Varanasi Photos

 Kids flying plastic bags along the ghats.  They were a pleasant bunch and too busy having fun to bother me about rupees or chocolates.

 Preparations for the aarti that started just after dusk.

 Yes that's cow shit.  Yes it's used for fires inside people's homes, even for cooking.  And yes I'm very very thankful it isn't my job to collect and mold it into patties.

 Dawn is a crowded time on the Ganges with locals and pilgrims doing their bathing and tourists of all colors going out on the boats to watch it all.

This is a Shiva temple that's sunk pretty low.  Note that the river is also at one of its lowest points since it's currently the dry winter season.  I imagine during the monsoons it gets completely submerged.

Look close in the middle here.  Your eyes aren't fooling you, there's a TV on that boat.  This guy is out there every morning trying to sell religious DVDs to pilgrims and tourists.  There are also plenty of other "floating markets" out there to harass you a bit as you try to enjoy the dawn scenery.

A view of the burning ghats.  Selling wood, especially the much prized sandalwood, is big business in Varanasi and to my understanding there's a whole sub-caste whose job is to sell the wood and calculate exactly how much it will take to burn up your loved ones.  You're able to walk around and see it up close but photography is forbidden up there.

Holiest City in India

That title might be wrong but it's pretty close to the truth.  Varanasi is located at the confluence of the Ganges and Assi rivers which for some reason I'm not quite sure about makes it one of the holiest places to go.  Apparently a dip in the water can remove all sin and it's one of the most preferred places to be cremated in all of India  From what I've heard, water from the River Ganga is a crucial part of Hindu last rites no matter where you are.  So the banks are crowded with religious tourists, foreign onlookers, religious ascetics and lots and lots of Hindu ceremonies.


The downside to all this is that it's also one of the dirtiest rivers on the planet with a bacteria count that's out of this world.  I dipped my finger in it just to say I did but wasn't nearly brave enough to attempt bathing there.  Now some people think it's so dirty because of the cremation sites on the river and the fact that some bodies (those of children, pregnant women, sadhus and snake bite victims) are put into the waters without being burnt first.  I even saw a dead body floating down the river while eating lunch one day.  The truth of the matter, however, is that the 200 million people living upstream from Varanasi are dumping untold amounts of mostly untreated sewage into the water.  And if you think that's bad you should consider that Bangladesh is even further downstream and relies on the Ganges as an important water source.  Yeah, South Asia for all it's beauty and cultural diversity has PLENTY of problems.

My own trip actually began better than expected.  Lots of people had warned me about the touts, hash sellers and boatmen all hassling you at once your entire stay there.  Maybe it was losing my cool in Agra and getting it back, or maybe it was just mentally preparing myself for it due to warnings, but overall it wasn't that bad.  At the train station I was able to easily book onward travel (20 hour train to Haridwar, woohoo) and find a rickshaw driver to take me to a guesthouse someone had recommended.  Finding that place full I agreed to have the rickshaw driver show me another place and after a brief bit of haggling got a room with a balcony for 250.  That first night I wandered up the river to see the Aarti worshiping the river Ganga as a goddess.  On the way I was suckered into getting a massage on the ghats (the steps leading down to the river) by an old guy.  About halfway through a second guy joins in so there I am in the middle of the crowded ghats getting an admittedly great massage by two old men.  When they started being pushy about price (wanting something like 600 each) it became much less relaxing and after 5 or 10 minutes of protesting they finally stopped.  I ended up giving them 2 or 3 hundred because despite trying to con me they did do a good job.  Then I watched the ceremony which was filled with lots of chanting and clanging bells.  Lots and lots of bells.

I spent a lot of time wandering the streets over the next few days and, like in many Indian cities, that's one of the best parts.  Cows, goats, beggars, rickshaws, stray dogs and pedestrians all crowded onto narrow alleys.  I saw kids who couldn't afford kites flying plastic bags on strings.  People working to make patties out of cow shit to use for burning.  Public cremations at the burning ghats were an eerily calm sight.  Monkeys (which are revered due to Hanuman being Rama's helper) were about and there was a dead one on the sidewalk laid out on a sheet with some coins around it.  I'm just wondering if that monkey died of natural causes or was helped along since he seemed to be a money maker.

On the second day I set out to see Benaras Hindu University (BHU) since I heard it was a nice walk.  The first strike against it was the young man who as I walked in struck up a conversation.  Considering I wasn't in an overtly tourist area I figured he might be genuine so we chatted for awhile.  Then comes the talk of showing me the temples for a fee.  Then after that was declined he mentioned having cheap sundries in his backpack that he could sell me.  And having failed all that he began talking about how hungry he was and how he needed money.  Maybe I'm a cold-hearted bastard but you get this treatment all the time in India and when it comes from a young guy with two arms and two legs it just doesn't move me.  The second strike was the litter everywhere and the acceptance of it by the students and faculty.  The third strike was the park in the middle which has the potential to be beautiful, having nice trees, sculptures and ponds, if it wasn't for the garbage, broken irrigation flooding what little green grass there was and inch or two of sludge on the pond's surface.  All wasn't lots though, there was a nice temple compound there and I did have a pleasant chat with a French major as I was leaving the campus.

Later that day I ran into Jay and Sacha who were on the camel trek with me.  We chatted for a bit and arranged a time to go see sunrise on the Ganges together.  It definitely worked for me as it meant I'd be paying a third of what I would otherwise and have some company to boot.  I was pretty bleary eyed waking up before dawn the next day but we managed to find each other and had a nice boat trip with a polite and informative boatman.  After getting breakfast together and swapping stories we once more parted ways and I resumed my wanderings.

It's a fascinating city just to walk around, especially in the area along the ghats (the steps leading down to the river).  Everything seems to happen there from wedding ceremonies to cricket games to the burning of the dead.  The touts do get a little annoying with boatmen offering rides every few steps.  The drug dealers, some as young as 7 or 8, also get old so I began saying "Drugs are bad!" really loudly anytime they approached me.  Jay got a kick out of that since I was the one offering people (legal) bhang cookies on our camel trek.

So no pictures tonight as there's a problem uploading them on this connection.  I should also say that my experience of an easy time in Varanasi may not be typical.  Jay and Sacha were kicked out of their rickshaw from the train station halfway to their destination.  And since it was a prepaid rickshaw they couldn't do much about it.  Ahh India, so welcoming to tourists sometimes ;)

Alabama, Crazy Ukranian and Steve the Buddhist Fireman

Travel.  As an experience it can bring out the best and the worst in someone.  It also tends to be defined more by the people around you than the place you're in.  If there's anything that I've learned this trip it's that people matter and can totally change your perception of the world around you.  The locals matter, a surly tout getting in your face can spoil an otherwise nice tourist attraction or a friendly guesthouse owner can make an otherwise ho-hum place feel like home.  Yet for various reasons (language barrier, common culture and experiences, lifestyle) it tends to be the fellow traveler's that you get to know the best when you're backpacking.  Here are three I don't think I'll be forgetting.

Alabama:  I think the name says it all.  He told me his real name at one point but then said to just call him Alabama (pronounced Aaa-la-baaa-meh) like everyone else does.  Usually in phrases like "Alabama, you're drunk" or "Settle down Alabama, you smoke too many drugs".  And drink and smoke he did.  After confirming that I was American his first question was, "So why you come to India?"  I started to talk about an interest in the culture and history from university but he cut me off right there.  "Don't shit around with me, you came for wake and bake and the parties".  Well, there was that too even if India isn't exactly a party nation.

I met this guy at my guest house's rooftop restaurant in Varanasi.  He's been coming to India for 20 years and apparently always stays at that guest house when he's in Varanasi, one of his favorite spots.  He was pleasant and we chatted quite a bit but due to substance abuse he usually forgot everything I told him so we'd have the same conversation the next night as well.  I have no clue how he made his money, he said he was trying to sell machined parts in India but that wasn't going anywhere this year.

Ilia the Crazy Ukranian:  I wrote a note on facebook about this guy.  He's the one I met down by the Ganges in Rishikesh when he was getting water.  He invited me back to meet the sadhu (Indian holy man) he was staying with in their tent/shack compound.  While smoking a few chillums I heard most of his life story as a drug addict before he began getting a little too enthusiastic about chakras and the horrors of the American military.  That's when I made my exit as my tolerance for weirdness was at its limit.

Ilia is from the Ukraine and near as I can figure doesn't come from money.  He got into drugs early and eventually got addicted to heroin.  A few years ago he moved to the Czech Republic illegally to work there and got even deeper into drugs.  Since his living situation was in a shared bedroom with a bunch of alcoholic Ukranians he said he would do uppers all night so he wouldn't need to sleep and then take another set of drugs during the day to keep him going at a more normal pace.  At some point I'm sure the 24/7 drug binge messed with his brain.

That's where India comes in.  Ilia is one of those guys who was "saved" by India.  He first went there with little or no money.  Being addicted to heroin he started getting into the drug game in Goa, India's premiere trance party/drug scene.  As an aside, no Mom I didn't go to Goa and haven't taken up a heroin habit.  Was offered opium a few times but turned it down ;)  Anyways, Ilia said that there he got addicted to street methadone which according to him is way worse than heroin on several levels.  Eventually he got off the stuff and being absolutely broke began living with sadhus in Goa and later Rishikesh.  Every so often the sadhu he's living with kicks him out though, I have a feeling even mystics have a threshold of crazy that they can handle.

Now, in case you weren't aware, sadhus smoke a lot of ganja.  It's a holy herb here in India and a special plant for Lord Shiva.  And to celebrate all that sadhus are pretty much stoned 24/7.  So despite this Ilia guy talking about cleaning up he really just switched his drug of choice.  Granted weed isn't so bad but I'm pretty sure "Move in with Indian ascetic, smoke lots of pot" isn't one of the 12 steps.  But his beliefs in the holiness of the Ganges and its power to cleanse sins were holding him up so more power to him.

Steve:  Now Steve is a Buddhist.  And was a fireman.  And is also the coolest cat I've met in India so far.  He was also staying at Mama's Guest House in Rishikesh.  And since I was there for 3 weeks we got to know each other over late night chai and I learned his story.

Steve was your typical cockney Londoner who grew up learning to drink and fight.  He lived close to Little India as well so he got bit early by a fascination with the culture.  At 16 he joined the Army (you can do that in Britain) and got shipped off to West Germany.  After 5 years of service he'd had enough, moved back and did the wife and career thing as a fireman.  Then many years later a burning house fell on him, broke his leg and ended his career.  He got a decent pension so with too much time on his hands he turned to the drink even more, lost his family, house, etc.

Now Steve took up traveling but mostly of the drink and party variety.  After a bout with malaria in Thailand he lost his stomach for drinking though and has never been able to pick it back up.  He did however find a purpose through Buddhism in his travels and was able to reform his life.  These days Steve will only read books on the practice and philosophy of Buddhism and can speak on it for hours at a time.  And even if he has a narrow focus in life he was pretty fascinating.  His belief in reincarnation, the pursuit of enlightenment to toss of the needs and suffering of the body and iron faith that he can remove himself from the cycle of death and rebirth were all intriguing.  It's so rare to find someone who can speak with conviction about that stuff and not give off weird vibes.

My attempts to capture these three individuals in a few paragraphs has certainly been lacking.  I'm pretty positive none will see this blog but apologies for any inaccuracies contained within and I especially hope Steve wouldn't mind me talking about him.  Out of all the people I've met in India, Steve is the only one I'd say I got to know really well and would call a friend even if chances are we'll never see each other again.  So wishing the best to these three, they've really planted deep impressions in my mind 

Agra - Touts and Scams

I'm not to big on the must-see locations.  They tend to be overcrowded, tout-filled and in some cases more of a hassle than they're worth.  And to be sure 90% of my Agra experience was just that.  What made the difference between one of my worst stops in India and a worthwhile experience?  The Taj Mahal of course.

It really is a beautiful place and despite its popularity the area inside the gates is reasonably peaceful.  Sadly the tourist gate before you go in is Extreme India of beggars, child touts, pushy rickshaw drivers and all sorts of smells.  Yet Shah Jahan's masterpiece lives up to it's fame.  It's just the sheer size of the bugger that gets you, when I saw photos I knew it was big but not that big.

My visit to the Taj was actually my second full day in Agra and I was in a good mood after rebounding from my arrival and day 1 horror stories.  I suppose I was still missing that shanti feel from Jaisalmer.  Since Jaipur was a noisy headache I was a little on edge.  Then I arrive in Agra at 11 in the evening and am in for a rude awakening about levels of annoyance. 

First the rickshaw drivers near the train station were a surly lot unwilling to bargain and only too willing to try to guilt trip me into overpaying.  I ignored them and walked into town a bit to catch another rickshaw that I was able to get a fair price for.  Then I get to the hotel I want to check out and they're demanding twice the price they're listed as having in Lonely Planet.  Annoyed I march straight out to go room hunting sometime around midnight.  This is when I began to lose it as two rickshaw drivers I had never even seen before begin to follow me down the dark street.  I turn on them and tell them both to fuck off before I need to get the cops involved.  The older one backs off but the younger one tells me he's going home and just walking in that direction.  I tell him fine, walk a little further and stop by a lighted shop.  The bastard soon realizes I'm not moving and stops to wait for me.  I tell him to fuck off again and head into the next hotel.  While I barter for room prices the idiot rickshaw driver sits down waiting for a commission.  I explained the situation to the guy at reception to make sure the proto-stalker doesn't get money for harassing tourists.

Then the next day I headed to Fatehpur Sikri which is 45 minutes outside of Agra and home to a massive mosque and abandoned royal compound of one of the Mughal Emperors (Akbar maybe).  I was really hoping that it being outside the city would mean it was a little more chilled out and enjoyable but no such luck.  Older guys would follow and hassle you about giving you a tour.  Kids were everywhere begging or asking for your ticket stub as there must have been some sort of scam going on.  And on top of all that the sights weren't all that great.  This was the day that led to my post of frustration on the blog.  Luckily, I think that venting did me some good because the next day was a great success.

I was left with one day to see the sights in Agra itself and had to make the most of it.  I stumbled awake early-ish in the morning to see the Taj but the sound of rain lulled me back into sleep.  Getting up at a more reasonable hour I went to get breakfast (food was surprisingly cheap in tourist restaurants near the Taj) and set about waiting out the storm.  After it ended it was a mad race to see the Taj, Agra Fort and the Baby Taj all in one afternoon.  I saw them all and it was definitely a worthwhile experience.  Just to get into the Taj was 750 rupees and 250 each for the other spots.  For a little perspective, 250 rupees is a reasonable price to pay for a decent hotel room.  I wish I could put up more photos but the internet connection I'm on now is extremely slow.  You'll have to settle for this one of the cycle rickshaw I took to the Baby Taj.  A great way to see Agra even though I felt pretty bad for the old guy doing the pedaling!  He was nice, we chatted and had some samosas and chai together at our destination.

Then at 10 in the evening I was off to the train station, ticket in hand.  Sadly I was on an RAC ticket (reserved against cancellation) so had to sort through loads of papers to find my name.  It took me ages because I didn't realize they had a section for names written in Hindi and names written in English for each passenger.  After about 10 minutes I realized they had just written my name using the Devanagari alphabet and that my English name was blocked by a bunch of other papers.

Feeling frazzled but relieved I sort of had it figured out I headed to the platform to get a chai, water and some cookies as I wait for the train.  There are two guys, the guy working there and another guy chatting with him.  As I come up they help me out and then quote me the price 90 rupees.  I'm taken aback and check to clarify and they then say 80.  I'm really confused at this point but more interested in getting on my train then worrying about that so pay and move on.  As I find evidence I'm on the right track, and see the list of prices for chai, etc. at another stand I start to get pissed off.  They overcharged me by 50 rupees and since I had some time I decided to take a friend's advice and get angry to solve this situation.  Some loud confrontational words in front of the Indian customers and threats to get the station manager soon got me my correct change and I contentedly waited for my train.   I'm positive these guys are able to scam countless tourists who have just arrived in India just as they nearly got me.  Things here are confusing enough without people actively trying to make it harder on you.  That said, I didn't lose my positive mood and was able to confront the intensity of Varanasi head-on.  Til next time.

Moving On

A sad disappointment in Rishikesh has been the lackluster internet near where I am.  They're pretty rigid about no picture uploads (apparently it's a costs thing) so I've had to wait to update on Agra and Varanasi.  Rishikesh as a whole has been great though.  Tons of good conversation and long walks through forested hills.  Tomorrow I move on deeper into the mountains.  Not sure where exactly as it depends how far I can get on the bus but it should an adventure.

Golden City in the Sands

 

 
The bus to Jaisalmer was leaving at 5:30 in the morning.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't do 5:30 in the morning.  Somehow I was able to drag myself out of bed, into a rickshaw and onto the bus.  Not without getting hassled by touts before the sun was up though.  In particular the hotel and camel trek business in Jaisalmer is as cut throat as they come and extends it's nefarious influence down to other cities.  Young men are lying in wait at bus and train stations to sell you a hotel room before you even arrive to Jaisalmer.  To get them to go away I agreed to look at one of the hotels and then tried to sleep.

Surprisingly I got one of the nicest rooms of my trip out of that tout.  The downside was a strong push to sell me their way overpriced camel safari package.  Using my newly honed power of ignoring people, especially Indian salesmen, I was able to get a few cheap nights in a nice room and still find a decently priced camel safari.  Jaisalmer itself is a nice, relatively hassle free city once you're settled down.  A good section of it is still located within the medieval fort's walls making it one of the oldest continually inhabited world monuments or something like that.  And once again, some of the most beautiful scenes in India were just daily life spotted while taking a walk.

Religious graffiti was all over the place

After a few days in the city I headed out on a 3 day, 2 night camel trek.  I knew I wanted 2 nights because of the stars alone.  While sleeping on a massive sand dune or in a dry riverbed I saw some of the most amazing night skies I've ever seen.  I only wish it was warmer because even poking my face out of my blankets was too much for me.  What I wasn't thinking about was 3 days on a camel bouncing up and down.  When riding at a trot instead of a slow walk my stomach was churning and my balls smarting.

This guy was my camel, Tiger.  If I remember correctly he's 7 years old and had even participated in the famous Jaisalmer camel races one year.  He was fine once you got on him but wouldn't stop whining anytime you wanted him to sit down or stand up.  You quickly knew whose camel the camel driver was getting ready in the morning.  Tiger was the only one that would put up a fuss.

The trip had a good supply of traveling companions as well.  The first night was a large group with four Chinese tourists, two girls from the previous day, two more girls out for a one night trip and two Brits that I got along with well named Jay and Sacha who were there for the full 3 days.  Just after a breakfast of toast, jam and eggs the second day we split up and I was riding with Jay, Sacha and Sarjan, our camel driver, for the next two days. 

The basic breakdown of a day was wake up around 7, breakfast and preparations, leave at 8 or 9 for a 4 or 5 hour long ride, lunch and a siesta during the worst heat, another 2 or 3 hour ride to where we were going to sleep.  Sprinkled in that were a few stops at villages for supplies or just something cold to drink.  The food Sarjan made was delicious and the scenery extremely peaceful.  Rajasthan isn't an endless sand dune kind of desert.  Most of it is scrubland with the occassional dry riverbed or sand dune to break it up.  We did see herds of antelope though and had our very own guard dog who followed us for a day and a half.  He reminded me of my friend Ben's dog Spud.

The final day was also really nice because we finally had a pleasant village stop.  The places on the more traveled one or two day tours were equipped with gangs of kids asking for money or chocolates.  Getting hassled just as bad as in the cities could ruin the peaceful desert vibe but the last stop, at a semi-nomadic family's farm to buy camel-feed was the saving grace.  They offered us chai, didn't want anything for it and tried to have an actual conversation with us using Sarjan as a translator if needed.  Life is hard out there farming in a desert, luckily this guy also had added income by looking after some of the wind-power turbines at night.  The turbines are incredibly common in this area and are occasionally broken into for people to steal parts, copper wiring or whatever else sells.  Ahh India, any way to make a buck.

After finishing the camel trek I decided to stay at the hotel operated by Mr. Ganesh, the guy who also owned our camels.  It was a little bit cheaper and since I had already done his trek there were no worries about pushy salesmen.  I lounged around a bit for the next couple of days and took a scooter out for a drive to see some of the sights a little bit outside the city.  One was a massive, over-touristed area of sand dunes that had flocks of tourists going out for a one or two hour ride on a camel.  I suppose it's a good way to try it out but it's hard to imagine a more different experience than the one I had just had.

On the way there I was passing through a small village and was called by a young teenager to slow down and stop.  All he said to me was "3 kilometers" and before I know it this old guy is getting on the back of my scooter.  As is often the best case scenario in India, I rolled with it and took off.  Turns out the old guy spoke a little English and was a Brahmin going to visit a new temple.  India, especially in smaller areas, really does strike me as a give and take sort of country.  People seem generally more willing to lend a hand, even to strangers, but also more willing to impose and assume you're going to help them out.

So Jaisalmer was a great stop on my trip.  India overall has been an excellent trip but has certainly been loaded with plenty of ups and downs.  And now for shits and giggles, here are some more pictures of me on a camel.

Finding A Little Peace

Internet connections near where I'm staying are a little spotty, so no picture uploads until I head into town.  It's nice here in Rishikesh, really nice.  I'm staying at a place called Mama's and it has a great, relaxed vibe.  The thali (a kind of set meal) is delicious and the people are good conversation.  Mama herself is a bit of a character and insists on calling everyone "son" or "daughter".  At 200 rupees a night (under $5) for a nice double with hot water it's a great value too. 

So I'll be here for a little while.  I've already spent about 5 days here and will spend at least another week.  There are tons of mountain trails leading to views and waterfalls, the Ganges is (relatively) clean and beautiful and where I'm staying above the town it's amazingly peaceful.  I also need to wait for higher altitudes to warm up a bit, as a Florida boy I'm not too prepared for a Himalayan winter.

So that's where my trip stands right now.  I have a feeling that the Himalayas will be my favorite part of India.  They're much more chilled out and scenic.  Then again, I imagine anything is more chilled out and scenic than your average Indian city.