India

[11thHour]

He was interested in seeing foreign currency.
Rik

Two boys approached me in New Delhi, said they were coin collectors - did I have any to add to their collection! (Silver tongues also feigned surprise that my wife was not my daughter)

Tim

[ge_rik]

Update 5
We have now reached Varanasi, which is on the banks of the Ganges and where people bathe in its (polluted) waters and where they come to be cremated and have their ashes cast into the waters.

Our planned 18 hour train journey ended up being 26 hours. Much of that time was spent stationary at small wayside stations and, frustratingly, we were sitting outside Varanasi Junction for just over an hour!

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As we arrived at sunset and our accommodation overlooks the river beside one of the main ghats (the places where pilgrims can reach the river), the traffic was a nightmare. However, we are here now and settled into our Airbnb which is on the top floor of a yoga ashram. All very calm and peaceful with stunning views of the river (taken at 6.00am this morning)

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Rik

[DG]

Wow Rik that is one heck of a journey. I bet you were glad of the sanctum of the ashram to recover. Great updates, thanks for taking the time Rik. That last photo, the mound and adjacent hole in the foreground looks man made, could you make out what it was? Very atmospheric photo of great proportions, just like a Turner.

Thanks

Dave

[FWLR]

I agree with Derek, this is the best thread ever.
The photo is stunning Rik and your right it does look peaceful. I think early morning is one of the best times of the day, no matter where you are.

[ge_rik]

That last photo, the mound and adjacent hole in the foreground looks man made, could you make out what it was? Very atmospheric photo of great proportions, just like a Turner.
Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave
Most of the soil in the foreground is the bank of the river, exposed because the river level is low at this time of year. The hummock is part of some building work which is going on adjacent to the ashram. I hope it won't spoil the atmosphere there. Great location just outside the main tourist area but close enough to walk into 'town'.

Rik

[philipy]

Glad you weren't on this one Rik!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-43695813

[Peter Butler]

Sounds like you have slipped into Indian culture effortlessly... perhaps during one of your rail journeys we might yet see you 'roof surfing'?

[ge_rik]

Glad you weren't on this one Rik!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-43695813

Me too. A link on that page to this story made me smile:

The engine that ran away

One railway engine made a break for it in the southern Indian state of Karnataka last week and managed to make it 13km (eight miles) before its panicked driver, who had been chasing it on a motorcycle, finally caught up with it.

I think the systems they use to manage their railways are much the same as they were in 1947, though now, the demand and level of traffic is considerably higher. Mind you, the ticket prices are more like we'd have paid 50 years ago. The fare for the 18hr (891km) sleeper train from Jaipur to Varanasi was 3238.32 rupees which is approximately £39.00. And that was for BOTH of us.......

Rik

[ge_rik]

Sounds like you have slipped into Indian culture effortlessly... perhaps during one of your rail journeys we might yet see you 'roof surfing'?

Tempting, but I think I'll resist the urge. I did sit on the step in the open doorway of the coach on ride up to Shimla. That's about as daring as I get!

Rik

[ge_rik]

Explored the river bank as far as the centre of the old city. Watched a couple of cremations (no photos allowed out of respect). Apparently they know the exact amount of wood required to burn a body completely. The priest whom we chatted to told us things had improved a lot. Ten years ago the river would have been full of charred body parts ..... hmmm....... Bit different to life in the uk.

Stopped off at the Blue Lassi, for a fruit lassi (yoghurty curd drink with chunks of fruit).

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After being prepared, it's poured into individual earthenware pots (same material as clay flowerpots) and you drink it. Can be a bit gritty, but tastes delicious.

Then back to the ashram to chill out (literally - we have a/c). The water buffaloes were cooling themselves off in the river by the ashram.

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Rik

[ge_rik]

Slightly different feel to the river view from the ashram as dusk approaches. You might just be able to make out the arches of the railway bridge in the distance, lit up by the sinking sun, and the water buffaloes are swimming past, having taken a trip upstream towards the town. Hard to believe this is the edge of a very busy city

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Rik

[FWLR]

Bit quieter too I bet Rik

[ge_rik]

Off to Darjeeling tomorrow. Pick up the train at around midday just outside Varanasi and then, 12.5 hours later we are scheduled to arrive at New Jalpaiguri (NJP), the start of the DHLR. The Darj train leaves at 8.30am and so, unless we are more than 8 hours late arriving, we should make the connection - famous last words (given our last experience of a sleeper train!).

If all else fails we'll stay overnight in NJP and see if there's room on the next day's train to Darj. Would be a tragedy to come all this way and miss a ride on the DHLR.

I'll keep you posted!

Rik

[tom_tom_go]

Good luck Rik!

[ge_rik]

Contribution from my travelling companion, James
Surprises
1. It isn't as smelly and we haven't trodden in anything horrid. There is a serious litter problem, though. We were having our dinner on the train down from Shimla. It was in a compartmentalised aluminium foil tray. When the single gentleman opposite had finished, he took the tray and put it through the open window and dropped it. He looked around at his fellow passengers with a smirk and his neighbour offered up his tray for the same treatment. We pointedly returned our tray to the steward.

2. I feel bad that the above story is my first contribution to your forum because our experience of the people here is that they are unfailingly polite and friendly. They live on top of each other but, rather than creating a defensive bubble around themselves, they flow along in a good natured way. If you meet the eyes of a stranger by chance, you duck your head in a swooping manner and a smile breaks out on both your faces. Good karma. It restores your faith in humanity.

Contd......

[ge_rik]

James's contribution - Part 2
3. Few or no flies or mosquitos!

4. The beneficial effect of not drinking alcohol. I was apprehensive about surviving for two weeks in India and our medicine chests form a significant part of our 8kg luggage allowance. It turns out that it is more like spending two weeks in a detox health spa with none of the martyrdom. Lots of fruit, fibre, vegetables and little meat or caffeine. The food is full of flavour and I'm not yearning for my meat and two veg.

5. The central role of the family. We were at one of the burial ghats (steps down to the Ganges) in Varanasi yesterday and a gentleman came along and explained the event and its significance. In a nutshell, burning releases the soul from the body. There are six classes of people who aren't burnt: children under nine, women who die in childbirth, sadhu (holy men), lepers with no hands and feet, (and two others which I've forgotten). These are roped to stones and dropped into the Ganges. They are pure and their souls don't need releasing. But I have digressed - family. His family had been carrying out this funeral function for four and a half thousand years. The family we stayed with in Jaipur had four generations living in the same house and the artist son was using his mother's dress making techniques and her appliqué workers to produce his pictures. Skills-sets are handed down. It does make our Western family structure look very fractured.

James

[ge_rik]

Monkeys
We thought it would be fun seeing monkeys wandering about the place but we are beginning to understand why our host in Shimla keeps a cricket bat by her front door and the government in India is debating whether to designate them as vermin.

They are everywhere, particularly in towns

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And of course they are canny and very agile. We watched one reaching in through the bars of an upstairs window, presumably to steal anything within reach. A few seconds later, its baby emerged through the bars clutching some fruit. While were were waiting for the train in Shimla, one dashed into the waiting area, grabbed a family’s carrier bag full of snacks and climbed up on the roof with it.

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The main problem is that, like cows, Hindus regard monkeys as sacred and so, like cows, they can wander around the streets unmolested. They even have a temple in Jaipur devoted to them! Before leaving the uk, we were told to steer clear of monkeys (and dogs), as they can carry rabies, but sometimes they are a bit too difficult to avoid.

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Rik

[FWLR]

Interesting to find out from James that a lot of myths about India are just not correct…Flies for one.
The monkeys are a menace I know having seen a program on the TV about them. One troop were invading fruit farmers produce, even when they had it fenced off, they send dogs in to get rid of them.

Those in the temple are as you say Rik do have an easy life…..

[Tingewickmax]

Wonderful stuff Rik. Thanks for posting. I find it ironic that untamed species that are able to succeed in the environments we create and co-exist with us are termed "vermin" and are put in line for vilification and possible extermination. Yet those species that are unable to adapt to our removal of their natural habitat, for our gain, are equally doomed to oblivion.

[IanC]

Wonderful stuff Rik. Thanks for posting. I find it ironic that untamed species that are able to succeed in the environments we create and co-exist with us are termed "vermin" and are put in line for vilification and possible extermination. Yet those species that are unable to adapt to our removal of their natural habitat, for our gain, are equally doomed to oblivion.

I agree with this.

Ian