Well we’re in Varanasi. Its one of the holiest spots in India for Hindus and Buddists. There’s quite a lot of old folks here cos if you die here you purportedly go straight to heaven. Left Jaipur the other day and didn’t think I’d have time to update the site till next week but now since Tongie won’t get here till tomorrow we’ve got some time to ourselves. No point in doing sight-seeing twice.
Aggressive Agra - that’s what it is. We ran the tout gauntlet well when we got into Agra (we’re getting better at it every time). Found this auto-rickshaw guy for the day Kula who promised not to bring us to any shops (he broke that promise and was genuinely shocked when we didn’t buy anything) and got some grub from a place with a view of the Taj Mahal. I really love the food here. We were considering going into the Agra Fort but the tourist guides outside really put us off. One guy just wouldn’t leave us alone and really got to me when he made comments about us not being able to make a decision. Who in god’s name did he think he was? I hope he got no business that day. Anyway, we finally got to the Taj Mahal after telling the driver that we in no uncertain terms did not want to go near another shop. Hung around there for most of the afternoon. Sat and moaned in the courtyard first about how annoying the stares, the touts, the pushy sales people and the difficulty at getting around is. This is real hardcore travel. We’ve since found ourselves loads of other travellers to chat to and most of them say the same thing. Some are really disappointed. We’re not disappointed, we’re just getting used to the challenge. It all has its rewards when you meet nice people and see the beauty around. Pity we’re not able to make it up north though. Sounds real relaxed with the tourism up there. Anyway, we felt like celebrities at the Taj. All these Indians, women, men, girls, boys, came and asked for pictures with us. These little boys were the funniest. They were so cute but they were so trying to cop a feel. That’s what we’re gonna name the pic.
The bus drive to the next train station was hell on earth. The bus driver was krazy and just kept blowing his horn for no reason at traffic that couldn’t move. Lids and I were going nuts. Then he dumped us with some Latvian lads on a motorway and we had to get a damn auto-rickshaw to the station itself. Maddening. We managed to sleep very well on the train though. Getting up at 4:30am in the morning to see the ceremonies and yoga down at the river. Hopefully, we’ll meet Tongie there in time for a boat ride at sunrise around 5:15am. Just depends on whether her train arrives on time. We were walking by the Ganges earlier and no way would you get me in there willingly. Tis minging. But the colours and life around it is wonderful.
Shane who we me in Del Boy Dehli said that Kolkatta is nuts, we weren’t going to go there but our flight is ex there to Bangkok now so the update came a little too late. Ah well, we plan to get outta Kolkatta and head to the Sunderbans Park for a few days and stay outta the city as much as possible. Everything happens for a reason so it will all work out in the end. Keep the comments and emails coming. Really appreciate them all and they’re pretty amusing. Something to keep our morale up after Ireland getting kicked out of the World Cup.