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Republic Day in India fell on a Wednesday this year and I took one look at the calendar and though, "I have to get out of Mumbai." Taking two days off between the 26th would be no big deal. Vilgaile was ready to travel too. We'd been stuck in the office working some 10 hour days, 6 days a week for two weeks on a project that seemed never ending. To relate just how never-ending, I have already been in India for five months and arrived somewhere smack in the middle of the project. I didn't even meet Vilgaile in person until a month later, because she had been sent to Kenya to deal with the client personally for this project and what was supposed to be two weeks in Mombasa had turned into six, poor girl. Needless to say, she's effectively been on this project nearly a year and frankly, we were both sick of it.
We had gone to Delhi for the first time in November last year, and I have to say, it's really a lot of fun traveling with Vilgaile. She's calm under pressure, open minded about exploring and the odd-couple visual and personal aspect ensures that only crazy shit happens to us. This trip wasn't any different.
However, I didn't want to spend all the time in Delhi--I suggested with head to Varanasi, one of the oldest, holiest cities in the world, right along the banks of the Ganges river. I've been fascinated by the Ganges for as long as I can remember, since it plays such an important role in many Indian stories and mythologies. The reality of this river is that it's dark and polluted, so much that even the endangered Ganges dolphins have evolved into complete blindness. Literally, billions of cremated bodies (and non-cremated, more on that later) have been offered to Mother Ganges and the water is opaque.
And yet, hundreds of people come to the river daily to bathe, wash their clothes and do all essential things demanding water. They drink the stuff and it's considered auspicious to keep a bottle of Ganges water in your home, in case someone needs some last rites or general healing. Every few years, the Kumbh Mela happens, the largest religious gathering on the planet, where thousands of people whose only purpose is to jump into the river in order to obtain enlightenment.
We headed to Delhi after work to catch the train, the shiny Rajdhani Express to Delhi. It's a super fancy one, with food and A/C and also one of the fastest. The purpose of Delhi was to try meet some friends and catch the sights we'd missed last time. After arriving, we headed straight to Humayun's Tomb and then walked over to India Gate (not to be confused it the Gateway to India), coming down from the fever of the Republic Day parade. The vibe was great, lots of people around...sad to say though, a lot of things were closed but we found a Barista (Indian Starbucks) open, so we got our good coffee! The museum was closed, which was what we wanted to see last time so instead we headed to the Purana Qila or the fort of Humayun. The Mughal era in India is fraught with pillagine, burning, rape and general mayhem but the Mughals could build and they could PAINT like nobody's business (see: Taj Mahal).
We caught up with our friend Rouf who we'd met on Couchsurfing last time and were staying with again. He was kooky as ever, just a super fun dude to hang out with and he is unafraid to bust out some dance moves and some vodka so we spent a couple of hours winding it up and then down before bed.
The next day, we went to explore the Qutb Minar which was A+++. I was hesitant to deal with that one, since the description basically said, "tallest stone tower in the world" but up close is maddeningly gorgeous and before the crick in your neck sets in, you just have to marvel at how hands on the ingenuity of man was before we could figure it all out with computers. Every single pillar was a sculpture unto itself and not a single detail was out of place. Just wandering around was a pleasure and I left wanting to find some books on Mughals and reading about them (rec: books by historian William Dalrymple).
After Qutb Minar, we grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonald's in Khan Market and another quick coffee at Barista and headed to the National Museum of Delhi. It's part of three major National Museums, the other two being Prince of Wales in Mumbai and another in Hyderabad (a city I've been to but not to the museum, unfortunately). My favorite galleries are always the painting ones: Mughal artstyle is crazy and distinct and has an illustrative, storytelling quality, almost like a series of comic books. There's always a God, a hero or a princess or heroine; villains are demons and animals and people are frank in their displays of might and destructive in their anger. And all of it is incredibly detailed and bright.
There was some terrific stuff on the Harappan empire, which is almost always the starting point for Asian history but a lot of the other galleries were closed, too bad. After this, we headed to Connaught to shop a little and eat and make it to the train station for our train to Varanasi. We shared out sleeper section with a group of Koreans and arrive nice and early to this city by the banks of the Ganges. We found an overly friendly rickshaw driver who found us a wonderful guesthouse near Assi Ghat and from there we headed out into the city after showering and settling down and having an extremely chill breakfast of parathas and coffee.
If you someday visit Varanasi and it doesn't get you immediately, you have a heart of ice and thorns. On the surface, Varanasi is filthy and full of (literal) shit. Monkeys, cows, goats, dogs are everywhere. They warn you not to wander around after a certain time because there are hooligans everywhere and it would be easy to get to you in the maze of dark alleys. Varanasi is kind of like Venice in a sense and it does give off that vibe too: it's very artsy and brisk and people are just part of the river, very laid back. There is a lot to see and walking along the ghats is very interesting. There's an annoying tourist aspect like all places but if you have a good attitude, it won't bother you. Over the course of 2 days, Vilgaile and I wandered around, shopped, had some terrific coffee and conversations, met some great people willing to include us in their shenanigans and share their- ahem- bounty. This city is now my favorite city I've explored. The top five are now Mumbai, Varanasi, Jaipur, Udaipur and Darjeeling (although not technically a city).
I'm back in Mumbai, doing what else? WORKING! But this weekend I'm off to another adventure. There is a wine and music festival in Nashik and we're all gearing to go. I have to work on Sunday (bitches!!!) but on the other hand, the Khala Ghoda arts festival is getting ready to launch also on Saturday and will be on for the whole week. I can't wait to get in some of the shows and of course, the fair and see all the handicrafts and kooky things they will be selling. I want to buy some things for our wall at my new place because it's so dull in there.
Also this week, last Tuesday, my good friend Marzena took off for Poland and I miss her!!! I understand that it's inevitable but it's always sad to see them off.
We had gone to Delhi for the first time in November last year, and I have to say, it's really a lot of fun traveling with Vilgaile. She's calm under pressure, open minded about exploring and the odd-couple visual and personal aspect ensures that only crazy shit happens to us. This trip wasn't any different.
However, I didn't want to spend all the time in Delhi--I suggested with head to Varanasi, one of the oldest, holiest cities in the world, right along the banks of the Ganges river. I've been fascinated by the Ganges for as long as I can remember, since it plays such an important role in many Indian stories and mythologies. The reality of this river is that it's dark and polluted, so much that even the endangered Ganges dolphins have evolved into complete blindness. Literally, billions of cremated bodies (and non-cremated, more on that later) have been offered to Mother Ganges and the water is opaque.
And yet, hundreds of people come to the river daily to bathe, wash their clothes and do all essential things demanding water. They drink the stuff and it's considered auspicious to keep a bottle of Ganges water in your home, in case someone needs some last rites or general healing. Every few years, the Kumbh Mela happens, the largest religious gathering on the planet, where thousands of people whose only purpose is to jump into the river in order to obtain enlightenment.
We headed to Delhi after work to catch the train, the shiny Rajdhani Express to Delhi. It's a super fancy one, with food and A/C and also one of the fastest. The purpose of Delhi was to try meet some friends and catch the sights we'd missed last time. After arriving, we headed straight to Humayun's Tomb and then walked over to India Gate (not to be confused it the Gateway to India), coming down from the fever of the Republic Day parade. The vibe was great, lots of people around...sad to say though, a lot of things were closed but we found a Barista (Indian Starbucks) open, so we got our good coffee! The museum was closed, which was what we wanted to see last time so instead we headed to the Purana Qila or the fort of Humayun. The Mughal era in India is fraught with pillagine, burning, rape and general mayhem but the Mughals could build and they could PAINT like nobody's business (see: Taj Mahal).
We caught up with our friend Rouf who we'd met on Couchsurfing last time and were staying with again. He was kooky as ever, just a super fun dude to hang out with and he is unafraid to bust out some dance moves and some vodka so we spent a couple of hours winding it up and then down before bed.
The next day, we went to explore the Qutb Minar which was A+++. I was hesitant to deal with that one, since the description basically said, "tallest stone tower in the world" but up close is maddeningly gorgeous and before the crick in your neck sets in, you just have to marvel at how hands on the ingenuity of man was before we could figure it all out with computers. Every single pillar was a sculpture unto itself and not a single detail was out of place. Just wandering around was a pleasure and I left wanting to find some books on Mughals and reading about them (rec: books by historian William Dalrymple).
After Qutb Minar, we grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonald's in Khan Market and another quick coffee at Barista and headed to the National Museum of Delhi. It's part of three major National Museums, the other two being Prince of Wales in Mumbai and another in Hyderabad (a city I've been to but not to the museum, unfortunately). My favorite galleries are always the painting ones: Mughal artstyle is crazy and distinct and has an illustrative, storytelling quality, almost like a series of comic books. There's always a God, a hero or a princess or heroine; villains are demons and animals and people are frank in their displays of might and destructive in their anger. And all of it is incredibly detailed and bright.
There was some terrific stuff on the Harappan empire, which is almost always the starting point for Asian history but a lot of the other galleries were closed, too bad. After this, we headed to Connaught to shop a little and eat and make it to the train station for our train to Varanasi. We shared out sleeper section with a group of Koreans and arrive nice and early to this city by the banks of the Ganges. We found an overly friendly rickshaw driver who found us a wonderful guesthouse near Assi Ghat and from there we headed out into the city after showering and settling down and having an extremely chill breakfast of parathas and coffee.
If you someday visit Varanasi and it doesn't get you immediately, you have a heart of ice and thorns. On the surface, Varanasi is filthy and full of (literal) shit. Monkeys, cows, goats, dogs are everywhere. They warn you not to wander around after a certain time because there are hooligans everywhere and it would be easy to get to you in the maze of dark alleys. Varanasi is kind of like Venice in a sense and it does give off that vibe too: it's very artsy and brisk and people are just part of the river, very laid back. There is a lot to see and walking along the ghats is very interesting. There's an annoying tourist aspect like all places but if you have a good attitude, it won't bother you. Over the course of 2 days, Vilgaile and I wandered around, shopped, had some terrific coffee and conversations, met some great people willing to include us in their shenanigans and share their- ahem- bounty. This city is now my favorite city I've explored. The top five are now Mumbai, Varanasi, Jaipur, Udaipur and Darjeeling (although not technically a city).
I'm back in Mumbai, doing what else? WORKING! But this weekend I'm off to another adventure. There is a wine and music festival in Nashik and we're all gearing to go. I have to work on Sunday (bitches!!!) but on the other hand, the Khala Ghoda arts festival is getting ready to launch also on Saturday and will be on for the whole week. I can't wait to get in some of the shows and of course, the fair and see all the handicrafts and kooky things they will be selling. I want to buy some things for our wall at my new place because it's so dull in there.
Also this week, last Tuesday, my good friend Marzena took off for Poland and I miss her!!! I understand that it's inevitable but it's always sad to see them off.
