For A Corpse-Free Experience

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Since there isn’t any real rail service to/from Rishikesh, I needed to go to Haridwar to leave by train. I decided to spend a half-day and night in Haridwar and catch the 6am train back to Delhi the following morning.

I didn’t expect much from Haridwar. Just another run of the mill town along the Ganges. Entering the city, you do pass by a statue of Shiva that towers over you and the Ganges. It really is pretty impressive.

The best way to see a city is to do so on foot, so once I located a hotel for the evening (to date the most expensive and worst condition) I set out to walk around the city. I noticed that the city has a very impressive riverfront walkway so I figured I would walk along the Ganges for a while. The second I descended the staircase down to the walkway I was approached by a couple of men flashing official looking badges saying something about a donation. They presented a card talking about all the expenses of keeping the riverfront maintained, which included, the clean up and disposal of dead bodies. I wish I were making this up. Thinking this is a scam, I’m just laughing. I finally offer them all the coins in my pocket - 8 rupees or about twenty cents to get them to leave me in peace. They were pushing for a donation of 500 rupees. Finally after convincing them that just because my country was rich didn’t mean I was a rich man, they wrote me out a receipt that allowed me to walk the riverwalk. Apparently, this collection of donations is legitimate.

I finished the night by going to watch some type of religious ceremony down by the river where I was again asked for a donation. Minutes later as I was sitting on the ground a young girl approaches me and before I know it, puts a tab of paint on my forehead. I may be Hindu now; I’m not sure. She, of course, wanted payment for this. Everyone here wants a piece of your money and they are not shy about asking for it. Pride be damned.

Back to Delhi to catch transportation to my next stop.

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Photos

Ceremony on the river
A lot of hoopla for 5 minutes of fire and drum banging.