So we eventually arrived in the cess pit of Varanasi after our nightmare train of 27 hours (was meant to be 14 hours).
We had a guy who free rode our rickshaw, got ripped off by our "guide" (we didn't even want one) for the rickshaw journey, and then got taken to a rather nasty but exorbitantly priced hotel. So good first impressions. And of course it was late, with the festival of lights (Diwali) being held that night so no room any where else etc etc etc. I am sure you get the picture of our pretty disastrous day. A couple of beers then bed.
An early rise to visit the Ganges, we took.
Along our stroll along the river front (with steps down to it or ghats). Saw a few of the cremations taking place (around 250 to 300 bodies burned here everyday, but only at certain places along the river). Very smoky and quite weird. Once the body has been burned for 3 hours they put it into the river. It is not completely ashes, i.e. the mens torso or the womens hips are not burnt yet, so alot of human remains are in there!
Then there are the locals washing in it, just next to where a dead body is. Thats India for ya.
Then to the train station to catch our carriage to Delhi. During the train I got sick, came down with sickness and diarrhoea, which was fun. My problems started getting worse towards the end of our journey (which involved a lot of toilet action), so I asked Paul to find the nearest hotel, in
the guide book, to our arrival station. He did. We made a hasty trip to our destination hotel, money no object. I would of paid everyting in my bank to get back onto a toilet. To be honest it nearly was everything. Only 'deluxe rooms left sir......'. Fine by me, the hotel was amazing!! Hot shower, big plasma telly, comfy duvet cover, the works! I stayed in bed a full 24 hours, r and r. But it was time to move on, mainly the cost but also the room was booked.
So our last few days in India..............
Simon and Paul
We had a guy who free rode our rickshaw, got ripped off by our "guide" (we didn't even want one) for the rickshaw journey, and then got taken to a rather nasty but exorbitantly priced hotel. So good first impressions. And of course it was late, with the festival of lights (Diwali) being held that night so no room any where else etc etc etc. I am sure you get the picture of our pretty disastrous day. A couple of beers then bed.
An early rise to visit the Ganges, we took.
Along our stroll along the river front (with steps down to it or ghats). Saw a few of the cremations taking place (around 250 to 300 bodies burned here everyday, but only at certain places along the river). Very smoky and quite weird. Once the body has been burned for 3 hours they put it into the river. It is not completely ashes, i.e. the mens torso or the womens hips are not burnt yet, so alot of human remains are in there!
Then there are the locals washing in it, just next to where a dead body is. Thats India for ya.
Then to the train station to catch our carriage to Delhi. During the train I got sick, came down with sickness and diarrhoea, which was fun. My problems started getting worse towards the end of our journey (which involved a lot of toilet action), so I asked Paul to find the nearest hotel, in
the guide book, to our arrival station. He did. We made a hasty trip to our destination hotel, money no object. I would of paid everyting in my bank to get back onto a toilet. To be honest it nearly was everything. Only 'deluxe rooms left sir......'. Fine by me, the hotel was amazing!! Hot shower, big plasma telly, comfy duvet cover, the works! I stayed in bed a full 24 hours, r and r. But it was time to move on, mainly the cost but also the room was booked.So our last few days in India..............
Simon and Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment