Varanasi's rituals

Since I didn't know my plans would change, thanks to the unexpected troubles with the train schedules, I took all my time to explore Varanasi. It was my first of two days in the city. Unfortunately, I would soon discover that this exploration would be all I would see from Varanasi.

Good news, though, are that instead of visiting seconday places, I ended up on the ghats, near the Gange river. Just by getting lost, I found the most important of them all, where more than 300 burnings (of bodies) are organized every day. You can see piles of wood everywhere in that area.

Again, being white garantees some hassling. A french speaking Indian told me he would not ask for any money but that he would tell me the story of the place. We can see people bathing in the sacred Gange while others are getting onboard boats from which they will throw their loved ones ashes in the middle of the river. 

The most interesting part is the cremation itself. Lots of smoke. Lungs filled with it for sure.

Incursion in Amsterdam

Let's take a little break from India to go back in time a little. Last June, I was leaving suffocating heat in Istanbul to catch my flight at the last minute. I was worried I would miss the flight to Amsterdam on Turkish Airlines.

I must say the agents in the airport were very slow. I still could make it and landed at Schipol Airport in the evening, as planned.

In Amsterdam, it is super easy to get downtown by train. About 15 minutes, 30 max, and you're there. And from Central Station, lots of trams are available.

I thought I might get lost, but everything was easy until I found my hostel, Van Gogh Hostel, right in front of the museum dedicated to that painter.

If it is known the hostel of the Netherlands capital are not the best in the world, mine was very acceptable. It wasn't a place to go to get drunk, as I was worried about at first.

The town itself is easy to explore on foot when one has a little time. That is what convinced me to walk to get to the Dam to get into one of the free tours they offer in the morning or in the afternoon. It is necessary to book ahead or to get there early, since they denied me access to the tour on my first attempt.

First contact with Varanasi

At the Mughai Sarai train station, where I disembarked the train, my indian friends were sorry to see me go. They had to help me to find the right place to go down, since there are no announcements. When you know the time you're supposed to arrive, you can look carefully at the name of the stations. But when you're as late as I was, there was no way to know.

Goodbyes were hard, as always. But it's impossible to do them in calmness. A white guy? All the taxi drivers, all the rickshaw drivers are trying to lure you in their vehicule. Fortunately, my friends could tell them to go see somewhere else if I were there.

Apparently, I had to go for 28 km to get to the hotel. It took more than one hour. I was supposed to get there in the morning, but in the end, I got to Varanasi while the sun was setting.

There was the traffic jams, the buses, the bikes, the rickshaws we needed to go around while honking as much as possible. And after, we drove on small dirt streets which were testing the suspension of the car.

Good to know : if the hotel has hot water, you may need to ask at the reception for them to turn it on...

Varanasi is just an endless maze of small streets, a labyrinth where even some locals can get confuse sometimes. At the hotel, they sent me to the Brown Bakery, a restaurant belonging to the owner of the hotel. They gave me a handmade map. What seemed to be a big street on the map ended up being a small alley. Needed to guess. But getting lost was part of the fun.

After some confusion, I found the infamous restaurant, where you can find anything on the menu. But if you ask for anything special, you might hear the words "don't have". That's the way it is.

In the evening, after 10 PM, the lights go off in most parts of the city. Finding one's way back in darkness is... hard. But I made it...

The train... to make new indian friends

One night on the train is... the unexpected . I found my bunk in a compartment that has technically eigh . There are two superposed against a wall, which follow the width of the compartment. Then, there is a hallway. Perpendicular, there are three bunks on each side of the compartment. Mine is... in the middle.

Rapidly three young Indians are approaching. "Where are you from?"asks the first. Immediately, the second asks if I'm on Facebook, handing me his phone so I type my name. And he adds me eight away.

They ask lots of questions, Indians, so they practice their English. One of them, a cricketer, explains the rules of his sport... with a video game created by EA Sports. We have NHL 2014. They have Cricket 2014... At least I understand the principle.

"Tomato soup", shouts one of the vendors that walks accross the train all the way round. My new friend Arzoo hails, takes two and hands me one. The advice not to consume anything in the train just went to hell. At the very least, I knew that nothing had been added in the small container of soup. I worry especially for cleanliness . But these young Indians are filled with good intentions.

Delhi in one day

First and only real day of exploration in Delhi. At the agency, I had booked a driver for the day. But I needed to get there with the subway, with all my luggage.

Ripped off by a rickshaw driver 101: "I ll take you where you want for the same price as the subway!"

You and I both know very well that it is false. I negotiated and I get in. But the driver drops me a little further, saying that the road to where I am going is closed. Still, we know that this is false. But rather than me getting carried around the city by a dishonest driver, I returned with my plan A: the crowded subway, super nice with all my luggage.

My driver took me to the Gandhi memorial, a huge park where dogs roam, as everywhere in town. The park, neat, has in its center a piece of marble where the Mahatma was cremated. One must remove their shoes to get close. By handing our shoes to a guard who insisted that we gave them to him, we learn that this man asks for a tip. Leave your shoes at the entrance, unguarded, and it will do just as nicely.

Follows a visit to the Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb, a mini Taj Mahal. Children are playing cricket with nothing, dogs are mangy and we must pay attention to pigeons, which are everywhere. If the place was relatively quiet, it is difficult to take a photo without someone walking in front of the camera at the last minute.

Starting with India in the dark

The second day in Delhi has started oddly. After a night in the cold, because there is no heating in hotels and the temperature drops a lot at night, I hear something knocking on the window of my room... on the fourth floor. Pigeon! The problem is that there is a hole above the fan in the bathroom... and the pigeon uses this entrance to visit the hotel. That explains droppings in the shower... and on towels provided by the hotel .

Considering the presence of an unwanted visitor, I was allowed to change rooms for the second night.

While I was having lunch, a couple composed of an Indian man and a South African woman arrived. They just opened their travel agency in Delhi. I talked with them throughout my meal and decided to see with them if there was a possibility they could book me a train ticket to Varanasi.

Like all agencies, they drew up an entire itinerary for me. Maybe the catch is there, but the presence of the South African girl who herself lived in Austria, Germany and now in India, reassures me. I can not imagine that she would want to rip me off. After lengthy discussions, I agree to do business with them. A little more expensive then I expected for the whole trip, but at least they will book all train tickets and flights I need, a complex task for any stranger.

Generally, in Delhi, it is recommended to go directly to the train station to book a ticket. Otherwise, the Lonely Planet recommends the official government agency, but be aware several offices scammers have taken that name around town to confuse tourists. Anke and Omer, from my agency, say that even the government agency refers us to places where they receive a commission. Who to believe?

Made it to India

I arrived in Delhi after 24 hours of transit. I have not yet had the opportunity to take photos, so this post will not display any.

My three flights were delayed, but fortunately I arrived in India ahead of the original schedule.

The aircraft departed from Montreal to New York with a 45 minutes delay, the Siberian cold being the main reason. There was also an unidentified problem with the device before takeoff.

New York, security again, walking 45 miles between terminals at JFK airport, needed to print boarding passes they couldn't give me in Montreal, etc. I ran, but my flight... was delayed. They wanted to allow those suffering the effects of Friday's storm to board.

Leaving with at least a 30-40 minutes delay for Dubai which forced everyone to hurry at the United Arab Emirates airport. Upon arriving at my gate, I immediately got on my last plane.

That said, the previous flight, lasting about twelve hours, took place without any problem on the wings of Emirates. The A380 are hyperconfortables. Food was excellent. Had bigger than iPad individual screens. Small stickers to affix to our seats ao they wake us up at mealtimes... There are some companies refreshing their fleet that does not even go far.

Happy new year... India

A few words to wish you a marvelous year in 2014! I wish you a year full of health, happiness and dreams. And if you can afford it, full of travels.

I for one will give a strong start to the new year by taking off to India in a few hours. After some stopovers in New York City and Dubai, I should land in Delhi Sunday afternoon, local time.

To all, thanks for following me. I hope I can keep on writing form India while I'll be there. I know I'm still late about the past trips, but I will catch up at some point.