Five-Star Luxury, Indian Style

---

Hello again:-D

After yesterday's craziness, I figured that for my well-being physically and mentally/emotionally, I better stay somewhere nice, pronto. Air conditioning was mandatory and that is only guaranteed, from what the gentleman at my old hotel told me, at two places: The Taj and Clarks. I ended up at Clarks, after a long-ride of yet another driver trying to take me to a "cheaper and better" hotel. He then wanted to be my driver for the day, which I declined, and he was very upset that I didn't want to make use of the half-day of shopping Clarks had included in the price of my room, since he knew the best shops for the highest quality and lowest prices. Of course. Just like everyone. You know, I don't mean to come off as jaded in the last couple days, but I notice that I've really had to toughen up to deal with all the input coming at me. In Varanasi, way more so than the other large cities, people are talking to you CONSTANTLY and trying to get you to buy something they have, and for protection and sanity, I've had to be less than nice. It was finally today that I stopped responding verbally to people who would follow me around, instead nodding my head to answer questions. I even wadded up pieces of toilet paper and put them in my ears to buffer the noise of the horns, with the added benefit of buffering the noise of people talking to me. It's extrovert heaven here, and I can only imagine how much fun my grandpa would have since he can talk to anyone for any amount of time:-) but I require some quiet downtime by myself, which in the big cities can be difficult to come by.

Now about my hotel: There is a BATHTUB. Craziness. And the toilet flushes toilet paper as well as biological matter (I haven't yet stayed anywhere that could do both). The window looks out onto the lush, green courtyard, and there is controllable A/C! Wooohooo!!! By Western standards, it's still a little dirty (the soap holder in the bathtub was icky, wooden and other fixtures are not in the best of shape), but this is five-star luxury here, and not at all five-star prices.

After taking a nap in my comfy new bed, I went by cycle rickshaw to Varanasi. That may be the most daring thing I've ever done. I'm definitely glad I've worked up to it with near-death experiences in cars, because Varanasi traffic is much worse than anywhere else I've been, and cycle rickshaws are not as protected as cars or auto-rickshaws. I was supposed to meet my friends from the previous day at 5 pm to go on a sunset ride over the Ganga, but my driver/rider got lost several times and I didn't reach the meeting spot until 6:30. Then I wandered around and got lost in the labrynth of streets, finally ending up at the puja, which is nightly celebration down by the ghats. It was super-elaborate, with chanting over a loud-speaker and five men performing rituals in-sync with each other that included waving around a lot of fire. After I had exhausted myself watching for a while, I found a cycle rickshaw back to the hotel.

This time I had a very talkative driver, and he made funny animal noises and entertained me with stories while telling me multiple times how poor he is with three children. It was nice to get back to my Shangri La of Western comforts after that day, and now I look forward to going to my room and sleeping for a long, long time.

Take care, everyone,
Love, Jess

---

Photos

Cleaned and Disinfected!
My bathroom at Clarks

Clean and Air-Conditioned
My bedroom at Clarks

First Cycle Rickshaw
Dirty, dusty Varanasi

Four-way Traffic Stop
Tons of people and not a woman in sight

Traffic
The gentleman on the platform (right side of pic) is directing traffic. I didn't see any traffic lights or signs in Varanasi.

Comments

[DeAnna]

I am so grateful for your friendship!
Hiya, Sweetheart. I have so enjoyed hearing about your adventures, especially getting to see into your amazing perspectives. I look forward to reading more.Lotsa love, but, time for study. Love, DeAnna

[Jody Kent]

You Are So Brave!
Jessica, I am just in awe of your courage. Traveling alone through such a foreign land. You go girl! I will be staying in people's homes when I go to India in January, so my experience will be different, but I am loving hearing all about your extraordinarily colorful experiences. Can't wait to read more. And I'm sending much healing energy your way! Love and peace, Jody.