So I had the most terrible nights sleep on the overnight train to Delhi. After all my complaints about the heat, the air conditioning was too cold as I was on the top bunk. Still I am now back in humid Delhi and have a few hours to waste before I get another train to head north, back to Nainital where I started my trip. This will then take my journey full circle.
Latest news from BA is that my flight is still scheduled - hurrah, apparently onboard services many be disrupted. Let's wait and see as the cabin crew are normally quite miserable and arrogant as it is!
Thursday 13 May 2010
Varanasi - city of life
Love it or hate it Varanasi is an amazing place. Set on the sacred river Ganges, it is one of the holiest cities in India. The river is full of people bathing and doing their washing, streets are full of pilgrims, cows, goats, cow pats and lost travellers. It's so colourful, so smelly, yet so overwhelmingly spiritual. Last night I took an amazing three hour boat trip as the sun set behind the city. The ghats along the river came to life as the 43 degree heat of the day cooled and a nightly Ganga aarti ceremony of fire and dance was performed as I watched from the boat - just incredible.
Again this morning I took a boat to see all the locals and pilgrims together performing puga as the sun rises. This is a photographers paradise!
You just have to ignore the hundred daily requests for taking a boat, buying silk or having a special view of the burning pyres- in this heat there are too few tourists and so everyone is more desperate for business.
After almost eleven weeks of no stress I now find out about the ba strikes- and my flight is next Saturday - you never know this blog might need to be extended, watch this space. Still I have just been to a Hindu temple and was blessed, so there's hope yet!
Again this morning I took a boat to see all the locals and pilgrims together performing puga as the sun rises. This is a photographers paradise!
You just have to ignore the hundred daily requests for taking a boat, buying silk or having a special view of the burning pyres- in this heat there are too few tourists and so everyone is more desperate for business.
After almost eleven weeks of no stress I now find out about the ba strikes- and my flight is next Saturday - you never know this blog might need to be extended, watch this space. Still I have just been to a Hindu temple and was blessed, so there's hope yet!
Tuesday 11 May 2010
Along the right tracks
My time came to leave the mountains and to head back to flatter lands. Just escaping the rains and literally living in the clouds means that I needed to head to Varanasi where it will be boiling hot.
Now came the real adventure test - my first solo train travel and luckily my wait listed unconfirmed ticket was confirmed at the last minute and I had a second class ac sleeper - fantastic as it turned into an eighteen hour journey!!! I stated talking to a couple just before boarding and ended up in the bunk above the wife. Whilst watching the Indian landscape change through our window, we chatted all day and it was a brilliant opportunity to learn, discuss and share so much and what could have been a long lonely journey was completely changed. Travelling is not just about what you see, but even more memorable often is infact who you meet along the way.
Now came the real adventure test - my first solo train travel and luckily my wait listed unconfirmed ticket was confirmed at the last minute and I had a second class ac sleeper - fantastic as it turned into an eighteen hour journey!!! I stated talking to a couple just before boarding and ended up in the bunk above the wife. Whilst watching the Indian landscape change through our window, we chatted all day and it was a brilliant opportunity to learn, discuss and share so much and what could have been a long lonely journey was completely changed. Travelling is not just about what you see, but even more memorable often is infact who you meet along the way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)