RTW Nomad - Part II

Today was a very entertaining day where I learned a lot. I went on a village safari to see the Bishnoi people, a coummunity of people that are nature worshippers and protect all animals and trees. Since they leave in the desert, in the vilage they showed me and cooked a meal for me with the food that they normally eat that is very limited to what they can grow after monson season and have to preserve for one year until the next monsoon season. Their diet consists of chapati (bread), lentils, a spicy watery curry with some leaves and some weeds that grow in the desert and the camels don't even eat, surprisingly the food is very flavourful thanks to all the spices.

I saw traditions that have passed from generation to generations such as weaving and pottery and had an opportunity to try both. I saw how humblily they live and yet they were generous and welcoming. I also took part in an opium tea ceremony which was very interesting. From what I was told Bishnoi people only drink opium in ceremonies and weddings and sometimes before going to work in the fields to get energy. They have this instrument made of wood that has a temple for Shiva and also serves as a distiller to filter that water that has previously been combined with muddled opium and sugar (as opium is very bitter). Before starting the ceremony, the person that conducts the ceremony prays to Shiva, distills the the opium tea and then he pours the drink in his hand and you drink from it, and this is repeated three times (no, there's no side effects from it, at least not from that little amount)

It was really refreshing to go to the village, learn customs, get involved with the people from this interesting culture and get away from the noise and hassle of an Indian city. Today I will be taking the overnight train to Delhi where I will be for six days before flying into Bangkok for one day to meet a friend and then I will be heading to Myanmar (Burma) for some weeks.

I have spent three weeks in India and visited seven cities during this time. I have moved around really fast and I am feeling really tired. It's hotter and hotter everyday, yesterday the temperature was between 42 and 47 degrees celcius. As I wrote in my previous entry, it hasn't been so hard to trave around India as everyone told me it would be, however the sensory overload is overwhelming and I am looking forward to leave the country in one week.

All the cities seem very similar to each other, they normally have beautiful architecture that includes a fort, a palace, various temples and a walled old city that contains the busy bazaars. Most people are nice and friendly and are curious to learn more about you and your country and will ask the same list of questions.

Walking through the bazaars in India is an interesting, overwhelming and exhausting experience. So many things are hapenning, thousands of people, kids grabbing you asking for money to buy chapati (Indian bread), beggars asking for money, shop sellers trying to get you in their shop, there's a constant honking from cars and motorcycles, traffic comes from all directions, there's never sidewalks, the streets are dirty, I am constantly trying to stay away from cows, there's smell of incense, spices, and suddenly smell of fried Indian food, and then the smell of human excrements that can be found anywhere. Everything is colorful, the women wear bright saris and shinny jewelry, the vegetable market is a rainbow of colors, everything is like a painting made by Pollock but with very bright colors.

Train stations are as overwhelming and chaotic as markets but with lots of people sleeping everywhere. I constantly find myself running around from platform to platform with a heavy bagpack, getting into wrong trains as I get wrong information when I ask people.

I have one more week in India and I am happy to be leaving soon. India is a kaleidoscop of sounds, colors, smells and experiences, it's a place like no other where I have been to, it's magical but to enjoy it you have to be able to block all the sad and ugly things you constantly see, the poverty, the homeless and sick people, the big piles of trash everywhere, animals getting abused, etc. I feel tired and I cannot block all the sad and bad things that I see anymore.

After spending three days in Varanasi, I went to Khajuraho for two days, a small town in India that is very touristic because of its famous temples with kama sutra carvings. From Khajuraho, I went to Orchha, a beautiful town of XVI century lost temples and palaces, the architecture was impressive and the the village was really nice and small with lots of friendly locals.

I have been in India for ten days, I had heard so many horrible things about traveling in India, that everyone tries to scam you, that everyone overcharges you, that people constantly hassle you, but that hasn't been my experience at all. I have been very lucky and have found many friendly locals that love to just talk to foreigners, I have been invited by families to drink tea, a group of girls gave me a gift after talking with me for fifteen minutes, families offer me food at the trains, buy me peanuts, people just love to talk to foreigners for about five minutes and ask to get their picture taken and then they just keep going their own way. No one has to tried to scam me, even rickshaw drivers have been pretty honest. My only complain about India is that is very dirty and there's not much choice as far as clean places to eat, so when I find a clean restaurant I eat there all my meals. The most difficult thing so far is to understand the train system, everytime I have taken a train with my friend Daniel we find ourselves in the wrong train, running from platform to platform, getting the wrong seats, or even missing a train... thankfully the trains are quite cheap only about $3-4 for a journey from 5-8 hours.

Right now I am in Agra, staying at a hotel that is located five minutes from the Taj Mahal and I can see it from the rooftop, it's absolutely amazing. Today I visited the Agra Fort and the baby Taj Mahal, very impressive structures. Tomorrow morning I will go to the Taj Mahal at 6:00 AM to avoid the crowds and get some good light for photos.

So India it's really good so far, but it's hot season and it's hard to be out in the middle of the day, so I have adjusted my sleeping schedule and I wake up early in the morning do some sightseeing from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM, have breakfast, take a nap in the middle of the day, and then do more sightseeing from 4:00 PM till sunset, it's the only way I can manage the heat, that and drinking from 8-10 liters of liquids a day.

After a 30 hour journey from Kathmandu, I arrived in Varanasi. I was told by several travelers and read in various guidebooks that Varanasi and Agra are the most difficult places to travel in India because of the hassle you get while you walk in the streets, touts trying to take you to a guesthouses, rickshaws following you asking if you need a ride, taxi drivers trying to scam you, etc. Well, I spent three days in Varanasi and in my opinion, I didn't feel that I got hassled more than in any other country.

Varanasi seems like a big garbage dump, I have seen several animals decompose on the side of the road and everywhere seems to be a good place to use the toilet. Traffic is horrible, there are no sidewalks, the streets are dirty, I think they drive mainly on the left (not quite sure yet) but the biggest car seems to be allowed to drive in the center of the road and all smaller cars, motorcycles, rickshaws and bikes must yield to the largest car, although the true king or queen of the road is the holy cow, cows ALWAYS have the right of way, and many times traffic will get jammed because of holy cows lying down in the middle of the road or slowly crossing the streets, I also learned to cross the street when I see a cow after one of them pushed me with its head against the traffic.

But if you can get passed traffic, constant beggars and the smells of the city, you can enjoy a relaxing morning stroll by the ghats (steps leading down to the edge of the Ganges River) or a boat trip to see the sunrise, the people coming to take their bath in the river, the morning pujas (religious offerings), people doing Yoga and meditation, people doing laundry and drying beautiful colorful saris on the ghats. Varanasi is certainly a paradise for photography.

People are not as friendly as they are in Nepal and I don't feel I can trust many of the people that approach me, but I also haven't felt that anyone has tried to scam me. There are tons of men, very few women on the streets but so far the men have been respectful besides the constant staring.

I wish I could post photos but I have already reached my limit for the month on pictures, so I won't be able to upload any photos until May