We took the sleeper train overnight to Varanasi home of the Ganges and the most relgious city in India. The sleeper is a little bit like a mobile school trip dormitory. Six bunks arranged into three tiers. You are provided with sheets and blankets and after some crashing around trying to arrange your bed – there isn't much head room it has to be said when you are on the top bunk – you can make an attempt at sleep, […]
A toilet in India does not have toilet paper. Instead there is a small table – approximately 6" x 4" and 2" high with a small plastic measuring jug on it sat next to the loo with a cold water tap situated above it. You fill the jug with water and, well, you can have a go at working out the rest yourself. Personally this is a skill I have been unable to master. The contortions required to pour said […]
Sleeping in India, or rather preparing for sleep is a ritual in itself. There are many things to be done. The blankets on the bed (I currently have three, swiped over a period of days from the laundry cupboard) have to be arranged in the correct order to keep you nice and cosy throughout the night. You have to make sure you have some bottled water to hand, because you don't want to have to go roaming around in the […]
In India you basically wipe your backside with your left hand. It is therefore considered very bad manners to use the left to eat with or shake hands. This, as you can imagine is a tricky proposition if you happen to be left handed. I've taken to sitting on my left hand when eating to stop me using it. It's fair to say that my skills with my right are improving no end.
After our five hour delay we've rolled into Varanasi. Making a fairly easy job of dodging the touts at the station we've checked into the great Scindhia guest house, a fantastic place right on the banks of the ganges with views up and down the river. Today appears to be national kite flying day or some such like, so the skies are filled with dozens of brightly coloured hastily assembled kites. Ahhh ain't that pretty. The guest house rules say […]
I'm currently sat in an Internet cafe in Agra (or perhaps we should call it Aggro) having been to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. We're on a overnight sleeper tonight to Varanasi, and given the general chaos of India I suspect that will be an adventure in itself. Agra is one of those classic "famous monument' type of places. That is it attracts millions of tourists and about the same amount of touts, fake "guides" and assorted other dodgy […]
We had a fairly eventful journey getting here by taxi. We got a flat tyre on route and so the driver jumped out, flagged down a passing car who promptly turned round and drove off back up the dual carriageway the wrong way, leaving Pat and myself sat at the roadside. He returned 10 minutes later with a mechanic to do a hasty wheel change. Nice. Arriving in the town we couldn't find a place to stay, but did […]
Pat’s bought this nice new rug at the bazaar, here I am lying on it in our room. It has to be said it’s not the most practical of things to buy at the beginning of a 3 month trip around Asia. For a start it’s bloody huge, and weighs a ton. Looks like we are going to be looking at shipping agents in the morning.
We sat at a rooftop restaurant last night and watched the chaos going on down below. The rather ethereal looking mist is actually the product of several million vehicles well overdue an oil change charging around 24 hours a day.