The Road to Agra

I got up this morning feeling much better. The taxi that I had hired arrived on time and I had a really nice ride to the train station in Jhansi. Unlike my previous ride, I didn't have to put up with all the people on the bus staring at me, but the driver had his rear-view mirror adjusted so that it was focused on me. Fortunately, he had to keep his eyes on the road most of the time so could only stare at me for a few seconds at a time. It was a much nicer way to travel than the bus. I have determined that the only law of the road here is that the bigger you are, the more right-of-way you have. Unless, of course, you're an animal in which case you trump everything. My taxi was a sub-compact car, so we had to pull over to the shoulder whenever there were on-coming buses, cows or goats. We pretty much just ran down the goatherds.

I got to the train station a bit early and the train was delayed, so I had to spend a few hours hanging out at the station. Fortunately, there was a first class ladies' waiting lounge, which was not nearly as grand as it sounds, but was exclusively for the use of women, so I didn't have to deal with unwanted male attention there. The Jhansi train station has a locust problem of biblical proportions which was only entertaining for the first few minutes until such time as they started landing on my shoulders and head. I swear some of these things could have fed a family of four at Thanksgiving.

I had reserved a seat in an air-conditioned car which was almost empty, so I had lots of room. The train guys treated me with respect and were very helpful, so I felt right at home and very comfortable. I know that my brother is probably cringing at the news of a 3-hour taxi ride and middle-class train ticket rather than mingling with the masses (he likes to call it the Marie Antoinette tour of India) but I challenge him to spend a few days here before he passes judgement.

The countryside that we passed through was really quite pretty and green. It is very flat here, but quite rocky and the few small hills are more like large rock formations. They're big on their temples and mosques as well as their forts, so there are some interesting buildings to see on the ridges. The fields and somewhat red earth look like many other places I've visited, particularly in Southeast Asia, and it's only when you see people that you realize that you're in India. It's not just the clothes that give them away, but also the dirt and poverty.

Once in Agra, I booked into a hotel complete with a pool and very western trappings. Again, another splurge, but I was able to barter a reasonable rate and I really feel I need it at this point. It was dinner time when I arrived, so I went out for a short walk to get a feel for the place before dark. I found that there's a Pizza Hut next door and yes, I ate there. It was glorious - the first franchised western food I've had since I left Australia in April. I'm sure Chris is almost apoplectic by now; don't worry bro...I'll go back to strictly Indian tomorrow (but I'm not giving up the hotel room).

The touts are really tenacious here, but I managed to keep a smile on my face and my spirits up when dealing with them. One rickshaw driver followed me throughout my walk (in both directions) and wanted to wait for me tomorrow morning at my hotel. I didn't tell him where I was staying and managed to lose him when I went into Pizza Hut. I expect tomorrow will be really challenging when I'm in the neighbourhood of the Taj Mahal. Still, I'm really going to try to hang onto the positive outlook I've managed to create for myself as I know it will take me far.

For those of you who have heard news of rioting in Agra, don't worry about me. The curfews have been lifted and things are returning to normal. I don't think the problems were anywhere near where I'm staying and I won't be going out after dark anyway. One of my days here will actually be a day-trip out of town and I just won't be wandering around that much on my own. I will likely, for the first time, actually take rickshaws to visit the sites, mostly because it gets me off the streets and out of the clutches of the touts. In this case, it will also provide me some extra security.

I am writing this from a computer in the corner of a souvenir shop beside my hotel. I think the store is closed but there are about six guys sitting around the counter having drinks and chatting. They have included me in their conversation from time to time and I have really enjoyed their company. What a nice thing to find some people who will just talk to me and not try to sell me anything. They even offered to let me download whatever music is in their iTunes library to my iPod.

That's it for now. I jotted down a bunch of notes today, but left them in my room so I'll add them to tomorrow's post after I've seen the famous Taj Mahal.

A Touch of Solitude

After my last post, I did indeed go back to my room for awhile, but got bored and couldn't bring myself to stay there for long. I went for a walk down to a lone temple about a kilometre and a half south of town. Despite its isolated location, I was still unable to view it uninterrupted...the inescapable guy who isn't a guide and doesn't want any money (but always asks for it later) insisted on escorting me around. I didn't really want a tutuorial on temple erotica from an 80-year old Indian man and I was finally able to get him to leave me alone. Still, I was hoping it would have been a bit more deserted so that I could just have spent some time sitting there alone and chilling out.

After I left there, I continued south along a tiny, dusty dirt road through the countryside. I walked for over an hour, just ambling among the fields, with no company except for some water buffalo and goats. At one point a girl materialized out of a field and pestered me for about fifteen minutes, looking for pens and chocolate and generally babbling on in Hindi at the top of her voice. I am sometimes tempted to carry chocolate around in a baggie here and present it to these kids who are always begging for it. I'm sure it would be lovely in the 40 degree heat. Other than this girl, I was left totally alone and was just able to roam without hassle, noise, interruption or any other disturbance. Being in the countryside and on my own has really helped my state of mind and brought my stress levels down to something manageable.

I went out to dinner tonight, had a really nice meal with decent service and no attempts to rip me off. I even had a slice of chocolate cake for dessert - I figure I deserved it after my day. My walk through the town to and from the restaurant were almost pleasant - I was probably only hassled half a dozen times in each direction. If I can just hold onto my inner peace, I'm sure it will be reflected in my interactions with the locals.

I'm off to Agra tomorrow so may not get to post until the following day. Wish me luck with my travels...

Bad Karma Continues

Shortly after I wrote my last post I decided to go back to the temples and just hang out in the peace and quiet for a while. I thought it would be nice to sit on the lawns and read or listen to music for the afternoon. I got to the gate and opened my wallet to find that I've been robbed. I have no idea when this could have happened - I've been keeping a close eye on my bag. They obviously had time to go through my wallet, choose what it was they wanted to take, and replace it in my bag without me noticing. I had just been to the ATM so there was a good wad of Indian rupees in there and they also took a stash of US dollars. Fortunately they left my cards so I don't have deal with replacing them. I was also able to go back to the ATM and get more cash, but I'm out a few hundred dollars. A pretty nice haul by Indian standards.

It's really not that much of a set-back but it doesn't improve my mood much. I have decided to take a pass on the temples and will sit in my room (with the door bolted) for the remainder of the day with my book and the TV for entertainment. Perhaps I'll do some meditation as well...I know I have to change my attitude towards this place or I'm just going to keep on attracting bad things. It's a tough mindset to change given recent events.

To be honest, if I had more days available to me on my Nepalese visa, I would take the next available flight back to Kathmandu and get out of this country. However, one of the reasons I came to India was because I was running out of time in Nepal so I can't go back now unless I want to give up the option of doing a trek later on. I sure hope I can turn things around for the next ten days.

Flyin' Solo

Shortly after we got up yesterday morning, Wayne announced that he would be leaving me. He didn't give me any explanation or any warning, so it came as a bit of a surprise. It sent me into a bit of a tailspin for a while, as being in India alone is not a welcome situation for me. After he left, I went and visited a smaller group of temples in the east end of town, which weren't as interesting or beautiful as the ones from the previous day. I spent much of the afternoon trying to make travel plans for myself and ran into a few brick walls.

Given my previous experience on the bus when I had the safety-net of a travelling companion, I am really not enamoured with the idea of riding the bus alone. I looked into flights to Agra and finally found out that the airport there has recently been closed to commercial flights. (This seems a bit odd to me given that it is likely the biggest tourist destination in India and I haven't found an explanation for it.) Not surprisingly, I was only able to get this information from a travel chat room on the internet - none of the airlines could tell me why their flights to Agra were no longer flying. The town where I'm staying is not on a rail line, and the nearest train station is five hours away by bus. I decided to book a taxi to take me there instead - I just don't have the strength or inclination right now to deal with another bus ride. Fortunately, the Indian train service has a great on-line booking system, so I have booked my train and reserved a taxi for tomorrow and should be in Agra by late afternoon. After I made all these arrangements, and got a TV installed in my hotel room, I felt much better. I ran into Jeremy last night and had a beer with him over dinner and then spent the remainder of the evening with good ol' TV shows from the US of A.

I must admit that I'm not looking forward to another 10 days in India on my own but am trying to stay positive - a very difficult endeavour. I am hoping that once I get to Agra, and later on to Delhi, I will meet up with some other travellers. This town is a bit out of the way and there aren't many other travelers here.

India continues to disenchant me. My day spent alone yesterday was so much worse without the buffer of my "husband". People are just all over me all the time and there is no getting rid of them. I told one guy who was following me around that I didn't want to talk to him, but he informed me that he did want to talk so he just kept at it. It's not just that they're trying to sell you stuff (which they are) but they seem unable to stop talking. I guess the concept of being alone and silent is as foreign and unappealing to them as their mob scene is for me.

Privacy doesn't seem to exist here on any level. During their endless stream of verbal diarrhea, they'll ask the most personal of questions, from the standard opening of where you're from, to what your name is, where you're staying, your marital status, how much you paid for your last purchase etc. Even the guys in the internet cafe will look over your shoulder and comment on what you're doing on the computer. My tolerance for this is declining rapidly and I have snapped back at them a few times. It's funny how it's okay for them to badger you repeatedly about buying something but when, after you say no eight or nine times, you finally raise your voice they get all hurt and ask you why you're mad.

The good news, if there is any, is that so far I have been relatively safe. I am not being overly manhandled, although there has been some unwelcome physical contact.

Given my discomfort with getting around here, I have decided that I'm just going to go to Agra and then Delhi. Making a bunch of pit-stops and detours along the way is just too tiring and frightening to think about. I know I'm not sounding like a very dedicated world-traveller at the moment, but I really don't want to put up with all the crap to see a few sights. I don't see the point in making myself miserable. Having said that, I am not going to miss the Taj Mahal while I'm here. I'm starting to brace myself for Agra which I understand will be worse than Varanasi was. Oh joy.

I am planning to book myself into nicer hotels in Agra and Delhi so I can at least enjoy some comfort there. Maybe I'll even treat myself to a hotel with a pool in one of these places so that I can escape the heat and enjoy a swim. If being in the streets of these cities gets to be too much, I can just spend time at the hotel and pretend that I'm on a resort vacation. At this point, I'm willing to buy my way out of misery.

I'll be posting again soon. I hope you all enjoy the long weekend.

Long Day's Journey into Night

We got up at 3:00 AM yesterday and were out of the hotel by about 3:20. We had to navigate the maze of alleys to get to a main street and hopefully find an auto-rickshaw to take us to the bus station. We were a bit concerned about wandering around at that hour and were taken aback to find the streets packed with people. It turns out there was a Shiva festival going on and literally thousands of people were queued up in the street to gain entrance to the Golden Palace which is located very near to our hotel. It was very noisy with chanting, singing and yelling at top voice. If we hadn't recognized it as a religious event, it would likely have been a bit frightening. Although our most familiar path was blocked due to the festival, we managed to make it to the street and find a rickshaw who got us to the bus station in record time through the empty streets of Varanasi. We made enquiries at the ticket counter and were told that our bus would leave at 5:00 AM (the same counter had told us 4:30 the day before) and that we should wait for it not at one of the platforms, but around the corner at a gas station. It seemed dodgy, but it worked. The bus had probably been outfitted like a school bus at some time, but it had definitely seen better days and was quite dilapidated and filthy.

When the bus arrived we asked what to do with our luggage. We assumed the rack on top of the bus was the most appropriate place for it but we were told to take it on board. There was one other Westerner, an Irish bloke named Jeremy, on the bus and we all piled our backpacks onto a seat and settled in for a long ride. Fortunately, for the first few hours, the bus was only about half full so we could spread out a bit. The roads are very bumpy which meant we couldn't read, which makes for a very boring ride. I tried listening to my iPod for a while, but I had to turn it up so loud to hear it over the din of the bus, its horn and the passengers that I was actually worried I was damaging my ears.

After about 11:00 AM, the bus became much more full. Over the next few hours, people got on and off but the population generally grew until we were packed in like sardines. Fortunately, there were no livestock or other life forms besides the human kind sharing our space. The seats were small enough that my legs didn't fit in straight and after a while it was so tight that I couldn't even squirm or change the orientation of my knees, so it was quite uncomfortable for the most part. Once the bus got full, they came and told us that we couldn't have our backpacks on a seat (which is reasonable but came about 6 hours later than it should have) so they threw them on the floor. For the next few hours people were walking over them, standing on them and generally kicking them through all the dirt on the floor. Finally, the ticket guy came and passed mine and Jeremy's bags up to the front of the bus, but Wayne's stayed on the floor until the bus emptied. All our gear survived, but the bags were just filthy. We never really stopped for a meal break, but at about 11:00, Wayne jumped off the bus and grabbed us each a banana and a minuscule bag of crisps at a roadside stall. I was hesitant to eat anything in case my stomach acted up again, but all was fine. We didn't even drink any water as there was no chance that we would find a loo if we needed one.

One rather eerie aspect to the trip was our apparent appeal for the locals. They stared unabashedly at both of us throughout the journey. This was certainly worse for me but they also seemed very taken by Wayne. We could stare back in an effort to embarrass them, but there was nothing we could do to make them look away. There was one very old lady in particular who just couldn't take her eyes off me. There wasn't really anything threatening or scary in this, but it was very disconcerting when it when on for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. And there was no escaping it - everywhere I turned, someone was staring at me.

We understood that the trip was to last 12 hours, which was a huge disappointment to Jeremy who thought it was only 10 hours. At about 6:00 PM (13 hours after we left Varanasi) we pulled out of yet another way station and we expected to be in Khajuraho shortly. We got here at about 9:00 PM, a 16-hour bus ride and 18 hours after we had awakened that morning. The excruciatingly loud horn on the bus had been blaring for about six of those hours - the driver was absolutely manic when it came to the horn. Honestly, it was so disruptive and upsetting I was ready to just throw myself out the door into the darkness by the end of the ride. Wayne and I agreed that the good thing about India is that it makes you want to go home.

There was no power on in Khajuraho when we arrived, but at least there was a rickshaw waiting at the bus station which took us to a hotel. Incidentally, power outages are very regular here - several times a day is normal. In Varanasi they seemed to have two different power grids, one of which seemed more reliable than the other. We had both a fan and A/C in our room, but the A/C was on the inconsistent grid and went out frequently. At least when this happened, we could still use the fan. A couple of times they went of concurrently but this didn't happen often. We also didn't have TV for about three days there, as the power had gone out at the cable place and didn't get fixed for that long.

Anyway, we got to the first hotel on our list and it was lovely so we stayed there. Wayne and I have a room with a fan but no A/C (which is okay here as it's not as hot as Varanasi) and enough space that we could hold a G8 summit in there. We went out for dinner with Jeremy last night and we all filled the huge voids in our bellies. Wayne and I shared a bottle of Indian wine which wouldn't win any awards but was not as bad as we expected. We were then summarily kicked out of the restaurant and fell into a coma in our beds.

This morning we all had breakfast in the hotel and then went out to do the touristy thing. This is a very small town which has nothing to offer except its fabulous display of temples which have been deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These are left over from a dynasty from about 1000 years ago and beautifully preserved. Much like Angkor Wat, the temples are built from stone and very intricately carved. However, the carvings are largely erotic in nature while a small minority bear likenesses to Hindu gods. Pretty much every sexual position you could imagine (and definitely some new ones for me) are represented here, and there's even some bestiality. The carvings are really beautiful and the workmanship is very impressive. The grounds where the temples lie are impeccably maintained, and they don't let people onto the grounds unless they've paid the entry fee, so it's very quiet and peaceful. We spent most of the day there and it was really lovely to be in such a beautiful place and to experience some serenity. If all of India were like this, I could stay forever. Unfortunately, once we exited the gates, we were back to reality and the touts were all over us again. The good news is that the touts here are much more congenial and manageable than the ones in Varanasi, and I definitely caught a glimpse of a kinder, gentler India.

Wayne has coined a phrase "TII" (this is India) which applies to the way they do pretty much everything here. The luggage handling on the bus was a perfect example - why didn't they put our bags somewhere suitable when we boarded the bus at 4:30? They just don't seem to think ahead, or really think much at all. Wayne reckons they'd make lousy chess players. We are using the phrase TII virtually every five minutes when we see yet another example of ineptness, irrationality, theft, scamming or outright insanity.

I'm not sure what the plan is for us from here. Given that I haven't really done any research on this country, I'm just going with the flow. The only thing I really want to see is the Taj Mahal, which will no doubt be worse than Varanasi, so I'm just letting Wayne make the decisions. We may decide to follow Jeremy's path for the next day or two - he seems to know what he's doing. The internet is much better than expected here, so time permitting, I should be able to stay in touch. Please feel free to write.

Leaving Varanasi

I woke up this morning with a bit of a dodgy tummy. It hasn't been too bad, but it has made my day a bit uncomfortable. We found a German bakery this morning and had an awesome brunch - we chose the "lovers' breakfast" which is a huge meal for two. We were hoping they wouldn't ask for proof that we were lovers, although I've taken to wearing a ring and referring to Wayne as my husband for safety reasons. We had amazing grain bread and some wonderful cheeses which were really such great treats for me. We're both disappointed that we didn't find the restaurant earlier.

We spent most of the afternoon trying to make travel plans to move on. We are going to a small town called Khajuraho which is supposed to be chock full of erotic sculptures. Wayne chose this destination :-). It looks like a fairly small town which I am hoping will make for a quieter visit and fewer hassles, but it is also very touristy so it could be just as bad as things are here. We were hoping to fly but the cost was way too high for what seemed normal to us, so we figured we were likely being ripped off and chose the bus instead. Unfortunately, this means that we're leaving at 4:30 AM and arriving some 12 hours later (the flight was about 50 minutes). I don't think it's going to be a particularly fun time and I'm really hoping that my stomach is a little more settled by then. I figure I need at least one experience on an Indian bus before I leave here but was kind of hoping that I wouldn't have to wear a diaper for it.

A few observations:

1. The Indian people are masters of stating the obvious. I'm not sure if they think we're idiots, but they seem intent on repeating things that we really didn't need to hear the first time. For example, at one of the travel agents we visited today, the office was all pulled apart and being renovated - the paint fumes were almost unbearable. The guy must have told us five times that they were having work done.

2. Everyone seems to want to take us to the burning ghats. I guess that most tourists are really enthralled by the cremations since it's always assumed that we would want to go there. As mentioned, apart from one very quick visit we've been avoiding them as much as possible. Interestingly, it is prohibited to take photos of corpses or the cremations as it is apparently disrespectful, but you can buy post cards bearing photos of them all over the place.

3. At dinner tonight, the waiter came over to our table and before taking our order told Wayne to give him a cigarette. Note I didn't use the word "asked".

4. Wayne is constantly being offered drugs in the street. This is virtually incessant and I'm starting to tease him about being a junkie. Of course nobody offers me drugs, and in fact when I'm with Wayne they pretty much ignore me. I guess as a woman I can't be expected to have much to offer in the way of conversation or consumer power.

That's it for now as I want to get some sleep before our very early morning departure. I'm not sure when I'll write next - could be a couple of days.

Varanasi 2

After I signed off yesterday, Wayne and I went exploring again and this time went north along the ghats where we hadn't previously ventured. We almost immediately came to the biggest cremation ghat, which I can only assume is a huge tourist attraction. Both Wayne and I had a modest interest in it from a cultural point of view, but we were uncomfortable with sitting in on strangers' funerals and frankly the smoke is pretty unappealing. We left fairly quickly, and in the process managed to tick off the tout who had decided that he would educate us on the whole process (for free but with a required donation). I have been somewhat envious of Wayne who generally has a much higher tolerance level for the people here and I have to admit to being a wee bit happy when he lost it with this guy. Please note that this tout was totally deserving of Wayne's wrath, after delivering death threats and just generally being persistent beyond what any normal tourist should have to endure.

Shortly thereafter, I managed to get myself involved with a guy doing a puju to a shrine on the shore of the Ganges. I ended up covered in tikas and had had my hands and feet doused in the Ganges. I was a bit concerned about this but was trying to go with the solemnity of the whole situation and not be concerned about the health risks. We'll see if I come out of this with any diseases or other side effects. Naturally, after this beautiful ceremony during which I was blessed and cleansed by "Mother Ganga" was completed, I was expected to pay for it.

Later on, we eventually came to a community that seemed much less exposed to tourists and the people were much nicer there. The children (and some adults) asked us to take their photos, just so they could see the pictures on the screen of the camera. It was a much more relaxed place and we could feel the pressure being lifted from us there. At this point we were hungry and Wayne suggested that we find the place where we had dinner the night before. We hailed a couple of rickshaws who happily took us somewhere totally different. After walking for quite a while trying to find the restaurant, we gave up and entered another restaurant that was very western in style. We had a lovely meal in air conditioned comfort. We even made it home at a decent hour, after only getting lost once, and had an early night.

We got up fairly early this morning and took our showers. As I was digging around in my backpack for something, I noticed a bad odour, like rotting flesh. I finally got to the bottom of it and found a dead bat being devoured by a swarm of ants underneath my clothes in my pack. After disposing of the bat, I sprayed my bag with Wayne's bug-killer and later today cleaned out the dead ants. The room, and half of my stuff, still smells like rotting meat, and I'm hoping that I can eliminate the odour over the next day or two.

After the bat incident, we took a boat ride up and down the ghats. It was already incredibly hot at 9:00 AM but the light was good and we saw some interesting scenes. My camera died halfway through, but it turned out to be a battery problem rather than a camera problem so it was rectified as soon as we got back to the hotel. I'll be stealing Wayne's photos from the boat tour.

I then took off, on my own, to visit a town about 10 kms from here called Sarnath. This is the town where Buddha made his first sermon in a place called deer park. The park is still there, stocked with deer, as are many Buddhist temples, a museum and some very old ruins. It was a wonderful respite from Varanasi and I actually got to walk barefoot in the grass among the ruins. There were many fewer touts and disruptions there, and the energy was very positive. I ended my visit with some meditation in the Tibetan monastery there. It was a great way to spend the day, and it was really nice to feel relaxed and at ease. I was also happy to see that I can handle myself in this environment and am becoming more confident and less intimidated by India. That being said, don't wait for news that I've bought myself a house here :-).

We've just had a couple of beers as we've done our internet chores, and I'm now feeling ready to just chill for a while (and my tummy is rumbling for some good Indian food). We were planning on moving on tomorrow but will likely make it the next day as the bus we need to take leaves at 4:30 AM and we both need to prepare ourselves mentally for an early-morning departure. We may have to sleep at the bus station, as getting transportation there in the middle of the night is unlikely. I'll keep you posted....

Varanasi, India

It has been unbearably hot here, to the point where we are absolutely drained all the time. We got up early to see the sunrise over the Ganges on our second day and we have explored a little bit of the surrounding area. There are ghats all along the edge of the Ganges. These are sort of similar to piers, with concrete platforms at the water's edge and usually a beautiful stone building of some kind right behind them. Most of the ghats are used for swimming and bathing in the river but a couple are for cremation. Varanasi is the most sacred place in India, and the Ganges is a very sacred river, so bathing here brings good karma. Being cremated here and having your ashes dumped in the river is as good as it gets for the Hindus. I had intended to at least wade, if not swim, in the Ganges myself, but the horror stories about the diseases, parasites, dead animals, half-burned corpses and human waste in the water have been a strong deterrent. I think I'll pass on the good karma and go with the good health option.

While India has not been as frightening as I expected, I am very glad that my stay here will be relatively short, and I strongly suspect that I won't return. I understand that there is a very strong spiritual element here, but it's really hard to find among the thieves, liars and scam artists. Nobody here is out to help you and you can't trust anyone. It's really not a very nice way to have to travel, and you find yourself in a constant state of frustration or anger or intolerance. As Wayne put it, India brings out the worst in you. Apart from the people, there are the added frustrations of constantly walking through cow dung and garbage, getting run over by pedestrians, vehicles and cows as well as the constant offers of drugs, the pervasive stench and oppressive heat. All of this would be tolerable, I think, if I could find some way to warm up to the people.

As for Wayne, we're getting along well. We are both a little disenchanted with India, and we both like our drink, so I think it will be a couple of weeks of socializing our way to Delhi with a small amount of sight-seeing along the way. At least that's the way it's been going so far. We moved hotels to one where the air conditioning works, and which allows us to drink on the premises. Alcohol is hard to come by here but most places will offer it to you under the table. This is literal: you have to hide your beer bottle under the table as it's illegal for most places to serve it.

Last night I wanted a change from our hotel fare and was hoping to drink something other than beer so we went across town to a restaurant recommended in our guide book. The rickshaw driver had no idea where he was going, so we got a bit of a tour of the city. Our dinner was excellent but took several hours to come out of the kitchen during which time we had several cocktails. When we finally got our meal, they hurried us through it and then kicked us out because they were closing. The rickshaw ride home was no better and we were dropped off very far from our hotel. It took well over an hour to find our way home through the dizzying maze of alleyways in the middle of the night. On the rare occasion that we passed a person, we were warned that we shouldn't be out at this late hour. Fortunately we finally found our way home safely at about 1:30 and had to wake someone up to let us into the hotel. We were again chastised for being out in the street so late. I can't tell you what a comfort it is to have Wayne with me. I don't think I would be leaving my room at all if I were here alone - I just don't feel comfortable here. The good news is that when we're in the street together, he is the one who is always hassled and I am left largely alone.

We had good intentions to get out and about today, but it has been pouring rain all morning. I think it has just stopped so maybe we'll get out this afternoon. The rain seems to have broken the heat to some degree so we may be able to walk for a while without feeling the need to rest so often. I can't wait to walk around out there, now that we can add rainwater and mud to the garbage, filth and cow crap in the street. Should be lovely :-).

Kathmandu to Varanasi

I had forgotten what it was like to take an international flight out of Kathmandu. There was a queue to get into the airport, a queue to pay airport tax, a queue to check in with the airline, a queue to go through Nepali departure customs and a queue for the security check. The flight was about an hour late, which allowed me to actually sit down for a few minutes. Once we were shuttled across the tarmac, there was another queue for the final security check (the most strict of them all) before we boarded.

Once I got out of the airport in Varanasi and settled myself into a cab, I was joined by an Indian guy who would be riding into town with me. There was no explanation as to why he was in my car, but it soon became apparent that he was there to try to sell me guiding services as well as a hotel. I already had a booking at a hotel, which he insisted he had visited that morning and was full and that I should follow him to his hotel. Once he realized that he would not be getting any business out of me, he jumped out of the car. When I got to my hotel, I found out that Wayne had received the same treatment coming from the train station, and another Canadian couple who were on my flight shared the same adventure. Welcome to India, the scam capital of the world.

The "streets" of Varanasi are absolutely wild. It is a rabbit's warren of little passageways, with no grid or logic to them. There's no chance we'll ever be able to find our way around here and it's a bit frightening to be out there and perpetually lost. Wayne and I set out early this morning and after breakfast started to do some sightseeing. We hadn't gone five steps before someone took us under his command and started leading us all through town. He maintained that he didn't want money but after awhile admitted that a stop at his silk shop was in order. We had a hard time shaking him, but finally went into a guest house that was reputed to have a rooftop terrace to check it out. We spent the rest of the day there enjoying the view of the Ganges and drinking beer (which is very hard to find here). At the end of 24 hours I have seen nothing of Varanasi but am having a blast. I'm not sure if Wayne is the best traveling companion ever or if we're terrible influences on each other. One way or another, it seems to be working :-).

Moving On

I have had a wonderful stay in Kathmandu and have had a life-changing experience here. However, it has run it's course and I have made plans to leave here on Tuesday. I will be making a short foray into India, starting in Varanasi and ending in Delhi. The plan is to stop in Agra along the way to check out the Taj Mahal. I am then embarking on a month-long tour of Tibet which I'm very much looking forward to. The tour includes a pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash which is a very holy place for Buddhists and Hindus. Both Buddhists and Hindus make a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime and the Hindus consider it the home of Lord Shiva. Like other pilgrims, we will circumambulate the mountain in a clockwise direction.

I am heading into India largely because I need to get out of Nepal for a while. I am still hoping that I can do one more trek here this fall, following the Tibet trip. Nepal doesn't allow tourists to be in the country for more than 150 days per calendar year and when I leave next week it will be very close to 120 days for me. I need to leave the remaining 30 days for the trek and transit through Nepal to and from Tibet. I haven't firmed up any plans for the trek yet, but I'm really hoping I can make it happen.

Frankly, I'm kind of glad it has worked out this way. As I've mentioned before, India really terrifies me, so I think that a 2-week stint is a good way to test the waters and see if I can stomach further travel there in the future. If it turns out I can't, at least I will have seen the Taj and bathed in the Ganges.

I am meeting up with a British bloke named Wayne in India. I met him very briefly in Kathmandu about six weeks ago and we have been keeping in touch. I only spent a few hours with him and then he was leaving town, so it's a bit weird to be planning a fortnight with him. However, given the stories I've heard about and from women travelers in India, it's a real comfort to know I'll have male company there. Wayne certainly seems like a decent bloke and was a perfect gentleman when we met, so I have assume that his company will be a benefit rather than a liability. Still, I've never done anything like this before so it's all a bit strange to me. Wayne has been taking all my concerns in stride and given his sense of humour through all this, I think he'll be a good traveling companion. We also seem to have similar wants and needs regarding travel plans, so I'm hoping it will all work out well.

I think that internet is rather sporadic in India, but given that I'll be in largely major centres I should be able to keep in touch. Don't panic if I don't check in for a few days at a time. Tibet will be another story and I'm sure I won't have access to the internet outside of Lhasa, so it will be another month or so with no communication. I will be on an organized tour there and traveling in a group, so I'll be well looked after. I'll be in Kathmandu for a couple of days before I leave so I'll be sure to check in then.

Life in Kathmandu

Some more observations about life in Kathmandu....

Weather

It has been monsoon season for most of my stay here. It apparently hasn't been as severe as it usually is - I guess that weather patterns are changing all over the world. It has been overcast and we get a bit of rain pretty much daily but there have been very few deluges. Other areas of Nepal have been hit quite hard with flooding. Even though the rain isn't that heavy, it still does considerable damage to the roads. The place where I do yoga is on a dirt road and I usually arrive with mud half way up my calves. The rain also makes the potholes that much more treacherous and I am frequently splashed by vehicles driving through them.

The last four or five days have been sunny and hot. I'm not sure if the monsoon is over or if this is just a brief respite. The first day I woke to sunshine I felt my first incident of homesickness. It felt just like a beautiful Canadian summer day, and I got e-mails from friends at home telling me of their cottage plans for the long weekend. I can't think of what I wouldn't do to take a swim in a clean lake or sit on a dock with friends and cocktails. I treated myself to a day at a high end hotel here called the Yak and Yeti. I sat by their pool, swam and walked barefoot through the grass on their estate. It wasn't exactly the Gatineaus, but it was a nice break from the noise and smog of Kathmandu.

Modesty

Nepal, like many of the other countries I've visited in Asia, is fairly conservative in its dress. I have become comfortable in my long skirts and short sleeved tops. Every once in a while I'll put on a camisole top but I'm increasingly uncomfortable with baring my shoulders or cleavage. I put on a pair of shorts in my room the other day and I felt half naked. I wonder if this will change when I get back to a first world country or if I'm destined to hide my legs forever. Even when I run I go in long pants, which is another reason to do it first thing in the morning when it's a few degrees cooler. I have to admit that running in long pants is quite uncomfortable in this heat, and I'm very envious of the few male runners I pass who are wearing shorts.

Getting Around...Cont.

Sometimes I wonder if they don't deliberately step into your path here. They can watch you coming for quite a long way and then step in front of you as soon as you get close to them. I was talking to a Nepali friend of mine here who claims that they are so alive when they drive here because they have to be so alert all the time. It's a valid argument I guess, but I would still be happy to have a more peaceful walk down the road. He's right when he says that they have many fewer accidents here than we do in the west, although for the life of me I can't figure out how.

Street Vendors...Cont.

I forgot to mention that the vendors start each pitch with "yes?" or "yes please?" as if you had actually started the conversation. The whole tone of voice makes it very difficult not to get engaged in conversation with them. The worst are the taxi and rickshaw drivers who insist on stopping right in front of you (usually when you're waiting for them to pass so you can get across the street). They keep at you no matter how many times you say no. When they finally give up, the one right behind them pulls up and has a go at you, and so it goes. It's like you really want a rickshaw ride but the first five who came by just weren't good enough and you were waiting for the sixth.

Running Environment

When I'm running in the morning I'm pretty much left alone by the locals except for the odd stray dog that chases me for a minute or two. It's actually really nice to be out there in the "hard core" parts of Kathmandu when the city is waking up. I get to watch the morning pujas (prayers) at the temples, ablutions in the communal fountains, produce and meat being prepared for sale, stores being opened and kids on their way to school. It's a great glimpse of daily life here.

Friends

I have made lots of friends here, but am somewhat saddened by the transient nature of all these relationships. I had a friend Anna from the Netherlands here, but she just left last week after a long stay. I really miss her. I have met really great people on a couple of occasions who were leaving the next day. It's such a drag to get a tease like that, but I've also got quite a few keyboard-pals as a result. I have a gaggle of Dutch guys in town for the next few days who I met a couple of weeks ago. They spent that last two weeks cycling from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu. I look forward to spending some time with them over the next few days before they fly home. Most of the Nepalis I've met are quite young and mostly into the bar scene, which is getting a bit tired for me.

Tidbits

> Everyone smokes here, both tourists and locals alike. I find this especially weird in the organic cafes and vegetarian restaurants where everyone is supposed to be concerned with their heath.

> All pop and beer bottles are opened at the table so you can be sure of what you're getting. Strangely, wine bottles are usually brought to the table opened.

> Garbage is dumped in certain places in the street all week and picked up once a week or so. They don't use garbage bags - they just toss the raw trash out there. There are always animals (e.g. dogs, cattle etc.) nibbling at it until it gets picked up.

> All the music shops here advertise a service where you can download a CD to your iPod for 100 rupees (about $1.50). I was very excited about this until I found out that it doesn't actually work. All the CDs are bootlegged here, and I guess the iPod recognises this and doesn't allow the download. Very disappointing, but good on Apple, I guess. I've asked around and it appears that there are no legitimate CDs in the country.

That's it for now. I have a cold and am really struggling with the heat as a result. I need to head back to my room and lie down under the fan for a while.

Photos

I have finally got caught up with my photos and they are now all posted on the web. Unfortunately, the site where I had them previously is closing down, so I have had to migrate them to a new site. The good news is that they are all in one place and they should stay put for a while.

To view them, go to www.flickr.com/photos/feelitturn. (Mom and Dad - you can just put your cursor right over the blue lettering and click and it will take you right there. Be sure to add it to your list of favourites.)

You will immediately see all my photos posted in the order in which they were uploaded, starting with the most recent. This isn't necessarily chronological. On the right hand side of the screen is a list of "sets" which are equivalent to albums. I have numbered them chronologically but unfortunately they don't show up in numerical order, so you'll have to scroll through them to find the album you want. It displays 10 sets at a time, but you can click on "more sets" at the bottom of the list to see all of my albums. Just click on the album you want and it will open for you. The album opens with thumbnail views of the photos. If you click on "Detail" under the title of the album in the upper left hand corner, you'll get bigger images with the titles and descriptions (assuming I've added any). You can click on any photo for a bigger image. After that, you can navigate through the photos using the arrows in the grey box to the right of the photo. You can also view the photos as a slide show by clicking on "view as slide show" at the top right of the screen when you're on the first page of the album. Note that if you haven't clicked on "Details" first, you won't get any titles in the slide show.

There was a bit of a learning curve for me on this site, but I think ultimately it's a good site. Mom and Dad - give yourself a bit of time to play around and you'll get the hang of it. Remember to use the "Back" button in the top left corner whenever you want to backtrack or you got yourself somewhere that you don't want to be.

I am generally a bit disappointed in the quality of my photos of Nepal. They all seem somewhat overexposed to me. I'm not sure if it was the weather (overcast on the Everest and Jomsom treks and very bright and dusty on the Mustang trek), the camera, the photographer or a combination of these factors that did it. One way or another I don't think I'll be winning any awards on these ones. Still, it should give you an idea of what things look like.

You're likely to be very bored with the Mustang photos, as the scenery didn't vary too much and all the villages look essentially the same. Still, I was so awestruck by the scenery and loved the villages so much that I just kept snapping away.

I hope you enjoy them.