Sorry for the long lapse in communication and any worries (Mom, Dad). We've had some really long travels and haven't touched a computer for two weeks or so. Get your goggles on, this one will be long.
I have no idea when the last time we mailed was, so I'm going to start from Trichy. I think the last mail was from Ellora/Ajanta, so there may be a gap.
We came to Ellora after a very rough 40 hours of travel from Hospet (go there. The ruins of Hampi are mind-blowing). Some of the time we couple sit, some of the time we had to stand. It worked out that we slept something like 6 hours of 48, so we were pretty bitchy by the time we got there. We eventually found a place after trying to loose a very persistent tout, whose place we eventually went to in the end (though we negotiated a price without him and the next day tried to get credit for the introduction). On the train over it turned out that we arrived the day before Holi, the Festival of Colors. You know the festival in India where they throw colored powder like wild in the streets? Yeah, that's Holi. We were pretty excited.
That night we walked around looking at the fire they set on the streets and as we were ready to go home got invited into a guys office for some whiskey and food. There were four other travelers there, but we had a glass of whiskey and headed out early for bed.
The next day we put on our worst clothes and walked outside. It took about fifteen minutes for us to go from spotless to fully covered in powder and water. We ran around throwing water and powder at kids, having people run up and smear colors on us, and just go crazy. We planned on walking around the city for a while, but we went about half a block. It was really fun.
I have no idea when the last time we mailed was, so I'm going to start from Trichy. I think the last mail was from Ellora/Ajanta, so there may be a gap.
We came to Ellora after a very rough 40 hours of travel from Hospet (go there. The ruins of Hampi are mind-blowing). Some of the time we couple sit, some of the time we had to stand. It worked out that we slept something like 6 hours of 48, so we were pretty bitchy by the time we got there. We eventually found a place after trying to loose a very persistent tout, whose place we eventually went to in the end (though we negotiated a price without him and the next day tried to get credit for the introduction). On the train over it turned out that we arrived the day before Holi, the Festival of Colors. You know the festival in India where they throw colored powder like wild in the streets? Yeah, that's Holi. We were pretty excited.
That night we walked around looking at the fire they set on the streets and as we were ready to go home got invited into a guys office for some whiskey and food. There were four other travelers there, but we had a glass of whiskey and headed out early for bed.
The next day we put on our worst clothes and walked outside. It took about fifteen minutes for us to go from spotless to fully covered in powder and water. We ran around throwing water and powder at kids, having people run up and smear colors on us, and just go crazy. We planned on walking around the city for a while, but we went about half a block. It was really fun.
One of three guys on a motorcycles gave us a warm bottle of wine cooler and while we were drying off in the sun a guy started talking to us. We joined his group down the street and continued to smear colors, talk, and have a little to drink.
They were a great bunch and we really enjoyed ourselves. In talking we mentioned that we had heard about some of the traditional foods, so he took us into a room in the building and gave us some food. His bodygaurd (this guy was HUGE) came with us and we sat around talking. We talked about Holi, tourism, and the rainy season. We're in the dry season now and he said that in the rainy season he couldn't even see his driver in his car through the foliage. Bodygaurd, personal driver, his own rooms, it turns out that we celebrated Holi with local mob head. See Mom and Dad? I told you that you had nothing to worry about. We laughed our heads off about it (and still do), but honestly, that was the situation in which I have felt safest in in the three weeks here. We've talked about it many times and we thin that it is because he was the only person who didn't need anything from us.
Everyone who talks to you, just strikes up a conversation on the street, or is concerned about you well;-being is trying to get money from you out here. It's really annoying. I hate the immediate suspicion that comes when someone comes up to talk to us and I think "When is he going to ask for money/mention his guide service/try to sell me something?" It sucks, but it is infallible. This boss was the only guy that was actually interested in just talking with us and enjoying a conversation (I'm leaving out people we have talked to on trains and buses). His group were really nice and just wanted to enjoy a holiday. It was great.
We went home about 2, showered, and stayed at home because if we went out, someone was going to try to throw color on us. Tourists are walking tourists during Holi.
The following day we went out to the ruins of Ellora, a large group of caves carved in the face of a mountain. There are about 30 caves, some monstrous in size, others about the size of a double-wide. The most famous temple supposedly took 200 years to carve and it a three-story affair the size of a decent concert hall. Other caves are three stories tall and filled with large prayer halls and nice statues.
They were a great bunch and we really enjoyed ourselves. In talking we mentioned that we had heard about some of the traditional foods, so he took us into a room in the building and gave us some food. His bodygaurd (this guy was HUGE) came with us and we sat around talking. We talked about Holi, tourism, and the rainy season. We're in the dry season now and he said that in the rainy season he couldn't even see his driver in his car through the foliage. Bodygaurd, personal driver, his own rooms, it turns out that we celebrated Holi with local mob head. See Mom and Dad? I told you that you had nothing to worry about. We laughed our heads off about it (and still do), but honestly, that was the situation in which I have felt safest in in the three weeks here. We've talked about it many times and we thin that it is because he was the only person who didn't need anything from us.
Everyone who talks to you, just strikes up a conversation on the street, or is concerned about you well;-being is trying to get money from you out here. It's really annoying. I hate the immediate suspicion that comes when someone comes up to talk to us and I think "When is he going to ask for money/mention his guide service/try to sell me something?" It sucks, but it is infallible. This boss was the only guy that was actually interested in just talking with us and enjoying a conversation (I'm leaving out people we have talked to on trains and buses). His group were really nice and just wanted to enjoy a holiday. It was great.
We went home about 2, showered, and stayed at home because if we went out, someone was going to try to throw color on us. Tourists are walking tourists during Holi.
The following day we went out to the ruins of Ellora, a large group of caves carved in the face of a mountain. There are about 30 caves, some monstrous in size, others about the size of a double-wide. The most famous temple supposedly took 200 years to carve and it a three-story affair the size of a decent concert hall. Other caves are three stories tall and filled with large prayer halls and nice statues.
The day after we went to Ajanta, and the two places compliment each other fantastically. Where Ellora is all about huge dwellings and massive halls, Ajanta is filled with some fantastically well preserved (and restored) paintings. The number and detail on the walls here is indescribable. There are also about 30 caves there, but smaller and closer together.
The two caves together make up a wonderful experience. In two days we were able to see the depth of skill the painters had developed 1000 years ago and combine that with the architectural achievements of 1000 years ago. It was superb. India, however, wasn't done with us.
The two caves together make up a wonderful experience. In two days we were able to see the depth of skill the painters had developed 1000 years ago and combine that with the architectural achievements of 1000 years ago. It was superb. India, however, wasn't done with us.
While waiting for the bus back, a professor stopped and offered us a ride back to town, as he was coming back from a conference. We figured that professors are safe (we saw credentials) and he had good English, so we could have a nice enough talk. He was pretty nice, if a bit pushy, especially asking us to have dinner with him. We had to catch our train that night, so we couldn't stay out late, but we stopped halfway to town to have some dinner. He was pretty nice, worked hard, had a nice daughter, but no wife. Conversation went well enough, and then he started blatantly hitting on Shizuka.
He started saying stuff like "When can we meet again?" "Let's you and me meet." "Please, stay, you're wonderful." while assuring me that he was only joking. Ass. Then after he had a couple glasses of beer (I wasn't drinking much), he started saying how he was flirting with Shiz, then saying how he was of course joking. We're nice and forgiving people and he seemed a lonely guy, but our patience was wearing very thin. I didn't want to get back in a car with him and he was making Shiz very uncomfortable and me very angry. So before I lost my control and punched him, we got up, thanked him for the ride and dinner, and left.
The only problem was that it left us in the middle of nowhere with no assurance of a bus to town after dark. No good. We decided to bite the bullet and get a tuk-tuk back to town, costing 400 rupees or so. 200 meters out of the restaurant, though, we saw a truck filled with people. It turned out that they were returning from a wedding party and going our way, so we hopped in the back and went as far as the border of the town. There was a truck for women and a truck for men, but we both got in the truck for men. I thought "Wow, if it came down to it, I went from fighting one guy to twenty...." but they were decent enough, just rowdy. Not wanting to stretch our luck, we got off with the guy we trusted most at the edge of town, took a tuk-tuk back, laughed at how wierd that day turned out, and caught our train.
He started saying stuff like "When can we meet again?" "Let's you and me meet." "Please, stay, you're wonderful." while assuring me that he was only joking. Ass. Then after he had a couple glasses of beer (I wasn't drinking much), he started saying how he was flirting with Shiz, then saying how he was of course joking. We're nice and forgiving people and he seemed a lonely guy, but our patience was wearing very thin. I didn't want to get back in a car with him and he was making Shiz very uncomfortable and me very angry. So before I lost my control and punched him, we got up, thanked him for the ride and dinner, and left.
The only problem was that it left us in the middle of nowhere with no assurance of a bus to town after dark. No good. We decided to bite the bullet and get a tuk-tuk back to town, costing 400 rupees or so. 200 meters out of the restaurant, though, we saw a truck filled with people. It turned out that they were returning from a wedding party and going our way, so we hopped in the back and went as far as the border of the town. There was a truck for women and a truck for men, but we both got in the truck for men. I thought "Wow, if it came down to it, I went from fighting one guy to twenty...." but they were decent enough, just rowdy. Not wanting to stretch our luck, we got off with the guy we trusted most at the edge of town, took a tuk-tuk back, laughed at how wierd that day turned out, and caught our train.
This train turned out to be another long, dirty, hateful affair. We took a train to Manmad (great name for a town), and waited until 1 AM or so for the train. Once the train came, it was covered with bodies. Everywhere people were trying to find a place to sleep. There was nowhere to walk and less places to sit, but we pushed some space for our bags, sat down, and tried to sleep. We ended up sitting close enough to the toilets to smell them, but it was better than on top of the train. Shiz slept a bit, I slept about an hour and made great progress on my book.
At 5 AM the cross-dressers came.
I don't know why, but a group of four cross-dressers came on, slapping people and clapping in their faces, then asking for money. They harassed people until they got money, then moved on to the next person. A fair amount of people gave them ten rupees and the train was pretty full, so this was very lucrative for them. Shiz was sleeping and I pretended to be in hopes that they would pass foreigners by (there was no way in hell that I was going to give them anything) and my plan worked.
When they came by an hour later, though, they caught me out. I just told them no and they gave up with little fight, but they worked this train and made a lot of money by being so annoying with groggy people that they were paid to go away. Shiz and I saw a gender documentary last month on cross-dressers that mentioned discrimination by others. Gee, I wonder why.
With cross-dressers gone, we found what space we could and rode the remaining eight hours sleepy and very irritable. Our destination was Bhopal and when we finally reached there, we were pretty pissed off. We had slept two hours maximum, smelled toilet the whole way, and were really bitchy. Bhopal might be a nice enough town, but it wasn't then. There were no hotels close by, the tuk-tuk drivers seemed more annoying than usual, and Holi was still in effect there. We spent an hour looking for a hotel, found nothing but people trying to smear colors on us (our dirty selves wanted none of it), gave Bhopal the emotional finger, and took a four hour train to Jhansi, skipping a place with old cave paintings. We had paintings in Ajanta.
At Jhansi we spent a little cash, got a soft bed, a hot shower, and good food. We spent the day doing fuck-all and loving it. It was our second period of 24+ hour travel combined with 5-6 hours of sleep in 48. We've been traveling too hard, but India has been treating us hard back. Too many people, too little space, and a little sexual harassment on Shiz to boot made us pretty pissed off. We relaxed at Jhansi, then went to Khajuraho, a place famous for erotic carvings on old temples.
At 5 AM the cross-dressers came.
I don't know why, but a group of four cross-dressers came on, slapping people and clapping in their faces, then asking for money. They harassed people until they got money, then moved on to the next person. A fair amount of people gave them ten rupees and the train was pretty full, so this was very lucrative for them. Shiz was sleeping and I pretended to be in hopes that they would pass foreigners by (there was no way in hell that I was going to give them anything) and my plan worked.
When they came by an hour later, though, they caught me out. I just told them no and they gave up with little fight, but they worked this train and made a lot of money by being so annoying with groggy people that they were paid to go away. Shiz and I saw a gender documentary last month on cross-dressers that mentioned discrimination by others. Gee, I wonder why.
With cross-dressers gone, we found what space we could and rode the remaining eight hours sleepy and very irritable. Our destination was Bhopal and when we finally reached there, we were pretty pissed off. We had slept two hours maximum, smelled toilet the whole way, and were really bitchy. Bhopal might be a nice enough town, but it wasn't then. There were no hotels close by, the tuk-tuk drivers seemed more annoying than usual, and Holi was still in effect there. We spent an hour looking for a hotel, found nothing but people trying to smear colors on us (our dirty selves wanted none of it), gave Bhopal the emotional finger, and took a four hour train to Jhansi, skipping a place with old cave paintings. We had paintings in Ajanta.
At Jhansi we spent a little cash, got a soft bed, a hot shower, and good food. We spent the day doing fuck-all and loving it. It was our second period of 24+ hour travel combined with 5-6 hours of sleep in 48. We've been traveling too hard, but India has been treating us hard back. Too many people, too little space, and a little sexual harassment on Shiz to boot made us pretty pissed off. We relaxed at Jhansi, then went to Khajuraho, a place famous for erotic carvings on old temples.
Don't go to Khajuraho. It's just not worth it. The ruins are good and very well-preserved, but nothing that you can't see at other places in India. What makes Khajuraho bad is the people. Every single last person there is out for your money. We only left our hotel for sights and food, because we couldn't walk forty meters without someone trying to work into our confidence so as to get our money. This isn't people saying "hello" to get you into their shop, that's expected and easily avoidable.
Here's one example. We were breaking large bills at the bank, when the person behind us starts talking to us with great Japanese (his friends didn't speak much Japanese). We started chatting, half-wondering "What does he want" and after we finished he came outside and asked if we wanted to get some tea. We were not going to and we were going to get food and didn't break stride. He kept following us, following us into the restaurant, and we told him that if he wanted to drink tea while we ate, fine. He was pleasant enough, but we couldn't really relax thinking "When does the pitch come....". After lunch he asked if we wanted tea, which we of course declined. His friend mentioned how he had a shop and was also a guide (lucky us!) and seemed crestfallen when we wouldn't go into his shop. Again, someone seeming really nice, but just trying to get us into his shop to get our money. And everyone was like that. The hassle wasn't really worth the sights, honestly. India has some stunning sights, but by Khajuraho I was thinking that the only bad part was that you had to go to India to see them.
Khajuraho is behind us and we are in Agra, home of The Taj Mahal. We're going to see it in a couple of days - Shiz's birthday to be exact - and until then will be relaxing, getting our energy and patience back. India has beaten us up. I'm glad we came, but we did stay a bit long. We're probably not coming back in the near future. I've found that people either love India or hate it, and I think that we're the latter. It reminds me of a joke a friend told me about China:
What's the difference between a tourist and a racist?
Two weeks.
Here's one example. We were breaking large bills at the bank, when the person behind us starts talking to us with great Japanese (his friends didn't speak much Japanese). We started chatting, half-wondering "What does he want" and after we finished he came outside and asked if we wanted to get some tea. We were not going to and we were going to get food and didn't break stride. He kept following us, following us into the restaurant, and we told him that if he wanted to drink tea while we ate, fine. He was pleasant enough, but we couldn't really relax thinking "When does the pitch come....". After lunch he asked if we wanted tea, which we of course declined. His friend mentioned how he had a shop and was also a guide (lucky us!) and seemed crestfallen when we wouldn't go into his shop. Again, someone seeming really nice, but just trying to get us into his shop to get our money. And everyone was like that. The hassle wasn't really worth the sights, honestly. India has some stunning sights, but by Khajuraho I was thinking that the only bad part was that you had to go to India to see them.
Khajuraho is behind us and we are in Agra, home of The Taj Mahal. We're going to see it in a couple of days - Shiz's birthday to be exact - and until then will be relaxing, getting our energy and patience back. India has beaten us up. I'm glad we came, but we did stay a bit long. We're probably not coming back in the near future. I've found that people either love India or hate it, and I think that we're the latter. It reminds me of a joke a friend told me about China:
What's the difference between a tourist and a racist?
Two weeks.