Hi all,
Hello from Varanasi, the holy Hindu city situated along the Ganges River. Pete and I arrived late this morning and were greeted by monkeys as we checked into our hostel. We also saw children playing with a goat as if it were a dog, hugging his neck and pulling his leg. After a quick lunch of veggies, roti and lentils, we headed down to the Ganges to watch the cremation ceremonies. So, how did we get here?
When we left Goa, we also left our plans to travel south. The monsoons proved to be too much for us. So, we headed north, back through Mumbai (aka hell on earth) and on to Aurangabad. It was there that we toured the Bibi Ka Maqbara, a tomb that is a small scale replica of the Taj Mahal, watched another Bollywood flick and went to the Ellora Caves, a collection of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves from about the 8th Century. We took a very long and bumpy rickshaw ride up a mountain to get there, but they were amazing – huge carvings of Shiva, elephants and columns. We climbed a gushing waterfall and watched cows graze on the side of the mountain.
Two very long train rides later, we arrived in Bhopal, made famous by the 1984 gas leak that killed 5,000 people. Today, there are mosques to tour and bazaars to wander through. We did both but really we used the few days there as a time out from India. We took hot showers, watched American movies on TV and ordered room service. Why did we need a timeout from Incredible India?
Peter Scott: Superstar: So, Westerns tend to attract a lot of unwanted attention here and we are no different. Pete and I were waiting for a midnight train in Manmad (which we of course renamed Mad Man!). We were sitting on top of our backpacks on the platform when a couple of guys came over to talk to Pete. I continued to read my Indian copy of People magazine and the next time I looked up there were more than a dozen guys surrounding us. They wanted Pete to play his guitar, which he did, and of course that attracted a large crowd … like 40 dudes. Then, they sort of got aggressive. “Take a photo with us! One more, one more!” “Sing!” They wouldn’t leave until an older group of men told them off. In the morning, when we got to Bhopal, three rickshaws attempted to run us over in order to get a fare. They literally came within a half an inch of us and started yelling “Rickshaw! You need rickshaw!?” This has happened before but you can only take so much of it. The last straw was as we were walking through town, a motorcycle blocked our way as we tried to cross the street. We went around the bike and driver and the guy followed us, yelling “What country? What country?” And then a rickshaw crashed into him. God has a sense of humor.
Other random things:
No Woman, No … Where: There were no women in Bhopal. During the day there might be a handful but in the evening, about 8 or 9 p.m., hundreds of men would hang out on the street, drinking tea or just shootin’ the breeze but there were absolutely no women. Very strange.
Carrot Top: In the U.S., it is not uncommon for men or women to dye their gray hair as they get older. Indians are no different except that when they dye their hair, it is a bright orange color … anywhere from burnt rust to neon orange. Also, skin lightening creams are huge here.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: I could write an entire volume on the trains here because they are insane. Of the many, many characters on trains, there is one particular group that brings comic relief. Assuming that people are more likely to give money to a woman than a man, dudes will cross dress in full saris, jewelry and makeup and demand money from train passengers. They particularly go after the men, who are as much entertained as they are freaked out by it. And they do well – I always see these ladies/men get lots of money.
We'll be in Varanasi for a few days, then probably off to Calcutta. Our parents arrive next week so we'll be headed back to Delhi to start our trip of western India. There is much, much more to write but that’s it for now.
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