Indiaupdate I
Sep. 23rd, 2000 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rezendiLess than a week here and the First World already seems like a distant
memory. Particularly here in Varanasi, the city of Shiva, which feels
about three times older than God - there isn't a building that isn't
crumbling, and it's not so much a city as a honeycomb of narrow,
twisting cobblestoned streets stuffed full of stalls, cows, and people.
A bit like a Moroccan medina. Except for the cows. I already hardly
notice them any more. In a little while I guess they'll be all but
invisible to me like they seem to be to everyone else.
The Ganges is in flood, so you can't walk along the riverside ghats
(fleets of steps) to watch the bathing, the cremations, etc. -
navigation through the streets is necessary (well, "navigation" isn't
really the right word, since you lose all sense of direction in about
thirty seconds. "Random walk" is probably a better phrase.)
Apparently if you die in Varanasi, your body is washed in the Ganges,
and you are then cremated at one of the burning ghats, you
automatically achieve moksha, more or less the Hindu equivalent of
nirvana, which I have to say really feels like cheating to me. You can
spend your whole life lying & cheating, building up a mountain of bad
karma, then go to Varanasi and step in front of a bus and achieve
enlightenment through a loophole? How fair is that?
Then again, no one ever said that Shiva was fair.
There is probably some language in which "India" translates to "Land of
Many Scams." Everyone agrees: trust no one. I narrowly avoided a few
(ingenious, multi-person, well-organized) scams in Delhi, but fell into
one here; everyone asks for the guidebook-lauded "Vishnu Rest House" in
this town, so the enterprising owner of the Sunrise Hotel took over the
building next door, put up a "Vishnu Rest House" sign, dressed the
entryway as a hostel reception area (posters, signs advertising bus
tickets, English-language books, etc - quite thorough) and has the man
there regretfully inform you that Vishnu is full but he can recommend
Sunrise next door...
The real irony is that when I found the real Vishnu RH I found it quite
wanting compared to the Sunrise. What are you going to do when Lonely
Planet doesn't call on you?
Delhi takes some getting used to but isn't a bad arrival area, many of
the comforts of home, McDonald's, ATMs, foreign newspapers, etc. Thence
to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is genuinely magical but the rest of the
town is a total dungheap.
From here I go up to Nepal, which by all accounts is less crowded
(obviously) and somewhat less hassle. There's lots of hassle here. Like
many travellers in India, I have acquired a personal mantra, which I
repeat as often as possible. It is "No." The extended version is "No.
Go away." I secretly think part of the allure of travelling is that it
gives you the opportunity to explore your inner rudeness.
I'll keep you posted with irregular updates - shouldn't be hard as
Internet cafes are everywhere, though I doubt they'll have them while
trekking (I should be on the trekking trail a week from today if not
sooner.)
memory. Particularly here in Varanasi, the city of Shiva, which feels
about three times older than God - there isn't a building that isn't
crumbling, and it's not so much a city as a honeycomb of narrow,
twisting cobblestoned streets stuffed full of stalls, cows, and people.
A bit like a Moroccan medina. Except for the cows. I already hardly
notice them any more. In a little while I guess they'll be all but
invisible to me like they seem to be to everyone else.
The Ganges is in flood, so you can't walk along the riverside ghats
(fleets of steps) to watch the bathing, the cremations, etc. -
navigation through the streets is necessary (well, "navigation" isn't
really the right word, since you lose all sense of direction in about
thirty seconds. "Random walk" is probably a better phrase.)
Apparently if you die in Varanasi, your body is washed in the Ganges,
and you are then cremated at one of the burning ghats, you
automatically achieve moksha, more or less the Hindu equivalent of
nirvana, which I have to say really feels like cheating to me. You can
spend your whole life lying & cheating, building up a mountain of bad
karma, then go to Varanasi and step in front of a bus and achieve
enlightenment through a loophole? How fair is that?
Then again, no one ever said that Shiva was fair.
There is probably some language in which "India" translates to "Land of
Many Scams." Everyone agrees: trust no one. I narrowly avoided a few
(ingenious, multi-person, well-organized) scams in Delhi, but fell into
one here; everyone asks for the guidebook-lauded "Vishnu Rest House" in
this town, so the enterprising owner of the Sunrise Hotel took over the
building next door, put up a "Vishnu Rest House" sign, dressed the
entryway as a hostel reception area (posters, signs advertising bus
tickets, English-language books, etc - quite thorough) and has the man
there regretfully inform you that Vishnu is full but he can recommend
Sunrise next door...
The real irony is that when I found the real Vishnu RH I found it quite
wanting compared to the Sunrise. What are you going to do when Lonely
Planet doesn't call on you?
Delhi takes some getting used to but isn't a bad arrival area, many of
the comforts of home, McDonald's, ATMs, foreign newspapers, etc. Thence
to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is genuinely magical but the rest of the
town is a total dungheap.
From here I go up to Nepal, which by all accounts is less crowded
(obviously) and somewhat less hassle. There's lots of hassle here. Like
many travellers in India, I have acquired a personal mantra, which I
repeat as often as possible. It is "No." The extended version is "No.
Go away." I secretly think part of the allure of travelling is that it
gives you the opportunity to explore your inner rudeness.
I'll keep you posted with irregular updates - shouldn't be hard as
Internet cafes are everywhere, though I doubt they'll have them while
trekking (I should be on the trekking trail a week from today if not
sooner.)
