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| Street scene - Jaipur, India |
| Bangkok - 4/5/08 Today I'm back in Bangkok. It's been one hell of a ride! India was a real grind. I made the mistake of trying to see too much in too little time. Ended up rushing through everyplace instead of hanging out a bit like I usually do. Didn't get to find all the cool spots like I usually do. Instead, I had people taking me around to all the usual tourist sites because I didn't have the time. I hate doing this. You just end up rushing around too much and dealing with the hustlers and guides and beggars everywhere you go. It was very aggravating. When I first got to India, I hated it. It's a very intense place that is in your face from the moment you arrive. It can be very overwhelming. It wore me down. It's a hot, dry, dirty, dusty, confusing, chaotic place. When I was in Nepal, I set up a tour with a driver and car in India to go from Varanasi to Agra - about 2 days of driving. I would have flown but there were some temples at Khajuraho and an old fort at Orchha that I wanted to check out. They were really nice, but the drive was long. There wasn't much to see, so it was pretty boring - thank God for my iPod!! By the time I got to Agra, saw the Taj Mahal, I decided to forego the driver and take buses which were a LOT cheaper. From there I headed to Jaipur in Rahjasthan which was pretty interesting with a few palaces and old forts. There, I got to spend a little time walking around exploring. On the last day, I hired a car and driver to see the places I couldn't go on foot. That worked out better - but I was out of time. From there it was back to Delhi for a night and then on to Calcutta to catch the flight to Bangkok. I didn't get to see much of Delhi and none of Calcutta because, by that time I was just so worn down and just wanted to get out of India. It was so dry and dusty in India - everywhere everything was coated with a fine dust. If you put something outside in the morning, by the afternoon it looked like it had been out there for a month. The dust was a mixture of dirt, garbage, cowshit, camelshit, and whatever other debris was laying around. Whenever a little breeze blew it just kicked up all this stuff into the air where it went right into your lungs of course! After 2 weeks it was a little tough to breathe with all this crap in my lungs. I can't beleive the difference 2 days in Bangkok has made on my lungs. Bangkok doesn't exactly have the cleanest air either, but at least it's not dusty and I'm breathing a LOT easier! My biggest problem with India is that it is so big. You can't rush a trip like this - you have to take your time. Trying to do the quick tour, I only scratched the surface, not really getting a chance to experience the culture and the good things about these places. Instead, I got to see all the ugliness, the rude , unfriendly people and mostly aggravation. Next time I go, I'll know what to expect and I'll be better prepared to deal with it. But for now - I've seen enough of India. I've seen enough to know that there is a whole lot more that I want to see. I'll come back when I have the time to do it right. Nepal was an amazing place - another place I could have stayed a lot longer and definitely worth a return visit. |
 The ghats along the Ganges River
in Varanasi
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