Where the Beatles and Larry studied Yoga
Trip Start
Jan 30, 2005
1
36
42
Trip End
Jun 30, 2005
Rishikesh, India
Monday, June 6, 2005
Tomorrow, I will head north.
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Agra (5/29-5/30)
Going to Agra was my first experience on an Indian train.
In my last travelogue, I neglected to mention that I never compelled the train ticket agent to reprint my ticket for the short journey from Delhi to Agra. In his incompetence of of not reading my ticket order form, he gave me an "open ticket" rather than AC 2nd class. In his laziness, he explained that I didnt need AC for such a short journey and that I should just save my money. In my laziness, I just accepted his excuse.
Once on the track, I saw a very different picture. "Open ticket" is simply a euphamism for "cattle class." Any and every Indian unable to afford a proper train ticket (which is a lot of Indians) crams into these unairconditioned cars. There are bars for windows and the cars are packed well past capacity. People are standing and sitting in the isles. The fans are often broken, which is not a good thing with temparatures exceeding 100F.
I generally pride myself on my ability to "rough it," but I had to draw the line somewhere. I drew it at cattle class and after wandering around the track for 45 minutes looking for some help, I finally found the ticket conductor who gave me an AC seat. When I later paid him for the difference in ticket price, I was sure that he overcharged and kept the change, but it was well worth it. The train ride was fairly comfortable, and I spoke at length to an Indian soldier who was heading home for one month on leave from serving high in the Himilayas in Kashmir and an aging Brit who spends 8-10 months a year in India.
When I arrived in Agra, it was hotter and dirtier than Delhi. I got a tuk-tuk to my hotel and later made arrangements for the driver to take me around and show me some sights in the evening hours. I saw the Itimad-ud-Daulah, the "baby Taj Mahal," which is older than the Taj, similar in structure, less ornate, and -- as you may have guessed -- much smaller. I then saw the Taj Mahal from behind (across the Yamuna River), a marble souvenir shop, and a rug shop. I was shown how marble inlay -- which is one of the things the Taj is famous for (semi-precious stones carved into designs and impregnated into marble)-- was done and how rugs were knotted painstakingly by hand. I narrowly avoided making an overpriced purchase at the rug store, but it wasn't hard to resist buying a fancy ashtray or set of marble coasters (and carrying them with me for the duration of my trip) for $20.
My driver, Ali, then took me to his friend Sonny's office (a shabby travel office with aging "India!" promotional posters, an effective swamp cooler, and many working fans) where we had a few Kingfisher beers and some cheap, but excellent Indian food. It seemed that Ali and I were friends. Sonny, who had lived in America for a few months, invited us over to his house for lunch the following day.
On May 30, I got up at 5:30 AM to see the Taj and got in by 6:15 AM. I missed the sunrise by a half-hour or so, but seeing the sun low in the sky and so dulled by the air pollution (Agra produces industrial chemicals)I could look at it directly, I got the feeling that it wouldn't have been that beautiful anyway. The Taj Mahal was impressive, but visiting it was not a magical experience. Now that I've seen a few of the World Wonders, I wouldn't rank it on par -- or anywhere close -- to either the Great Wall or Angkor Wat. I did get the compulsory pictures, though ... including the one where I pretend to hold the stucture up by the 'steeple' of its largest onion-shaped dome.
In the late morning -- when it was already incredibly hot -- I saw the Agra Fort and with some time to kill before lunch, I helped Ali out by visiting some overpriced shops just so he could get some commision. We arrived at Sonny's office to meet for lunch and it was decided that we'd just eat in his brother's office because it had AC. They bought me lunch, but within an hour of talking to Sonny's brother, it was obvious that my whole "friendship" with Ali and Sonny was a set up for the jewelry scam. (The scam is that I would help their jewelry business by using my 'personal import allowance' to help them avoid extra import duty and would be rewarded after meeting their contact in the US and delivering the goods. I would of course have to put a deposit on the jewelry, which they would keep long after the contact never showed up.) Good riddance, Ali and Sonny ... I hope its taxing on the soul pretend to befriend and then con people for a living.
I slept through the heat of the day and took an tuk-tuk to Tundla (20km away) to catch the my train to Veranasi. I got to the station two hours early, drank lots of Chai tea and avoided the bottled water scam, where the vendor simply fills up a used bottle with tap water and sells it for a tidy profit. I think it might be one of the major causes of "Delhi Belly," which is "Montezuma's Revenge's" not so distant cousin.
It was not easy catching the right train. There was a modern LED sign which had all of the appropriate info, but my train was late and the sign was not updated. My train arrived on the wrong track and did not have the train number or destinated marked on its cars, but I did catch it. I asked countless people -- all of whom spoke very weak English -- to eventually determine the correct train.
On the train, there is no announcement for each stop and my arrival in Veranasi was slated for 5:30AM, so even with my alarm set I did not sleep very well -- constantly waking up in a panic that I had missed the stop. Then, I was kept awake from 5 AM on by my bunk-mates' excessively loud conversation in Hindi. The train arrived in Veranasi at 7:30 AM ... I was exhausted.
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Veranasi (5/31-6/1)
I had planned to spend 3 days here, but it was simply too hot and too dirty. In the middle of the day (11AM -5PM) it was too hot to do anything but sleep and check email in the internet cafe with AC.
I slept most of the first day, but wandered around a bit in the early evening and had dinner with a hardcore traveler from New Zealand (26, hasn't been home in 5 years) and a middle-aged Indian man who loved to talk about financial planning. It was refreshing to talk to people who didn't just want to separate me from my money.
On June 1, I got up early -- at 5AM, before it got really hot (thought it was probably about 80-85F at that time) -- to take a boat trip to see the ghats (large steps used as access to the river) along the Ganges. Most ghats were for bathing, but a few were burning ghats, where cremations would take place. Well-to-do Hindus from all over India would come here to die, just to be cremated in this holiest of places. I didn't see any cremations, but saw a funeral procession bring a body down and -- while chanting loundly in Hindi -- dip it in the river as is done before the burnings.
There were many Indians swimming and cleansing their sins in the river, but I avoided touching it. Raw sewage flows directly into it and corpses of people without sin --children, pregnant women, sadus (holy men), and lepers (the leprosy is a punishment for sins, hence lepers have been absolved) -- are thrown in whole. I probably avoided some uncurable disease by staying dry.
My time in Agra and Veranasi lead to a change of plans, as I decided that it was way too hot for the desert trek and that I should get out of town ASAP.
That evening, I took a train to Delhi with my Kiwi friend and an Irish couple that was placed next to us. We drank an artfully-designed bottle of Arak which I had in my backpack and intended to send home as a souvenir, but the Bali Post office refused to mail it. Sleep should have come easily after the stiff drink, but we were exposed to the loudest snoring I have every heard. It was continuous and absolutely obscene. I honestly don't understand how the perpetratorS of this noise were able to sleep themselves.
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Rishikesh (6/2-6/6)
We arrived in Delhi, and had lunch at McDonald's. There's was no beef at McD's but I had a Chicken Maharaja Mac. The restaurant had powerful AC, was spotless, and even provided toilet paper. (The previous statement doesnt sound impressive, but believe me, in India it is!)
Later that day, after seeing a 25+ year old planetarium show about the history of the universe at India's equivalent of the Air and Space Museum (it was more similar to a high school science fair), I took another train headed toward Hardiwar, and then a taxi for the one hour -- but 20 KM -- ride to Rishikesh.
It has been nice to have finally been able to relax here for the better part of a week after days of non-stop travel. Rishikesh is a vegetarian and alcohol-free Hindu pilgrimage city and I have been staying in an area called Laxman Jhula, across the river (there is a footbridge) from Rishikesh proper.
This far upstream, the Ganges is clean enough for swimming and I've taken a cooling dip nearly every day. I've had a few Yoga classes here, but have spent most of my time reading, sleeping (the heat and lack of activities really makes me tired), and chatting with other travelers in cafes along the river. The lack of alcohol means there are no bars, and hence no nightlife ... everything closes by 11 PM.
Lots of Indian tourists visit here during the daylight hours on pilgrimage to the Ganga and Rishikesh's various temples, and lots of westerners stay here doing nothing at all for weeks or months on end. They are mostly hippies (dreadlocks, fuzzy beards, incredibly long beards, piercings, girls with shaved heads, the works) and mostly Israelis (who just finished their army service) at that. And thankfully, the locals here are much less interested in scamming tourists ...
Tomorrow, I will head north to escape the monsoons and the heat, to learn some more Ayurvedic/Indian/new-agey practices, and to do a bit of light trekking in the Himilayas.
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At this point in my journey, I am starting to feel ready to come home. Five months is probably my limit for traveling by myself, but I have only 24 days left before I return to my American reality and there are still a few more adventures to be had!!
