.... is a good thing to do!
We were warned that it was dirty and noisy. And it was true. The roads are awful, unlike Jaipur and Delhi where they are merely bad.
We were warned that it was dirty and noisy. And it was true. The roads are awful, unlike Jaipur and Delhi where they are merely bad.
Also, in Varanasi, we encountered the Delhi thing where everyone who speaks to you is angling to get money from you. There appears to be no possibility of having a conversation with any local without it quickly turning into a conversation about how many ways you are going to give them money.
Anyway, we squeezed in a visit to Sarthan about 20km north of Varanasi on our way to the airport this morning. It is where Buddha (the Buddha?) preached his first sermon back around 550BC. Several Buddhist temples there from Thailand, Japan, etc and a bijou modern museum (5 rupees entry fee. That's about 5 pence! ) but some beautiful, serene sculptures of Buddha made in the 6th Century BC. And the statue of the 4 lions that is the symbol of India on all its coins etc. Is there. That's about 600AD, the high point of Mauryan Art if you have ever watched one of those Michael Wood programmes about the history of India. Sadly, no photos allowed in there so instead, here is a pic of the nice (2013) Buddha statue from the Thai temple in its pleasant garden. This place is full of monks and wannabe European monks on ashram type courses. Quite a good vibe but again, touts selling you tat all along the road and generally pestering you if you step outside the ashram.
Varanasi has toughened us up so that we give hardly any tips now. These people are not our friends. It is not that kind of a relationship! It's business and business works both ways. I pissed off our taxi driver from the airport (gave him no tip, just his fare) and some random bloke in the airport car park who grabbed our bag trolley and shouted 'helper! helper!' as he pushed the trolley to the taxi and loaded the bags in the boot. When he asked for a tip He didn't get one! His choice to help me, I didn't ask him. Same with the obsequious flunky in the airport toilet who saw me coming and rushed in from chatting to his mates to put on a show which included bowing, trying to put liquid soap on my hands (why weren't the dispensers filled? I ask myself) then waving me to the electric dryer. I walked out with wet hands. Quite enjoying this actually!
This all sounds very negative. I should say we have meet many very interesting and pleasant fellow travellers and the hotel owners are usually pretty good as well! Most Indians will be fine. It's only those we get exposed to on the tourist trail that do this. In Mount Abu, off the trail, it was very different. No bad vibes.
So then on a plane from Varanasi for a brief overnight stop in Delhi. This time at the Smyle Hotel. Four a.m. taxi back to the airport tomorrow and we are finally going South to Fort Cochin for four nights. We are glad we have visited these amazing places... once.
Yvonne and Moira have got terrible colds and are dosed up with paracetamol so I am doing the blog tonight. It has just rained lightly here. Wearing a jumper but not that necessary. Better get some sleep I guess.
John.
1 comment:
Does the sign in the reflecting pool in front of the Buddha say "no paddling".............. as indeed no one is paddling. Sorry to hear the ladies are struck down with a cold or indisposed as would have been referred to in the Raj days.
Hope you took a copy of Carry on Up the Khyber for watching on wet days. Nothing like a good movie and a bit of tiffin when one has a cold.
Good to see John remembers how to type and can be blog monitor as and when required. Have 3 house points.
Wish I was there with you all instead of sampling sunsets alone.
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