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Typical Pathway
There are COWS (these look more like big ass bulls) everywhere....EVERYWHERESo this blog will be a little less about India, and a little more about traveling in general....I'm going to go off on a slight tangent..Since I haven’t got any comments from you fools, maybe I'm not being interesting enough...challenge excepted!
Ok so last you heard I was just finished with my trek in Nepal to the Annapurna Base Camp. 2 days after that I took (multiple) hellish buses all the way to Varanasi, India. The bus ride was 23 HOURS long...and this was not a comfortable bus. Normally there are a few different types of buses. The best of the bunch are the VIP Tourist buses, and these are the ones that (in most countries) normally run the really long routes...23 hours for example) and they are kind of similar to a nicish bus at home. You have your own seat...which normally reclines, AC, maybe even a bathroom in the back. Then you have the Tourist bus. Which is a set down, but still decent. You may or may not have AC, but you have your own seat (maybe and assigned seat if you’re lucky), the bus smells fine, every few hours you stop for a bathroom break, and
Ganges River
Ganges River...the dirtest and most holy in the world maybe stop at a restaurant around meal time for food. You’re roughing it a little because these are the buses that basically didn’t pass inspection...but still it is mostly tourists on the bus so everything is still pretty decent. Then you have your local buses. Now local buses come in all shapes and forms. These are by far the most extravagantly decorated buses, each one having a unique paint job, tons of flash. The local buses are normally ones you take on shorter trips, if your really trying to save some money (VIP bus may cost 4 dollars....local bus may cost 50 cents), or if your really trying to travel with the locals, and get a feel for the country and how they do things. I actually normally love traveling on local buses. It really makes the experience seem "real". Now local buses are first come first serve. They will pick up AS MANY people as possible, and they start adding more. Typically the seating is similar to our elementary style buses at home (the bench seating...not individual seats), and you are always sitting at least 3 or 4 deep (in Central America it is even worse), and then you
Group Photo
look at the little kid in the front....awww have a kid or two half on your lap, and one normally on the ground somewhere. There is no ac, and normally tons of B.O. (but then again..you probably smell too). since the local buses pick up absolutely everyone it takes about 3 times as long to get anywhere...and often times there is a little drama (maybe someone is trying to get a lift without paying). On the local bus there is the driver...who is like the f-ing king of the jungle (for some reason I really think that being a bus driver is like the john Travolta of jobs) and then there is the assistant (for lack of a better word). The assistant job is a tough one. Assistants tasks
(1) Hollar at every single person the is outside of the bus, telling them where the bus is going and asking them if they want to go (all while hanging out of the bus door while it is still going full speed...tougher then it sounds).
(2) Loading every ones "luggage" one, which normally consists of chickens, huge wicker baskets, or random things like tires, pigs wrapped in bamboo, hay, bunches of spinach, boxes and boxes of clothing for the
sunset ceremony
Sunset ceremony market, or any other number of random things. Often times he will have to climb up to the roof (while the bus is moving...I mean come on...John Travolta don’t wait for no one.)
(3) Making sure that old ladies, or women with children get to sit down. Now this is often a tough job too. People out here down have the same beliefs of us westerners (I feel like I might get some bad comments from that remark). I've seen women getting pushed aside, and kids getting tossed to the ground, to clear the way for a seat.
(4) Making sure that everyone pays. I have no idea how he does it, but there are tons and tons of people getting on and off of the bus all the time. You have the isles packed, the roof full, the seats 4 deep, people everywhere...and yet he still gets money...and not right when people get on either.
(5) Speak to the driver in a secret language that consists of whistles (Central American assistants take this to a whole other level), and taps (or banging his hand against the outside of the bus).
All in all...being the assistant is tough work...but
Guard
Guard through some nice wood work (?) I guess that it all pays off once you get to become the BIG DOG of the bus (the driver).
Ok so back to the bus descriptions. Local bus: basically the local bus is good for a few hours...at the most...but nothing more then that....and especially for a 6'5" log legged fool like myself. But I was on one for about 10 times as long as I should have been. The trip was pretty bad. It was an overnight trip so I was hoping to sleep...but there was no chance of that. But for some reason, in a way, the harder it is, the more I enjoy it. Sometimes, in a weird way, I like being uncomfortable, it really makes the whole experience seem more real. So here I am all cramped up on this bus, looking out the window smiling like a fool...what’s wrong with me.
India: India is pretty NASTY, well at least the parts that I have seen so far (which has not been much at all, but it sure fits the stereo type). But you really have to love how RAW it is here. This is not some nice little vacation. In India you have to be tough, you’re going to get sick, you’re going to get ripped off, you’re going to get harassed, and groped, and all sorts of other things. There is shit (actual poop) EVERYWHERE, it smells, it is sooo dirty, people are farting a spiting and pissing on walls everywhere. It is hot, humid, and there are no sorts of luxuries around (especially in Varanasi). But, that's why you have to love India, you have to take it for what it is. India is not for wussies.
Traveling for a long time is hard, especially in places like this. Every where you go is new, every one you are with is a stranger. Day in and day out people are trying to cheat you, steal from you, rip you off, or somehow get your money. Everyone looks at you and sees a rich westerner. They try to trick you, con you, and take advantage of you. Yet everyday you have to wake up being an optimist, because that one time that a local invites you to his house for "tea" or to a friends wedding, he might be sincere, and those are the types of things that really makes traveling great. You have to always be on your guard. You have to go without your friends, your family, your girl/boy friend or even encouragement for a long time. You are, in a way, always on your own. You make friends, but you'll forget about them in a few weeks and they'll forget about you, and you know this going into the whole thing. It makes you a little "leaner" a little "harder", but at the same time it makes you a little of the opposite because you can appreciate those things more, the way things are at home.
It is intense...and I love it (well most of the time)
Varanasi is (apparently) one of the holiest (if not THE holiest) city in India…and man, there are tons of holes here…(ahaha). If you die in Varanasi, you are guaranteed to exit the cycle of rebirths and get a direct ticket to Nirvana “aka. Heaven” (the Hindu’s believe). Also, if you make a pilgrimage to the Ganges River and bath it is worth the equivalent of like 1,000,000 Hail Mary’s (or something like that). So
EVERYONE comes here to die. They have houses set up for people to go to to die. And they cremate everyone…all day long right alone the river (the same river that 10000’s of people bath in everyday). It is really “different” to walk down the river and see 10 or so fires with dead bodies in them….and you can see everything. The feeling you get watching someone burn up is pretty hard to explain. Apparently it takes 3 hours. And men’s chests sometimes don’t burn. Also women are not allowed in the area of the burning because they cry, and apparently it is not a time for crying. Also, they use special wood that covers up the smell (surprisingly you cannot smell anything)
So I saw some burning bodies, and checked out the Ganges (but definitely did not go swimming). But most of the time I was in my hotel trying to recover from a bad stomach.
I hope that all is well at home. You guys have seriously been slacking with the comments…get on it!
(Also, by no means are my comments a representation of all of India…or even a tiny bit of India. I have hardly seen or done anything yet…I’m just describing more so the feeling you get coming into a country like this =) ps. I have a real bad toothache now…errr
ps.s. I’d also like to plug my very favorite artists’ website.
Jen's webpage there is some great (new) stuff on here…and you might even recognize some of the flowers =). Jen I love the new pink one. Dad, and chance you can ID it?
Also, I ran into some fellow "bloggers" the other day. They actually recongized me from my posts...what a small world. Great couple! We had dinner together and swapped lots of story...HEY GUYS! What are the chances huh =)
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anonymous
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i really didnt know i could comment, sorry chris. Wow, sounds like your butt is hurting. Sitting on the local bus for 23 hours... dear god! that must have been rough. And now that your sick your bumm must be hurting AGAIN! :( drink lots of water man. Your body is probaby dehydrated for sure. So great blog man. i could here you talking as i was reading. laughed a couple of times for sure! :) haha well man we all miss you back in the states so get better, do your thing and get your ass home in time to come up to dewey with me this summer. - Timmy