Ghatvision

Hello. Since our last post we have gone to Agra and seen the Taj Mahal, shopped in Delhi and are now chilling in Varanasi.

Agra was one of those places that you just can't wait to get out of. The pressure from the touts is heavy. The menu is the same for every restaurant, although most have stunning views of the Taj. The Taj Mahal is worth it. The day we went happened to be a free day (National Heritage Day, thank you very much). That was great because it would have cost us 1500 rupees ($38 dollars total) to see it. That's enough to eat or sleep for three days. The building is stunning and it is really difficult to tell that it is over 400 years old. It's timeless. I won't bore you with the details. On the day we went there was also a Tamil movie being filmed there and we got to watch some of the acting take place. It seemed more like a soap opera than Bollywood. Other than the magnificence of the Taj the town didn't offer much. Liza did however get threading (the best way to get your eyebrows done, in her opinion) and now wants to learn how to do it.

When we arrived in Delhi it was 10:30 am. Our train to Varanasi wasn't until 8:30pm. We took advantage of the day by eating at a great cafe that had excellent pasta, real coffee (not Nescafe), and homemade ice cream. We also went shopping at FabIndia. It's India's answer to IKEA. The stuff was nice, but didn't strike us as particularly Indian. We spent the rest of the day shopping in the market and then headed back to the train station.

We arrived in Varanasi the following morning. We got a prepaid rickshaw to the hotel. The area where we are staying has a bunch of thin laneways closed to traffic. We were lead by our rickshaw driver to the hotel but it took a long time to get there. Walking with our sixty pound suit case (all souviners .... with another waiting for us in Bangkok) down these narrow cobblestone alleys was trying, to say the least. When we got to our hotel (Hotel Alka) we were pleasantly surprised by the incredible restaurant views of the Ganges, and the very helpful Leslie. We have two weeks to spend here but I don't think we'll get bored. All you have to do is walk out to the riverside and find a shady spot to sit. Let the magic of Varanasi do the rest. I call this Ghatvision. People are bathing and washing their clothes in the ganges. They are cooling there buffalo in the water, and of course cremating their relatives. I have sat and watched some children doing a swimming class in the river, while watching others play Cricket on the walkway. The river is incredibly polluted, but the faith of the people does not let that bother them. Varanasi is an incredible place to be. There is always something to see. As long as you are willing to sit and let life happen you are guaranteed to see things that will awe you, or perhaps just entertain you.

Liza and I have also been feeding the local goats. We really do love goats and if we can find the right country residential place to live, we might just buy one. Probably a pipe dream but it's nice to have dreams all the same. Until next time keep dreaming.