Friday 17 April 2009

The City of the Dead

Cab in Kolkata, taken by Ignasi with some funny camera

We are now back in India. I was worried about how Ignasi was going to find it.

As soon we got off the plane we took a pre paid taxi to the main station to get a train to Darjelii or Varanasi, travelling by night we would save money on a guest house. I didn't know that this is the start of the holiday season so the trains, especially the non aircon sleeper carriages, were fully booked. We managed to get a sleeper with air con, which was 3 times more expensive, but at least we got to Varanasi.

Ignasi has been taken aback by India, its madness and its chaos, but at the same time that is the thing he is loving most about it. Arriving in Kolkata is a shock to the system, even if you are coming from Bangkok, but Ignasi seems to have taken the city and the country to his heart. I have started to worry in case he starts thinking that he would like to spend more time here, more time than we can afford, because we need to start acclimatising to the heights.

A quiet moment in Varanasi
Varanisi is pretty much what I was expecting. One of the oldest living cities, it is majestic in its decadence, half derelict buildings stand against the river or, indeed, anywhere in the town. People live their lives among cows, goats, dung and rubbish....yet somehow life still continues.

People washing in the Ganges.......funnily enough, I gave that a miss


People wash in their river, they wash their clothes while next to them buffaloes take a dip to fight the sweltering heat as temperatures hit 42 degrees. It is difficult to explain to anyone what India is like, you will only understand once you are here.


You need to see it through your own eyes to experience its chaos. There are two types of people, those who love India and those who hate it. I am glad that I am the type who loves it. Today we sat in the street having some small samosas with sweet curd for lunch, among flies. I was thinking to myself how much I have changed in the last year. I didn't look up the guide for a place to eat, we just followed our instincts and ate in the Muslim neighborhood, washing it down with some chai.

I know it is naughty, but I had to take a pic of this guy sleeping


Tonight we are off to Gorakhpur, just two hours away from Nepal. We will cross over in the afternoon, hoping to reach Kathmandu some time in the evening.

3 comments:

  1. I love your blog.....keep up the good work. I'm so looking forward to hearing about Nepal.

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  2. Thank you very much for your kind words, it is nice that some one is reading it and enjoying it

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  3. I read very update! really enjoy the blog x

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