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Published: August 2nd 2012
I had often felt that all my previous trips and travels were gearing me up to tackle India. That somehow the chaotic cities I have experienced, the frenetic whirlwind of life and activity that other countries project, the overwhelming noise and smells, the sights these eyes have seen and the hardships endured to get to see them, were in some way a practice run to get me travel fit for India and it's 1.2billion population. It didn't work. I am still early into my trip so I will reserve judgement until the end, and it certainly hasn't helped that I chose to jump in at the proverbial deep end by starting with the tourist Meccas of Delhi, Varanasi, and Agra, but so far India has been...overwhelming? It just defies description(not helpful when blog writing), it frustrates, confounds, annoys and exasperates, even the simplest task such as going to book a train ticket becomes an energy sapping saga as the heat, noise, smells,filth, sheer number of people and the amount of people waiting to scam you all seem to conspire against you. I think I had some kind of culture shock as it took me a good few days to adjust properly,and
initially I was truly hating the experience. It is just too intense, in your face, constant and hard work. However, once you have battled through all that India throws at you the sights are invariably worth it. It's not easy, it's not subtle and in many places it isn't pretty, but persevere and you can be rewarded.
New Delhi The guidebook said 'give it a chance and this schizophrenic capital could capture your heart'. I tried. It didn't. It captured my last nerve instead and wouldn't let go. I don't want to be too critical because many people call it home, and maybe its just me that couldn't hack it (have not met a single traveller who liked it FYI)but I couldn't wait to get out of the place. I generally dislike big cities anyway, but have been to many chaotic places such as Bangkok, Saigon, Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo to name but a few, and found that all in their own way had a certain charm or good qualities to cling to. I tried to scratch beneath the surface but couldn't find any positives from Delhi. The city has 13million people in it and I
seemed to find most of them on every street I walked, it is just too overpopulated for the size of the place. I know there is a great divide between the rich and poor in India, but I have been to places that are poorer and yet the people didn't act as I experienced in Delhi. It seems that every single person there is out to scam you or take your money in some way. You have to haggle prices for every item bought, transport used and even hotel rooms. The attention received on leaving a train station etc is sheer madness and like a scene from Rocky as people chase you down the street refusing to take your 'no thank you's, ignorance, insults or threats as anything approaching a No. Every 2 seconds someone will walk alongside you and make conversation acting friendly and chatting about India, and then at the end try to convince to go to some shop or tourism office they know. They all try and offer you the same things that you have declined from the other 50 people in the last minute. Rickshaw drivers inflate prices ten fold and more because you are a
foreigner, and also join in the game of trying to take you to a different hotel than you requested as yours is 'full'. Scammers stand outside train stations and tell you the train is cancelled, or the hotel you booked is full or that the tourist office has moved, but of course they always know just where to take you to solve the problem. There are several fake 'official tourist bureaus' in the station alone. Many female backpackers have told me about being groped or having their backsides pinched when they walk the streets, and the men also ogle and take pictures on their phones of the easy European women(I know fancy complaining, bloody feminists!) while the city's nametag of the 'rape capital of India needs no explanation. You are also always wary of your valuables as pickpockets are everywhere. It's not a nice attitude or way to travel when you have to mistrust everyone and basically turn into a total dick, ignoring anyone and everyone who talks to you and being totally blunt and rude about doing so. But this is what Delhi brings out in you, and I am intrigued to see if the rest of India is
the same, I hope not.
Delhi is also without question, the dirtiest and smelliest city I have ever experienced. I find it such a huge contradiction that the people apparently love their country and city so much, but throw away litter with such careless abandon. The place is a filthy mess, and every excursion down the street needs to be conducted with military precision to avoid stepping in or on something. The city itself is decrepit, seeming to crumble at the seams, it may be called New Delhi but it looks like the oldest city I've ever seen as the majority of buildings are either in a state of ruin, crumbling or already collapsed. It is unbearably noisy, mainly due to the cars, taxis and rickshaws who use the horn as though a conduit, I'd be surprised if anyone uses phones over here because they all seem to communicate through beeps. The train stations are horrendous, they resemble some kind of refugee camp and can be intimidating and strange places to go when you are the only foreigner in the vicinity. Currently it is also unbearably warm, sticky and humid as the city awaits the monsoon, not that Delhi
can be blamed for that mind but I'm on a roll so let me have it.
So apart from all that Delhi was ok, cough. As I said, if you get through all the crap (literally) then there are some good sights. The Red Fort was fairly interesting and easy on the eye, although I think the best views were from outside or even above, as the actual fort walls and gate was more interesting than inside it. There was some lovely architecture and easy to imagine this shah ruling over the people from his marble throne. It was also a good insight into delhi though because the fort was actually built by a Mughal shah, and the Jama Masjid mosque is of course Muslim, whilst other features were made by the British. Thus you have Delhi described, a city crumbling and ruined living off the remnants of lost empires, many of which aren't their own. Meow I am a right bitch!! I think in another city I would glorify in the multi faceted and codependent religious nature of the place and how it is all intertwined, but I just can't bring myself to be overly positive about Delhi.
Jama Masjid was the most impressive, a huge mosque that can hold a mind boggling 25,000 people and was built In the 1600's. Its massive main square would be an impressive sight when full with everyone praying but sadly attendance was low that day. The view from the 40metre high minarets afforded a good look out across this massive sprawling city. I also visited Humayun's Tomb, another Mughal construction from the 16th century. It was a pretty building of sandstone and marble topped by a huge dome, surrounded by a huge garden and other smaller tombs. The Gandhi museum was also interesting in a slightly morbid sense as it was the house he spent his last days in, they have left his room as it was that day showing his few worldly remains, whilst outside concrete footsteps lead to the place in his garden where he was shot dead. A simple yet powerful monument now stands on this spot where the 'father of India' was murdered by a zealot not long after India gained independence. I wonder what he would make of Delhi and its peoples antics today. The food in Delhi was also good and I highly recommend the
easy to navigate, air conditioned and considerably cheaper metro as a way of moving around Delhi, it can be busy but beats a rickshaw. My hotel in Pahargang called Cottage Yes Please (indian hotel names are amazing)was great and is also recommended to others, I had a pleasant stay there. So overall New Delhi wasn't for me and the 3 days there were my limit and enough to see everything in my opinion.
Varanasi Varanasi was one of my pre-tour must sees so I was excited to visit it and to get away from Delhi. But it in equal parts fascinated, frightened and vexed me. This time the touts were even more persistent and annoying than before, they all wanted to take you on boat ride, or buy you drugs, or show you a better view or try to tell you a fact on a temple and ask for a 'donation'. Again I know it sounds crap to moan about people hassling you as hey it's India right? But when it is every few seconds it gets old very quickly. Another time at a ghat we were literally forced to move by a drug addled local who said
we could not watch unless we paid him money, he got aggressive and started shouting and tried calling some others over, so we got out of there pretty sharpish. The police presence was monumental due to religious tensions and an apparent bombing in 2010. And yet still Varanasi won me over, as I said get through the crap and it is worth it.
Varanasi itself is actually a fairly hectic city like a mini Delhi and is just as dirty, smelly and chaotic. But all the action centres on the waterfront stretch along the infamous River Ganges. This area is known as the Old City and is aptly named as it is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, it is also regarded as one of Hinduism's seven holy cities. It is a network of narrow alleyways that can be confusing and maze-like and it's an effort not to trip over a cow, or worse a tout. The alleyways lead to the river bank and along a 1-2mile stretch are around 80 ghats, which are steps leading up from the water to the temples. The whole area is an amazing scene as you walk from one
end to the other admiring the row of temples, sitting serenely atop their steps creating a unique skyline to gaze at. A steady stream of brightly clad pilgrims constantly flow in and out of the temples, chanting can be heard, incense is in the air, bells are rung and religion in on the lips. Even for an atheist like me it is easy to become captured and captivated by the atmosphere. The temples themselves have been replaced a few times but are still ancient and so interesting to explore; bedecked with shrines, carvings, inscriptions and paintings, and attended by devout and passionate worshippers giving offerings and chanting prayers, oh and head priests trying to extort more money out of you! Of course the ghats that most tourists are fascinated by are the burning ghats. Hindus believe that dying here offers moksha-liberation from the cycle of birth and death-and so being cremated here is extremely auspicious. Dead bodies are carried through the tiny alleyways on bamboo sticks and covered in cloth, they are brought to the ghat and dipped in the Ganges initially before being placed on the stacks of firewood ready to be incinerated. Obviously respect and reverence is vital
so I cant show you pictures, but it is a truly mind boggling experience to round a corner and come across a ghat a few feet in front of you, where flames are leaping from piles of wood within which a body is neatly piled. They often cremate 2 or 3 at any one time so it makes for a vivid and emotional sight as families stand alongside mourning and praying. You are of course intruding on an intensely personal moment but it is right there in the open for all to see, the most intimate moment of someones life and its hard to tear your eyes away. It is easy to stay longer than you planned and watch amazed at the sight before you, although this can be delicate as once the families have departed you can actually see a slightly darker side as the workers use sticks to not so subtly 'move around' the remaining limbs left in order to ensure full cremation and prepare for the next body. Those that cannot be cremated (lepers, pregnant women etc) are simply wrapped in cloth, weighed down and dropped into the Ganges as well, bodies regularly pop up out of
nowhere downstream but thankfully I didn't see any.
Walking along the stretch of ghats is also surreal and awe inspiring. I love to people watch but the 2 days here nearly gave me enough memories to store for a lifetime, I'm not sure sitting in a cafe window and watching Cardiff people go by carrying their Tesco shopping or boutique handbags will ever be as interesting again. You come across all kinds of things;pilgrims washing away a lifetime of sins, locals bathing and washing clothes, men shaving, children swimming and playing, a herd of buffaloes taking a dip, dogs fighting, monkeys swinging from trees, cows sleeping, people doing yoga, touts asking for boats or drugs, an animal carcass floating downstream being pecked by birds, bodies being prepared for dipping and of course cremations. And while you walk, the temples throng on one side and the water flows by on the other, life and death intertwined together, and the daily habits of people go on in a cacophony of noise, smells and sights. The Ganges is these people's ways of life and the source of everything for them, but to see them bathe and play in it alongside the buffalo
and carcasses makes for a stomach clenching time.
Then occurred my most intimidating and frantic visit I have ever encountered. Varanasi also has a golden temple named Vishwanath, and is the most famous in the city, pilgrims travel the length of the country to make an offering here. The area is full of heavily armed soldiers due to security issues and communal tensions, we had to take our passports and declare them and sign in, some cash to give the priests and we were also told non stop about watching our pockets. We were also told to state we were Hindu if anybody asked and to expect chaos. Thoroughly daunted already we (myself and an Aussie from hotel) went ahead. The atmosphere was electric, and I mean in the life threatening sense. The idea was fairly simple, within the complex was a shrine in the middle, where pilgrims form a queue to make their offering of milk and flower by throwing it in a well, thus receiving a blessing which would sort them for life. However this led to the most passionate, ferverent, intense and downright scary scrum I have ever witnessed. The pilgrims were so intent on making
their offering that it was carnage, it was like a football riot only 100 times worse. Nothing scares me more than absolute religious ferverence, the kind which leads to suicide bombers etc and those that will do anything for what they believe, even it means laying down their lives. The pushing, shoving, shouting, screaming, crying and aggression that followed was surreally intense, and when done in a foreign tongue it is infinitely worse. And for an added touch the Police were in there manhandling anyone within grasp. As we were with a hotel guide we were introduced to a priest who said he could get us in, but on seeing the hordes I didn't want any part of it, he said it would be fine and grabbed us by the arm and led us to the exit of the shrine. So we had to try and fight-and I mean elbows knees and any other extremity- against all those who had just made their offerings and were trying to force their way out,so we could get in and do ours. Reaching the centre offered no respite, it was even more hysteria and pandemonium and a complete claustrophobic feeling ensued. Mine must
have been the quickest offering to Shiva ever known as I chucked it and bolted. It took a long time afterwards to calm down and return to normal, it was only when back at the hotel I felt vaguely normal. Religious people are intense, I think I'll stick to Connect 4.
During my time there I also took a Ganges boat ride which was interesting as it gave the chance to see Varanasi from a different perspective, and I also watched the evening Ganga aarti ceremony to the river which included puja, fire and dance. Oh and I also got my first case of Delhi/Varanasi belly since I arrived, which got me acquainted with my toilet a lot more frequently than I would have liked. Thankfully some Imodium and tablets from the local pharmacy sorted me out because for a while I resembled the Ganges myself. Alka hotel is recommended for the amazing views from the balcony and decent price, plus a communal area to meet loads of people, I think this as much as anything helped me get over my initial culture shock of India, other peoples company is a wonderful thing!
Khajuraho Everybody knows that spiritual
stuff leads to sex(just ask your local priest, only don't take your young son along)so off I tottered to Khajuraho for a bit of a perve. Khajuraho has three groups of temples listed on the World Heritage 'you can't knock these down' list, which is wise as otherwise who knows what mess they'd be in by now. The temples are famous for being extremely erotic and are covered in carvings of naked women, nymphs, people going at it while others watch, threesomes, foursomes and full scale mass orgies, there were gymnastic moves of Olympic quality including one called 'the handstand' (it's easy,ask your priest whilst there) and beastiality. You haven't quite spent a proper Sunday afternoon in India until you have walked around a temple desperately trying to find the picture of 2guys shagging a horse. When the carvings aren't showing women or sex they are showing battles, so it seems that in AD 1000 people were either inventing mad new sexual positions or starting wars, beats watching Songs of Praise I guess. I spent the morning there with 2 English guys and it was a bit like that time when you are kids and discover a porn mag in
the bushes and invite everyone around to stare, as we kept calling each other to point at various impossibly positioned groups and proceeded to snigger. However, the erotic content should not take away from the absolute stunning pieces of work that they actually are. The temples themselves were striking from afar and up close you could really appreciate the intricate work that must have gone into each carving. One temple has 872 statues alone, each one 1metre high, and the definition and detail in each statue was staggering. After a certain height the posing and cartwheeling women gave way to roof spires, which make up a mountain like rooftop scene. If more buildings were like this, intricately made and jaw droppingly stunning, but with enough filth to make you cross your legs,then I could really become a fan of architecture. The touts here were even pushier than in other places and there was nothing else to do there, but it was an interesting visit and a nice alternative to the pollution filled cities as it was very green and lush surroundings.
Agra Sadly after that I had to return back to reality and face the jam packed area
of Agra, it is the home of the Taj Mahal and so it is another version of Delhi and Varanasi but I shall save the moans this time. The amazement of seeing THE Taj Mahal just overrides the people, the mess, the power cuts etc etc and reminds you why you came to India in the first place. It was quite simply the best man-made thing I have ever seen, the greatest building in the world maybe, and there wasn't even a guy doing a sheep on it or anything. It is the most visited site in India and it is easy to see why, it was everything I had always imagined it to be and more. It was even slightly surreal, a little like when I saw New York or LA, there are certain places so iconic and shown so often that you imagine seeing one day,and then you are actually there in the flesh, it's a great feeling of awe and wonderment. The taj was finally finished in 1653 and built by a shah for his dead wife. He was later imprisoned when overthrown by his son and could only gaze at it through his prison window, but
I think the view would almost compensate for being locked up. It is just beautifully designed, it sits on a raised platform meaning you can view it from afar and backs wondrously against the sky, although sadly it was more cloudy than clear blue sky when I was there. This also ruined my 5am visit to the roof to watch the sunrise! I entered at 6:30 and there were some but very few people there which made it even more atmospheric and special, I am glad I defied my lazy nature and got up early for this because it really filled up as I left at 9. The Taj is made from white marble which still gleams and looks as it did when built I imagine, it has 4 identical sides which far from being boring made it better somehow, especially for an OCD freak like me loving symmetry. The marble has high arches, inlaid with semi precious stones, flowers and also calligraphy quoting scripture from the Quran. These get larger as they get higher giving the impression of uniform size, very clever. Inside there are the cenotaphs of the Shah and his wife, again surrounded by beautiful marble screens
and it is all topped by the wonderful dome. The 4 minarets tower above and a huge gateway leads into it giving you that mouth opening 'wow'moment when you first see it. It also sits amid beautiful gardens, flowing fountains and water in front which allows you to see the Taj in perfect reflection and is also built on the bend of a serene river. To top it off I had a hotel which had a rooftop restaurant and it looked right at the Taj from nearby so I spent most of that evening gazing in wonder while drinking Indian beer and eating good food with people during the sunset. It even looked great in silhouette I can tell you. Hassle, aggravation, pain, all forgotten while staring at this monument to mans achievements, I'm not sure we will ever rival mother nature but the Taj has a damn good go.
For the remainder do the day I visited a place called Fatehpur Sikri, a stunning fortified city about 40km away. It was a capital for a while back in the late 1500s and was great to imagine this city, the people and their culture, with the Taj up the
road, both in their pomp back in those days. The city contained a hugely impressive mosque and a palace for each of the Shah's(not the Taj shah) three wives. The mosques entrance gate is 54metres high alone, and inside are various tombs including one made of similar marble to the Taj. This Shah had a Christian, Muslim and Hindu wife, so he was a player but an all encompassing one. He built a palace for each wife incorporating their religions so it is a great blend of all cultures, along with ornamental pools, and pavilions etc. I found it interesting and complemented the Taj visit very well so was worth the visit.
And so that's the first section done, sorry if it went on a while but I covered a fair bit and had to put about 2000 words of moaning and depression in there! I have since found India a little easier to cope with since those first early mind frazzling days in Delhi, but I don't think even my best of moods would have liked that place. I have also met a lot more people since leaving Delhi so I hope this continues. This blog covers the
area known as the Golden Triangle and is the main touristy section, so perhaps it is only natural that I found it so manic and tout/scam heavy and maybe I should have left it until the end. That said next up I have Rajasthan, a region of desert and forts, camel treks and oasis, with a bit of the famous Golden Temple in Amritsar thrown in, so I look forward to that, and after that it is north into the mountains for a bit of Dalai Lama, stunning views and maybe a trek. I have also heard that the people are infinitely nicer as soon as you leave the Triangle and head away. Lord Ganesh I hope so! Catch you then people.
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Bethan
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antibacterial handwash!!
Great brlg Mike. Glad youve started enjoying India. We found Sri Lanka similar but nowhere near as chaotic. Im feeling guilty for using your handgel now!!! Keep exploring...