Holy shit

Hello again,

Here are some more updates about India. We have also taken loads of pictures but can't put them online just yet. We will do so when we come back though.

After Jaisalmer we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which was closed as it was a Friday. Not that we really cared because apparently the inside is not very special. We took some nice pictures of it from different sides though. Agra's Mughal Fort was definitely worth the time and the money, as we could roam freely through most of the (remnants of) palaces and play archaeologist. The UNESCO World Heritage Sight was well-documented and the signs very informative. If you have to go to Agra, look at the Taj Mahal from the other side of the Yamuna river and go to the fort and leave as soon as possible, the people are quite annoying there.

Then we went on to Khajuraho, a little hamlet in the middle of nothing with one big attraction, 24 1000-year-old temples famous for their erotic sculptures which the very Victorian who 'discovered' them described as 'a little warmer than there was any absolute necessity for'. In short, they are quite explicit and illustrate a specific characteristic of the culture that constructed these temples. They show how wonderfully integrated the spiritual and physical life, including sexuality, and how natural it all must have been for these people. They were fortunate not to have been subjected to our Christian morality for so long and hence not to equate sexual enjoyment with moral depravity. Unfortunately, this was also the place where I first used the phrase 'fuck off' to get rid of an annoying Indian. But that was an exception, the people were generally nice and not to persistent. I also tried to eat something else than curry for the first time in two weeks. It was a spaghetti carbonara without any ham and it was, well, not that bad but not very nice either. I just had a curry again the next day! On the bus from Khajuraho to Mahoba we met two fellow backpackers, two girls who made the wait for the night train to Varanasi (scheduled to leave at 1am) a lot more pleasant and made us feel safe.

And then there is Varanasi, which is where we are now. This is the biggest heap of shit I have ever seen, quite literally. I do not think I have ever been in a dirtier city in my life. All the people, and not to mention the errant sacred cows, excrete in the streets and nobody cleans it up, the Ganges is so dirty it makes one want to vomit and there is no way I could get used to the perpetual stench of this city. On top of that, the old city is a maze and it is absolutely impossible to locate anything as maps are either incomplete or inaccurate and hence useless and road signs do not exist. Varanasi is one of the 100 modern wonders of the world but I cannot see why. Leaving aside the dirt and the stench, it really does not have anything to commend it. It is a holy city for Hindus, who believe that when they die here they escape the endless cycle of reincarnation and go straight to their version of heaven. This means there are a lot of old people who come here to die and cremation is big business here. The smoke from the cremation towers is ever-present and Indians charge tourists ridiculous prices to watch the burnings. It is sick and I refuse to desecrate a person's (or a body's in any case) final moment for enjoyment. It shows disrespect on the part of the tourist as well as the tout.

One of the other main attractions of this city is the sunset ceremony at Dasaswamedh Ghat (a ghat is a place where steps lead down to the river). When we got there, all the Indians were mercilessly shoved aside so we and the other tourists could get the best seats (for money obviously), even though we took no part in the ceremony. It was a sham. It was either a reenactment by actors of a ceremony that used to be held there at night or it was the real ceremony but completely customised to the desires of the tourists. There was hardly any singing, the sound came out of a tape player, and most of the monks/performers looked bored. Never in my life have I felt more like a desecrator. But as we were there, I decided that whatever the ritual was, it must have retained some characteristics of the original ceremony and I started studying it. It was a goodbye to the day with salutes to the North, South, East and West. Fire and water were featured a lot and I guess it was a fertility ritual as well, thanking the sun and the Ganges for allowing plants to grow to feed people. It was very repetitive and the numbers, 3, 4, 7 and 12 seemed important, 4 perhaps for the seasons or the parts of the day, 3 for the trinity of Vishnu, Rama and Shiva, 7 for the planets (sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) or the days of the week and 12 for the months of the year (or just as 3 times 4).

This morning we took a boat trip at 5.30am to watch the sun rise over the Ganges but it was overcast so that was another disappointment. All in all, I guess this city is just a big disappointment and does not really deserve to be included in a trip to India. But I guess it is too late to turn the tide and leave Varanasi to the Hindus and stop harassing them and disturbing their sacred ceremonies. Oh well... We have just had lunch with Devatara and Toni (the girls from the bus) who are leaving for Agra today. Good luck to them. We are going on a nearly 24-hour train journey Northwest to Amritsar tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. 24 hours in a train without worries and with a bathroom near.

That's it for now. Bye.