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.