Varanasi Lassi

Just one week left.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Between sleeping on buses and trains, and people's couches I haven't spent a night in a proper bed on my own in almost three weeks! This is a traveler's dream in some way - to cheap out on hotels! So in my final week I am spluring on a fancy room with a double bed all to myself! How lovely. But before I go on about this place, lets catch up a bit, shall we?
I arrived in New Delhi on December 31 of 2009 - last year. Moodrika came to the train platform to pick me up. I spent the whole 32 hours on the train sleeping and sweating. And when I wasn't sweating I was shivering and freezing. I was sooo sick. Leave it to me to get dreadfully ill in my final weeks of travel. Anyways, staying with Moodrika's family put me back in good shape. I spent new year's eve drinking tea and watching a bollywood special on TV. It was perfect. I have to say that i actually don't really like the big new year's eve crazy celebration. I much prefer to simply do something quiet and feel good the next day. Nothing like starting the new years without a hangover and some money in your wallet (let's just say there have been years when this was not the case).
I spent Janaury 1 relaxing and trying to feel better still. By the 2nd things were better so Moodrika and I ventured into town: we went to the Red Fort and visited a nearby and very busy bizarre. The fort was beautiful. The grounds are perfectly manicured and of course, the architecture leaves one astounded. It is really incredible to stand at one end of a courtyard and look through the gates of a building only to be able to see the perfect symmetry of the other end of the courtyard. Its spectacular. And when it comes to buildings, Indians don't do anything half assed. We are talking epic and grand. And its funny, because even as i write that, there is the polar opposite in so many cases, where instead of épci and grand' the buildings are simply made of makeshift poles, tarps and corrogated sheet metal... so much for granduer...
The bizarre was amazing; Moodrika and I wandered through alleys where all of the wholesalers are. You can literally buy anything from what looks like kilometers of silks, cottons and sequined fabrics to buttons, tassles, peacock feathers, tassles, bells, threads, etc - and that is just the fashion district. Don't get me started on the jewellery section. It is so overwhelming. The streets bustle, electrical wires are like loose steel wool hanging just a meter above your head while monkeys sway from store front to veranda and loop onto lamp posts which sizzle in the evening fog. Its a shock the whole place doesn't set on fire from faulty electricity! You have to watch your step as you walk through these alleys too, or one might get run over by a bicycle rickshaw or scooty. The alleys can't be wider that a meter and a half and yet it seems thousands of people teem their way through, fingering silks, eating ladoos and standing around chai stalls. The markets are one of my favorite things about India because they are so alive. The bargaining you have to do is vicious and the people watching is top notch.
Moodrika and I had a really fun time taking photos, figuring out our settings on digital cameras and snacking on sweets. I'll put some photos up soon, I promise.
Last night was yet another night on a train. But as I woke up in a haze this morning, I realized it is my... second last! I arrived in Varanasi, booked my ticket back to Delhi for the 12th, found a rickshaw and got to this funny little guesthouse. THis is a seven floor, rambling and quirky little place. I am shelling out for a room to myself that is on the sixth floor, right above the 24 hour rooftop patio with a pool table, internet and a beautiful view of the ganges. Varanasi, also known as benares is famous for the ghats. The ghats, for those who don't know, are the places on the river where funeral pyres are made and it is a very sacred place. Benares is also famed for its awful pollution, relentless touts and scam artists. But I think its all about what you are looking for. Myself, I just want to spend a week feeling relatively carefree, to experience something different than I have in the south of India and to enjoy this last week somewhere interesting.
Varanasi is directly south of Kathmadu in Nepal so needless to say, its cold. Well, maybe not needless, as i didn't realize how chilly it would be. I emptied my clothes onto my bed this morning and realized that the sundresses and tshirts I've been wearing the last few months simply won't do. I am layered up, and looking a little silly, and seriously considering going shopping for some warm woolly items this afternoon!
In the meantime, I hope everyone had a really nice new years celebration, however quiet or wild! And while I am savoring this last week, I am also keeping track of the days until I make it home. I am really looking forward to seeing family and friends soon... and getting ready for the next, olympic sized adventure!

Love until next time...