Alice wrote about our little circus of a city tour here so I won't bore you guys with that. Real sleep deprivation and strange surroundings are making minor things surprisingly difficult to deal with. The hardest thing right now is feeling like a big, white, money-sweating, target. It's so hard not to be suspicious of everyone and it saddens me. This is because I don't want this trip to be a long series of no. I know that this country is full of wonderful, friendly people. How will we ever meet these people if we are instantly defensive and negative?
A good night's sleep makes me feel much better and today we decide to strike out on our own. We escape the "backpacker ghetto" of the bazaar (yes, really, that's how I've seen it described on a couple of websites since), and negotiate a good price for an auto rickshaw ride down to the Lotus Temple to the south. We don't even "accidentally" end up at a silk shop on the way. Winner.
It's only a small victory, but it makes me feel good.
The Lotus Temple is peaceful, if a little culty, and it's nice to spend an hour or so here quietly even though the sun is scorchingly hot. When we emerge, our auto driver is hanging around waiting for us and takes us back so that we can catch the train to Varansi.
The sleeper car contains our 4-berth compartment. It's not as private as I'd hoped - not private at all actually - or particularly luxurious, but it has air-conditioning and seems comfortable enough. I'll have to wait until tomorrow for a good wash though. Alice shotguns the top bunk. As the train leaves Delhu, I see the first bit of green India since arrival.
The sun has set now and the windows are dark, showing only our own reflections. Occasionally a lit scene flashes past: sometimes a small deserted station, harshly illuminated by strip lights; sometimes the orange glow of a lantern or an open fire with silhouettes huddled around.
I get my head down and try to sleep before Varanasi.
A good night's sleep makes me feel much better and today we decide to strike out on our own. We escape the "backpacker ghetto" of the bazaar (yes, really, that's how I've seen it described on a couple of websites since), and negotiate a good price for an auto rickshaw ride down to the Lotus Temple to the south. We don't even "accidentally" end up at a silk shop on the way. Winner.
It's only a small victory, but it makes me feel good.
The Lotus Temple is peaceful, if a little culty, and it's nice to spend an hour or so here quietly even though the sun is scorchingly hot. When we emerge, our auto driver is hanging around waiting for us and takes us back so that we can catch the train to Varansi.
The sleeper car contains our 4-berth compartment. It's not as private as I'd hoped - not private at all actually - or particularly luxurious, but it has air-conditioning and seems comfortable enough. I'll have to wait until tomorrow for a good wash though. Alice shotguns the top bunk. As the train leaves Delhu, I see the first bit of green India since arrival.
The sun has set now and the windows are dark, showing only our own reflections. Occasionally a lit scene flashes past: sometimes a small deserted station, harshly illuminated by strip lights; sometimes the orange glow of a lantern or an open fire with silhouettes huddled around.
I get my head down and try to sleep before Varanasi.
it Appears you'd a quite a bit of a travel in our country :) it ain't started yet, Buckle up it's going to be Bumpy ride :P LOL
ReplyDeletekidding aside, glad to see you guys making it!