We've just straggled in to Varanasi, the most holy Hindu city in a system full of holy cities. People come here to worship, bathe, drink, swim, wash clothes, die, be cremated, and have their ashes scattered on the Ganges. We knew it was a bad idea, sharing the short bunk on the night train, but it was the only spot leaving yesterday. Abby and I are still on laughing terms, but not without a night of our well-nourished bodies sticking to the blue vinyl bunk.
Since leaving Calcutta, we had been in Sikkim exclusively. As ardent fog and cloud watchers, we were lucky to go there during rainy season where you don't have the stifling prevalence of Himalayas at every horizon. Sarcasm. We were so thankful to have the chance to glimpse the great mountains a time or two - one 4:30 am rise for the third highest peak in the world, Kanchenjunga. And the clearest day of all at Zero Point, where the northbound road discontinues at 16,000 ft.
p.s. in high season, foreigners aren't allowed to Zero Point, but the tourist police aren't up there in low season so our guides took us for a little extra moolah.
I've canceled Nepal, Abby deferring. The people we'd hoped to visit aren't there in June and July and we're already looking at about four months worth of things to do before leaving in four weeks.
Last night a tall, broad (miraculously mustache-less) pilot from the Indian Air Force started talking to me on the train. He's 28, doing a concurrent post-grad degree in rural development, and at half an hour mentioned "the rest of his family," a wife and son. That's a first for me.
So after hazarding a taxi driver who tried about six times to persuade us to go to other, better hotels than the one we wanted, we have arrived to a warm family who live overlooking the Ganges. She is making lunch of lentils, vegetable curry, rice, and chapatis (cousins of tortillas) while we've run to the internet cafe. I first remember eating Indian food in 2001 in Vancouver, Abby in Eureka Springs 2005. We're definitely making up for lost time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Where in Sikkim where you? When I was in Gangtok in 2003 I had the same experience with the beautiful clouds and fog! Who needs to see mountains. They're so overated!
-dylan
Post a Comment