I was going to get there after I jumped in the back seat and the front seat immediately fell off into my lap.  But 5 minutes later everything was fixed and the taxi stopped stalling.

Everyone says India is overwhelming and takes a few days to get used to the craziness of it all, but last night the roads were pretty empty and the neighbourhood I’m staying in (Pahar Ganj) was quiet when we arrived.  Apparently cows are banned from most of the city but I guess they didn’t get the news here as there seems to be one cow for every two tourists.  The traffic is the same as the Middle East which means you go when there’s a gap in the vehicles and hustle before you get pegged.  It’s loud and dirty and it takes a bit of steel to not feel rotten for ignoring every person who wants to talk to you or not handing money to every street kid who sticks his hand in your face.  So far I’ve had two tag-alongs, one guy who was quite nice but disappeared after a cop pulled him aside, and the other was a young girl whose face was badly scarred from burns.

I’m exhausted after two days of traveling to get here and maybe 6 hours sleep through all of it.  Spent a few hours walking around after finishing my first order of business which was to fix my glasses which I sat on on the plane and broke.  Within 20 minutes I’d found a shop and got new frames, can you do that at home?  May leave for Varanasi tomorrow if I can pull myself together and brave the train station.  I saw enough of Delhi last time and don’t need to do more.  Why does 40 degrees feel ok?

First view from my hotel room in the Pahar Ganj. Delhi

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Off Again

In India on May 4, 2009 at 1:58 am

It’s been almost two years since I went off to travel the way I like which is usually to a place that looks completely unlike the one I grew up in and might be a little dirty.  This time it’s India for a quick three weeks.  Unlike some tourists who pack it all in and see everything there is to see I’ve opted to check out a few cities and sites and take my time getting from one place to the next.  Partly because I like to get the feeling of a place rather than just the flavour, but mostly because I’m tired of having a too-packed schedule which doesn’t allow for any deviation from the intended path.  I have no itinerary other than landing in Delhi with two nights booked at a budget hotel sans a/c.  After that it’s up to whatever the train/bus schedules permit.

Last time I was there in 2002 I was finishing up my overland trip and we were getting around by the truck we’d traveled in from Turkey.  I was always with Jim and Arnout while we explored new places so unlike other travelers’ stories, I got around fairly easily and was never harassed by men.  That will probably be different this time as I’m off solo and don’t have a personal vehicle at my disposal.  I’ve been getting mentally prepped for this, checking out what traveling sites have to say and by far the biggest thing to be concerned about is how many times the locals try to take the tourists for a ride on the swindle system.  For example, every guide book says when you’ve booked your hotel make sure you tell your taxi/rickshaw driver where you’re going and don’t let him convince you the hotel’s been burnt down or it’s full or that it doesn’t exist or that there’s a riot in the neighbourhood and it’s unsafe.

When I was there before I had booked a plane ticket at a shop in one neighbourhood and had to back a week later to pick it up.  I asked the first rickshaw driver how much the trip would be and he quoted me 10 times the price, adding “There’s a riot in that neighbourhood today.”  Remembering what I’d learned from what everyone warned me about, I went to the next rickshaw driver who charged the same price and used the same excuse.  By the third driver I was getting ticked off and told him not to rip me off.  He said he’d take me up to the neighbourhood but not into it as it was unsafe.  When we got there, there actually was a riot in progress and it did look a little messy.

Whatever happens I’m looking forward to it all and will update my blog whenever I get the chance.  As a wise friend did a few years ago, I’ll use the correspondence to gauge my tolerance and happiness levels inspired by my travels.  It’s not the easiest country to travel in and it tests the patience of the most saintly person, but I’m sure there will be many more highs than lows.

First stop is Amsterdam for 20 hours and dinner with friends, and then it’s off to Delhi and the 45 degree heat that awaits…

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And About India…

In Asia, India on December 6, 2002 at 7:22 pm

Ok, this is the last report…

Well, I have very mixed feelings about India so all I can say is that it’s going to take time to process that whole thing.  What I can say is that it’s the weirdest place I’ve ever been.  One night we stayed at the palace of one of the now defunct maharajas and it was like paradise in the midst of poverty and everything dirty.  It was totally green, beautiful tropical plants, peacocks and parakeets and the occasional monkey walking around.  Then just outside the gates was the smell and pollution and a million begging people.

I think my favourite place of what I saw was Amritsar and the Golden Temple which was surprisingly serene for having about 10,000 people walking around.  The Taj Mahal was disappointing because it looked exactly like all the pictures I’ve seen although the single light hanging above the tomb of Shah Jahan’s dead wife was the most perfect picture of a broken heart I’ve ever seen.

The food was awesome as well.  In my attempts to lose some weight, I actually drank the tap water in the hopes of dropping the kilos the way everyone else in the truck has.  Well, all I can say is that I threw-up once and that was it.  Can you believe it???? Everyone I know who’s been to India has horror stories of visiting every bathroom possible and popping Imodium like it’s candy.  I actually try to get sick and have never been more regular in my life.  I was going to bring some of the water home as a weight-loss supplement for anyone who wanted it but that’s a useless idea.

On the other hand, I think that India is a good place for assertiveness training.  Perhaps it is more expensive than conventional seminars conducted at home, however, unless you learn to say NO!!!!!! extremely fast, you will be subjected to buying a thousand carpets you don’t need and being whisked away in a taxi to a million places you don’t want to see.  At first I tried being the polite Canadian and said, ‘No thanks, I really don’t need a carpet’, but after constant harassment and a quick temper, it eventually turned into ‘GET LOST!! I DON’T WANT YOUR STINKING CARPET/SAREE/ELEPHANT/CAMEL/TAXI!!!!’  I think if I had had PMS during this part of the trip I would have gone to jail for murder.

Anyways, now I’m back in Amsterdam after a long flight that involved a 2 second stopover in Kuwait city.  I am enjoying the first-world immensely and tomorrow I leave for England for a week before coming back here to meet my brother.  It’s been a good trip but I am tired of being a tourist and am actually looking forward to a regulated work-week.  I know, you can quote me on that after the first week back, but I realize that I need structure in my life to stay sane.

So thank you to everyone who e-mailed and kept me in the loop as to their lives while I was gone.  I look forward to seeing a lot of you over the next few weeks and can hardly wait to catch up.  If my stories of ‘when I was in …’ get too much, please shut me down – I’ll try and keep the reminiscing to a dull roar.

And for those I don’t see before January, have a very Merry Christmas, a great New Year, and enjoy the holidays!

And that is all, she wrote.