From The City to The Sticks to Watery Crypts

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i apologise for my lack of recent blogging but with power cuts being a regular occurance and also spending too much time on skype, email and facebook, my blog has been neglected. this will cover my 2-3 weeks in India and i will try to also do my Himalayan blog as soon as poss.

Chapter 2 😊

i boarded the plane in Bangkok with no guide book and not having even ever read a thing about Calcutta, but fate sat me next to a couple from Oz who had done their research and when the plane landed the 3 of us plus another girl from Wales we met at baggage were outside getting into some banged out old yellow taxi that must have been built in the 70's. (this is how every taxi in Calcutta is). we took a death defying journey (i hadnt feared for my life in a car since Malaysia) to the main 'backpacker ghetto' as it is fefered to, passing vast patches of waste that permeated an undescribable stench, the odd cow loitering on the sidewalk (most get eaten as there is a large Muslim population here), masses upon masses of people wearing anything from brightly coloured sarees to not much more than rags that just covered the essentials. we weaved in and out of rickshaws, trams and other taxis, drove straight down 6ft wide streets with no entry signs, bibbing at the pedestrians in our way and phsyically holding other cars with his hand, the driver would shout and squeeze through the tiniest gaps passing people pissing everywhere, to the point where entire streets stank of piss. despite all this i couldnt stop the smile from emerging accross my face if i tried, finally, i had left what had become the tedious tourist orientated lands of S E Asia (this is not intended to be a blanket statement) and i had arrive in India, the place where anything is possible!

the taxi dropped us of at Sudder st the main backpacker ghetto (and indeed it was) and we cheked into a room for 100 inr/ 1 pound 25p, i say room but it was more of a closet, the door couldnt even open properly as the bed was in the way! we then somehow stumbled upon a guy that started leading us around and explaining about the area in the hope that we would visit his uncles shop. we went to a huge park, passing heards of goats where the odd one would try to escape by following us, only to have the owner come chasing after it, we got a view of the Victoria Memorial but decided it was to hot to walk all the way there and headed back to town. He took us to a local restaurant and we ordered one of everything to try all the different food, plus drinks and it was still less than a pound each! we went to his uncles shop, however everything was consdiderably overpriced and no one bought anything. in the evening me Bo (ozzie dude) and Oddy (dutch dude) went for a drink at some posh hotel that had a bar on the rooftop, it was around 1.25 pound for a big beer (pretty pricey) but we had first rate service like asking us if the beer was cold enough for us and pouring it into the glasses for us etc.

the next day we decided to visit the zoo, which could have been a lot worse, in terms of the conditions the animals were kept in but could definately have been a lot better. the fact that we didnt see one zoo keeper the whole time we were there was a worry and the white tigers in cages with no enclosure to run around in was also troubling, but then it cost 12p to get in so i guess it is to be expected. we then went to the Botanical Gardens which cost 5 rupee for indians and 50 or possibly more (i forget excactly) for 'foreigners'. it was badly maintained with more than half of the attractions closed, the only thing worth seeing was the huge Banyan Tree with a circumferance of around 700m (the board said 1km but it didnt seem that big). we got back into town and me and Heather got asked to buy some milk by a woman with a baby in her arms, which we did (80p each) only to find out later from a boy who worked on the chai stool that these women borrow babies, for a price, then beg for milk and sell it afterwards. he then went on to explain that he had no 'Papa' and 4 siblings of which he was the oldest at 15, and would i help him by buying some rice and Dal for him and his siblings. he showed me around the area and then i bought him a few Kgs of rice and dal and oil for around 1.50pound, slightly dubious as to whether he too would sell the food like the women he had told me about. he proimised that this wasnt the case and as he was muslim i told him that Allah was watching him if he was lying, but the huge smile on his face and the big hug he gave me the next day when i saw him reassured me that he was genuine.

the next day me and Heather went to the Kali Temple on the metro, which was better than the London underground, and a damn sight cheaper at 5p, got stared at for the duration and made our way to the temple. we were lead around by some guy who loaded us up with incese and flowers and showed us where they sacrifice the goats and took us for 'puja' (prayer) where they asked us for a donation and showed a book with figures into the thousands (all be it rupees so 10-20 quid) however i had read about this scam and new that 1 pound was a reasonable amount, so after some debate i gave 100 rupee/ 1.25 and then went to settle the bill for the flowers etc which was around 30p each (not much but still around 6 times the actual price) and we headed over to the Mother Thereasa Home. as it wasnt open for around an hour we sat and had some chai on the street and agian had a small crowd that stared at us and 5 children asking for money, they ended up with a cadburys choclate eclair each and were happy, and i was happy that 15 more children didnt jump out and demand one aswell. at 3pm we went the the home and saw beds and beds of dying people being looked after by Mother Thereasa looking nuns that appeared to really lack the skills needed to deal with the situation but that were nonetheless doing their best. so it was back on the metro to the ghetto to use the net, at which point i decided that i would head off to Bohdgaya, i was told that i needed to leave immediately if i wanted any hope of getting a ticket at this short notice and me and Heather jumped in a taxi. back and forwards 3-4 times at a distance of around 250 metres each time from ticket office to ticket office trying to get the right information, walking through rancid puddles in my sandals until finally someone sold me a ticket. i met heather, Bo and Shib on the platform, who were going to Varanasi but taking the same train and decided to abandon my seat/bed and see if i could wangle staying in their carriage, which worked out fine. i shared my biscuits with some locals and one guy then shared his potato curry, chapati and dumplings with me that he had wrapped in newspaper in his bag (belly was fine) and slept until Bohdgaya.

As soon as i stepped off the platform i met and Indian dude named Laxman who offered to give me a lift into town for free, having learnt that nothing is ever free in India i questioned him, but was reassured that he was heading that way and it made no difference to him if i came along aswell. so i jumped on and drove through villages that looked like they belonged in medieval times dodging masses of cows and almost bouncing off as we navigated the pot hole laden streets. the landscape was spectacular though, and as the sun rose over the mountains in the distance i smiled and bounced along contentedly. i had read about a Burmese Monastery that you can stay at, but we checked and it was full so Laxman took me to a very nice guesthouse that only cost me 140 rupee a night (1.75 GBP). after 3 more hours sleep Laxman picked me up and took me to a school that he had told me about to see the children and i ended up teaching them English for a couple of hours until lunch. the Principle Ravi then took me to the top of a nearby Stupa (Suzetta Stupa) and told me the story of how buddha was meditating close by under a banyan tree where suzetta, after seeing his Skelaton body, offered him some milk rice only to be turned away, she then said to him that if you tighten the strings on an instrument too tight they will only snap when you try to play it. Buddha meditated on these words and then accepted the milk rice, ate and shortly after achieved enlightenment under the bodi tree. this Stupa is the only reason the school is still around, from the odd fiver here and there that tourists give when Ravi takes them to the school after they have visited the stupa. in the afternoon i went to the Mayabodi Temple where a cuting of the Bodi tree still stands and just watched all the Pigrims from all oer the world that came to sit and also meditate under the tree. i stayed for evening Puja and and took some beautiful photos of the sunset over the temple then met with
Laxmans frend Kapil who showed me where an internet place was as i had decided to see if i could raise a bit of money for the school from friends and familly.

The next day i met with Kapil and he took me to the cave where Buddha spent 6 years meditating. there is now a monastery built there where the Dali Lama often visits and i spent some time in the cave meditating and speking to a guy who lives in the monastery and does it every day. we headed back through the poorest villages i have seen yet (literally mud huts) where i saw one guy squated at the side of the road leaving nothing to the imagination, lightening his load, i dont suppose they have any kind of plumbing in place to give them any other option. we got back, ate and Kapil dropped me off at the Japenese temple for evening meditation and went to play footy. a monk lead the meditation with gongs and chanting of mantras, incense filled the air and for the next hour i sat peacefully on my cushion. soon after i started to feel ill and i remembred the breakfast that me and Laxman had eaten from the street that morning for 25p for both of us and pretty soon i was back at my hotel with a fever going back and forth to the bathroom in a never ending liquid feacal nightmare with the only certainty being that a fart could not be trusted under any circumstances! i slept until 7pm the next day with Kapil and Laxman checkin in on me at regular intervals to see how i was doin, we got some food and i used the net briefly before going back to bed and sleeping through until the morning. i woke up feeling much better and headed over to the school, bought a load of sweets and biscuits on the way and went to see the children and do some more teaching until 2.30pm. therest of the day was just spent chillin in the temple grounds and usin the net.

the next day was a saturday and the children all have weekly meditation and Puja followed by excercise before class so i went along aswell and took part under the shade of a huge banyan tree and then did some more teaching. if my memory serves me correctly i think i spent the arvo in the temple grounds writing and then went to the bank to draw out the 200pounds that had been kindly donated by friends and familly to the school (thanks again everyone, for those wanting to donate the paypal account is still in the process of being set up but i will let u all know the moment it is up and running). i then got an early night as the train to Varanasi was at 5am. Laxman and Kapil dropped me at the station and waited with me for my late train and i was soon on my way to the holy city.

I will keep Varanasi brief as this blog is already long, plus it was a long time ago and i dont remember in detail or definately chronologically the way things went.
i met a Danish couple on the train and we ended up getting a rickshaw to a hotel that a guy we met at the staion worked for, which turned out to pretty good. they got some more sleep while i went fo ra wander around this dusty city, full of cows, cow shit and more silk shops than i could count. i got back to the hotel and we ate in the rooftop restaurant that had a constant fog of smoke drifting through, after a while our eyes were stinging and were wondering where all this smoke was from. we were soon informed that the hotel was right next to the Harishchandra burning ghat and it was infact the smoke of human cremation that we had been inhaling for the last hour or so!
the next morning we got up early to take a boat trip along the Ganjes but the current was too strong so we took a stoll ghat side instead (ghats are large concrete platforms/steps that lead down to the rivers edge). hoards of people were bathing and taking morning Puja in the river that is offically 250,000 times the safe limit for bathing in terms of feacal bacteria not to mention dead bodies (human and cow) that can be seen floating by. nevertheless the colour and atmosphere was unlike anything i had seen before and still needed to be seen from the river to fully appreciate. after breakfast we went to look at some silk at a place that Kailash the hotel man brought us to with a mark up for his commision, needless to say we didnt buy anything and i went off again to explore and found some more places with better prices that a dude called Yadhu (a rickshaw driver) showed me to. JK Textiles was the best place with a guy called Ahmed that runs it who was very honest and had good quality goods at a fair price so i took some pics to show my familly to see if they were interested. the bedcovers were beautifully hand made in silk that take 4-7 days to make and for around 30-35pound each (they are around 300 in uk) i ended up buying 4 and some pashminas. in the evening we went down to the burning ghat to watch the ceremony. there were 3 Brahmins (highest caste who refrain from toxins and meat) that perfomed a ritual dance with lit torches in their hands while live music played a kind of mantra for Shiva (God of the city and various other things), watched over by a Sadhu (holy dude with drealocks) that played percussion, before bringing out a body (wrapped in cloth) dipping it in the Ganjes, placing it on the wooden funeral piar and lighting it. despite how graphic it sounds it really isnt so bad when u are actually there, even when a guy attended an earlier lit piar to give it a poke, and what can only have been the remnents of a leg was sticking out, still it didnt make me squeemish (Hindus believe that to have your ashes sprinkled into the holy Ganjes will allow you to escape the suffering of death and rebirth and give you a one way ticket to Nirvana). we went back to the hotel, ate, and moon (hotel chef) made me a Buang Lassi ('herbal' milkshake) and i went to my room and laughed my arse off at a couple of episodes of Mighty Boosh i have on my ipod before falling asleep.

the rest of my stay in Varanasi becomes Chronologically hazy so i will only give the highlights.

after posting the bedcovers and pasminas i went to the Shiva Temple and Durba Temple with Yadhu the rickshaw driver who kindly invited me to come for lunch at his house where his wife would make me chicken curry....... how could i refuse. later in the evening i took a boat down to the main Ghat where every night they perform a similar ceremony, but with hundreds/thousands of people attending. the boat man parked up and i watched the hour long ceremony which was a lot better this time as the Brahmins face the river, and drank tea that a small boy who lept from boat to boat with a kettle in his hand sold and lit a couple of candles to float down the river. again the musical shiva mantra played and Indian pilgrims/tourists joined in from other boats around me while western tourists snapped away with their cameras, however i couldnt help but feel that as most places i have visited, the 21st century had taken hold and what was once a deeply religious ceremony was now more of a daily stage show. nevertheless it was very interesting to watch and it was easy to imagine what it would have been like even as recent as maybe 50 years ago, before transport was so easilly available and a pilgrimage here was a once in a lifetime epic journey. like most evenings i ate at the rooftop restaurant at the hotel and smoked with Moon while bodies were paraded down the street right next to us every 20 or so minutes to the burning ghat.
i had failed to wake/get up on various occasions to do the early morning boat journey at sunrise, but i decided that leaving Varanasi without doing so would be regretable, so i dragged my arse out of bed and headed down to the riverside, haggled for a boat and set off down the river. we/he rowed the entire length of the ghats to the other more popular but less sacred burning ghat where we stopped for a Chai before sailng back down passed the bathing, clothe washing and praying. it was enchanting to watch people of different ages and castes all come down to the river and pray together, even if it isnt clean, nobody seems to get sick and the unity is unlike anything that i have ever witnesed in the west.
i then went to meet Yadhu and went to his house, which was a small concrete square that was no bigger than 8 by 8 ft with a wooden bed with no matress that him, his wife and his son slept on and his wife prepared lunch on the floor with a portable gas stove. i was slightly concerned about hygiene but the curry turned out to be the best meal i had had in India (not to say that every thing else was bad, far from it), the chicken fell off the bone and the taste was perfect. we sat outside for a while and chilled with some locals then went to get my shorts stitched (cheap vietnemese copies!) and after 2-3 minutes i had around 30-40 people just standing and staring at me. the next day was pretty easy going i just ventured off into the more touristy area and had a look around had a shoe repair man in the street add some new stitches to my sandals to stop the soles falling off for 20p and headed back to the hotel to set off on my 24 hour journey to Kathmandu by local bus. it had come to my attention that now was the season for trekking and Varanasi was also the most common departure point from India to Nepal. so i endured the roads with more craters than the moon, that bounced me out of my seat all night, flat tires and sweltering heat and fianally arrived in Kathmandu a $100 lighter from my visa fee (Flippin Maoists) and crashed.

i will try to put my blog from the Himalayas on as soon as poss but until then Much Love and i'll spk to u all soon!

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Photos

evening ceremony at main ghat
Varanasi

Random kids by the silk handloom factory
Varanasi

Mother Theresa Nuns
Calcutta

Calcutta Zoo
Baboon with hemroids

Chai stall boy and his pal
Calcutta

Posing
Calcutta

Kali Temple
Calcutta

Mother Theresa Home
Calcutta

shoe shine boy
this guy spent his whole life travellin around shining shoes but was always smiling

Maya Bodhi Temple
Home of the Bodhi Tree where Buddha found Enlightenment in Bohdgaya