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  Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Monday, September 13, 2010

We've now started the massive trek across the middle of India where we'll eventually reach Mumbai. We could've got a direct train from Varanasi, but to break the trip up a bit we're going to stop at some places on the way. Having said that, it was still 17 hours on the train from Varanasi with India's loudest snorer for company. He wasn't as loud as the combined effort from Gail & Andy, but I had a wall for protection that time, this guy was 4 feet away! Neither of us could get to sleep on the train and after a while, I'd had enough. I decided to wake him up! So I was leaning across from the top bunk, poking his belly with an empty Sprite bottle while Jimmy was shaking his legs from above. He eventually woke up and I just said, "Excuse me, I can't sleep because you're making too much noise. Roll over on your side and you won't snore". He said sorry, rolled over, continued to snore and we still got hardly any sleep. Anyway, we arrived in Bhopal - "the site of the world's worst industrial disaster". Some people will know about this, some won't. Jimmy was pretty clued up, I was clueless, so for those of you as ignorant as me.... The lonely planet said,
"At five minutes past midnight on 3 December 1984, 40 tonnes of deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked out over Bhopal from the US-owned Union Carbide chemical plant. Blown by the wind, rivers of the heavy gas coursed through the city. In the ensuing panic, people were trampled trying to escape while others were so disorientated that they ran into the gas. There were 3828 initial fatalities according to official figures, but the continuing death toll stands at over 20,000 while more than 120,000 people suffer from a catalogue of illnesses from hypertension and diabetes to premature menopause and skin disorders. Their children experience growth disorders, such as shrunken rib cages" - Not your typical holiday destination i'm sure you'll agree!
We could only see bits of the plant from outside of the perimeter wall - which was sprayed with messages of frustration from the local community about the lack of help after the disaster.
The book also mentioned a charity , Sambhavna Trust, which carried out a variety of tasks in the community and it said that visitors were always welcome. So after visiting the plant, we found the charity with the help of 2 local boys. This guy (who seemed to be in charge) showed us around and told us some of the things they did to help. He told us how the water was now contaminated (which was right up Jimmy's street) and the local communities had all sorts of health issues as a result. He showed us the herbal medicines they grow in the gardens and explained what they are used for. He said the clinic gets between 150 and 180 people visiting every day and they've got medical records for 24,000 people. It was a pretty amazing story and we left them a small donation. I haven't been eating much for the past 6 days, so I had a bit of money to spare.
The day wasn't all doom and gloom though and before we went there we took a trip to a very nice lake. We stopped at an ice cream parlour on the way. I got an ice lolly and Jimmy got a massive piece of cake, some ice cream... and then an ice lolly. He was commenting on his cake after he'd finished it and said, "It was alright, but if I had my time again, I'd probably not have the cake and just have 2 ice creams" - "Or you could just have one ice cream like everybody else?". We hired a pedalo, drifted out into the middle of the lake, both got sunburnt, then came back to shore.
We're going for some tea as soon as I've finished writing this and although we've only been here one day, we've not seen a single tourist (except for each other). It's nice to be back away from the big city scam artists and chatting to the genuine people of India. We must have had 50 people approach us today, which is lovely but they all ask the same questions. It gets a bit tedious answering... What is your name? How are you? Which country you from? I might create some business cards with all the relevant information on then just hand them out instead.
Another general observation about India: Loads of Indian men hold hands when they are walking in the street - not in a gay way but it looks pretty gay. Me and Jimmy thought we'd try it for a bit this morning so off we went mincing around the city. It was all going smoothly until Jimmy took it way too far and started skipping next to me. We got a few funny looks so we're now walking in single file.

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