If Kathmandu seemed busy or dirty then that was only ever going to be the warm up to India! This place is in a league of its own. From leaving the fresh mountain air of Pokhara to hitting the small town on the Nepalese border, not much changed, but in the space of 300 foot and as small strip of no mans land it all becomes very different! Without exaggerating you instantly notice and feel the presence of more people, things seem louder and brighter yet everything feels dirtier! Originally I was expecting India to be a bit like Marmite – you either love it or hate it, but to be honest the first 48 hours have just left me feeling slightly dazed and confused by it all….although that may have been caused by the 23 hours of travelling we had 2 days ago to get here!
We have been hassled a small amount, but nowhere near as much as I was expecting, although my grumpy exterior, moody tones and very forth right “No’s!” seem to be doing the trick, plus Varanasi is probably more chilled than most cities in that sense! Cows seem to be the only sacred thing, everything else is just there to be used, abused and deficated on! Railway stations seem to be large emergency housing as you tread your way over hundreds of bodies (I’m guessing still alive) sprawled out on the floor under blankets! It does seem to be one big senses and phobia overload:
– There is no such thing as personal space, so not good if your claustrophobic
– it is one big stream of humanity everywhere so agrophobs won’t get on well
– if you have a fear of cows or buffalo then its not the place for you – bovinophobia!?!?
– could easily bring on insomnia and that’s as much from the constant noise as it is your mind whizzing all night at the random things you have witnessed all day
– The strong smells encountered most of the day are very nauseating but you kind of get use to the smell of urine
– then there’s hippyphobia, well more wannabe-hippyphobia, they are everywhere and slowly becoming more annoying than American Peace Corps!
– and finally if you are prone to outbursts of anger or violence then maybe stay away too
Anyway, this is to name but a few, but if you can overcome all of this then hopefully it will be an enjoyable and totally different experience, if not then it’s on the first train out of here – which might take 10 days as they all seem to be booked solid at the moment!! But aside from all this it is an intriging place so let’s see what fun the next 3 weeks or so have in store!
PS: Please dont assume that from my ramblings that I am not enjoying myself but sometimes (well alot of the time) cynicism comes easier than fluffy bullsh!t that everywhere is great!
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Chris S
Hang on in there, they say it’s an experience not to be missed.