Grinder backpacking Asia round 2

I can't help but find myself addicted to reading about your adventures overseas!! You have a great writing style and sense of humor. Can't wait for the next post.

I love seeing those tall stacks of chips on the layout and then learning its rather a paltry sum in "real money". Must be fun to be a high roller with what amounts to cab fare or the like. USA casinos usually discourage such "flea-like" play. Baccarat dealers and floor personnel must go crazy with those yellow chips on a yellow playing area though.

I guess there is no "4" position on the minibacc tables there though.

Thanks for taking us along. I'd love to visit the places you are traveling to but I doubt I will ever get to. It's fun reading your reports and getting the taste of another country. Keep the updates coming!!

Thanks for the continued updates PG! Sounds like you're having fun checking out new places and new scenes... and random naked german girls? Sounds like each of the casinos offered free food and drinks just for playing? Not too bad of a deal compared to our non-accommodating casinos states side I suppose =P.

This is fun. Are you going to meet up with NorKing in Thailand??

MidwestAP that actually makes me so happy to hear! I’m always afraid that I write in more of a babbling manor. I try to tell a story, I’m glad it comes off that way.

Fleastiff I actually didn’t even think to check if spot 4 was there but I assume it wasn’t. As far as the chips the picture actually had a decent amount of money. That was 21,000 rupees which is $136 USD.

Rome’s the random naked German girls while nice to look at would be nicer not at 2 am lol. Ya the casinos each offered food, the spread was something that I would have happily paid $30 for back home. My home casino is worse that any you’ve been to. They charge for bottles of water lol.

Speedycrap you mean Noktang? Is he in Thailand?

Where I last left off I was waiting for my flight to Delhi. We took a bus to the plane and boarded from the ground, I've never done that before.


The flight was nice and easy other than the fact that my allergies were acting up because of the cat at the hostel in Sri Lanka. We got held up briefly before landing because it was too foggy or something to land. I got to Delhi, grabbed my bag and went to go find a SIM card for my phone. The SIM card was 1000 Indian Rupees which is $20 Canadian. I am still in the process of getting it to work, it takes a few days to fully work apparently. It will be nice to have data for when I get lost in random cities in India.
This is in the airport.

I found the taxi stand recommended by the hostel and waited to be assigned a cab. I got one and went to put my bag in the trunk but some random man took it from me and put it in as I was doing exactly that and then another man opened the door to the cab, both wanted tips for doing nothing. I said no as I refuse to be targeted just because I am a tourist.
The drive was nothing short of hilarious! The cars all honk nonstop and drive wherever they damn well please. The painted lines mean absolutely nothing. If there are lines painted for two cars then there will be three lanes of traffic using those. At some points I was window to window with another car, I have no idea how they don't get in accidents all day every day lol. After about a hour my driver got me right to the hostel with no problems. I was quoted 700 rupees by the taxi stand but the driver's meter said 1085, I don't know if I was being scammed but he didn't budge when I said that I was told 700, I ended up just paying it. I checked into the hostel, grabbed some food from the little restaurant and then took it easy for the night. I didn't know what anything on the menu was so I ordered paneer shahi which I knew would be curried cheese cause paneer is cheese. I got that with rice and 3 chapatis which are a small bread thing. I am not really sure how to describe it.

I didn't have a good sleep since the bottom bunk where I was sleeping decided to spend over hour unpacking and repacking stuff at 5 am which shook the bed nonstop. I didn't say anything because I just figured he had an early flight but he was sleeping still at 11 am so it turns out he was just an asshole. I had breakfast at the hostel, they provide the basics of toast, cereal and watermelon as well as a Indian sandwich which I think had chickpeas and something else in it. They also had a bean, chickpea and onion salad which was tasty but too salty.

I met a guy from Chili and a guy from British Columbia. I joined them and we went to the Akshardham Temple which was built in 2005.
This is the only picture I got to take before they make you check your bags and leave your phone.

I higly recommend that you google the temple and then also google the temple elephants because those carvings were absolutely amazing. The Temple took 11 years to finish. The carvings are all done in sandstone and along with the amazing temples they also have 148 elephant sculptures that come with a story as you walk around the outside of the main temple. The story tells the significance of elephants to their culture. Elephants are truly majestic creatures. After the temple we grabbed lunch outside, I order the South Indian platter for 160 rupees. I had no idea what I was eating but it was excellent. There was a curry with veggies in it, a mashed potato looking thing that wasn't but it had potatoes in it. There was two types of bread, one with tomatoes and jalapenos baked in. The last part of the platter was this giant cone shaped crepe thing that I was tearing off and dipping it into the curry until I realized that it had food inside of it. The inside looked liked mashed sweet potato but it didn't taste like it. So to sum up I ordered a bunch of random food, had no idea what it was but it all tasted good. My stomach was upset after eating but luckily I felt fine about 20 minutes later. I was relieved as I wasn't near a bathroom lol.

We stopped at the train station so Anton and Jerin could buy train tickets and Jerin was catching a train that night to Varansi. Anton forgot his passport so we headed back to the hostel. I played with the hostel dog Chewy fro awhile before going to bed around 8 pm since I wasn't feeling great. I slept until 6 am this morning so I guess I needed it. This morning I haven't done much other than have breakfast and get ready for the day. I plan on going to old Delhi, the red fort and possibly the Lotus Temple if there is time.

Great report. As I mentioned, I have been to Delhi several times for work. On the weekends, the company driver takes me to wherever I want to go., and on one of my trips we did a tour of the Delhi area. I went to the Akshardham Temple in the evening and took in the lighted water show. I passed on the Lotus Temple as the lines were too long. The Qutb Minar was the most interesting to me.

I had to laugh about the driving. Your description is right on. Lines, stop/yield signs (and very few lights) are just suggestions. It is utter chaos at all majorintersections.

Will you be taking the trip down to Agra to take in the Taj Mahal?

How is the air? I know their air pollution problems have been in the news quite a bit lately

I didn’t make it to Qutb Minar, I hadn’t even heard it until just now. The Askhardham was my favourite place I went in Delhi, it was just stunning.

Yes the driving is just crazy. I thought driving in NYC was crazy but that is sane in comparison to Delhi. Now I’ve driven in NYC but I wouldn’t ever dare to drive in Delhi. I’m crazy but not that crazy.

I will actually be spending two nights in Agra. I know it’s only worth a day trip but I figured it would be nice to have a day to do nothing if I wanted. Also I will need to do laundry at some point, I can only wear the same clothes so many times before I start smelling worse than India.

The air is dirty, I’m not sure if it is dirtier than normal though. The fog is really bad though.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Speedycrap you mean Noktang? Is he in Thailand?

Yes, I live in Thailand. Have for over ten years. That poker room you visited in Bangkok is "underground" as in an illegal game, as are the baccarat games. Careful. Occasional raids but they do keep the right people on the payroll.

"Bus Gates" are quite normal here and other SEA countries.

Enjoying your reports. Let me know when you are passing back through and going to hit the casino's in Cambodia. I may have some insight. I may not. But I'll try.

Cheers.

Late to the party but just an incredible report as always. Thank you PG!

Quote: PokerGrinder

...Rome’s the random naked German girls while nice to look at would be nicer not at 2 am lol...

When the f*$& else do you see naked german girls??? 2am is when the bars let out (in the states at least). #PrimeTime

How do you always get quotes rates/etc? It sounds like you search for hostels before hand (good hostels and the area?) then call them and they also tell you which taxi's to take and how much they should be? Teach me your traveling ways!

Next, I've noticed in your last thread and this one... NONE of the taxi drivers ever seem to have heard of the hostels you travel to! I find that pretty insane that airport taxi's don't know how to get to hotels/hostels in the surrounding area. Do you think perhaps they do that as a scam to "look it up" and "it's convoluted so that'll cost extra" kind of thing?

Thanks for posting!

As far as the taxis go of course sometimes it could be a scam but there are so many small hostels and guesthouses in some of the cities
That it's very common that the drivers don't know where they all are.

Maybe one day I will pass by Bangkok. NorTang, are you in/around beach area? How much for a nice place with washroom for a month please?

Quote: speedycrap

Maybe one day I will pass by Bangkok. NorTang, are you in/around beach area? How much for a nice place with washroom for a month please?

I'm in Pattaya, about an hour and a half from the Bangkok airport(new one) and two hours from Bangkok central, depending on traffic. Yes, we have a beach and nearby offshore islands. A nice place is about $400.usd-$500usd a month, studio with small kitchen, AC, furnished etc.. View varies of course. Beach is generally clean but one area gets some Bangkok flushing(trash and sewer). International food choices as tourists and "ex pat" community. A lot of Italian but not all of them are authentic. Indian and other middle eastern food also available but as PG mentioned, ordering can be an issue. Plenty of seafood of course. Pork, fish and chicken. Not much beef(Thai's don't eat beef). Toiletries etc. no worry. Public transportation readily available, small motorcycles, taxis, or pick up trucks(with bench seating). Traffic not a big issue. Lots of "ladyboys" but just be careful when surrounded or in tight quarters i.e. the pick up truck bench's. Anal sex(if that's sex) generally a German and British thing, not American. Plenty of heterosexual sex options. Just yesterday in fact a British backpacker tried to hit on me for a beer, claimed she was lost, no wifi, said "I need help". Thai staffed GoGo bars fully stocked with women ready, willing, and able to date(for money). Yes, topless and nude and yes, some places public sexual acts in progress(if that's your thing). All that said about "sex", it's just a facade. The real money is in the booze distribution which the Thai's control and of course development, which the Thai's also control. A long term VISA, one year, not a problem for Americans. I'd better stop here. Have a nice day mate.

Quote: Romes

Next, I've noticed in your last thread and this one... NONE of the taxi drivers ever seem to have heard of the hostels you travel to!

Most people who stay in hostels don't use taxi's. FYI the indication it's a "hostel" infers you share a bathroom and sleeping quarters with complete strangers. I'd rather camp or sleep in my rental car myself but to each his very own. There is no "group sex" in a hostel. If you want that, share a cheap hotel room with five or seven Indian males, find a lady boy, and hope you don't all get drugged.

Quote: NokTang

Most people who stay in hostels don't use taxi's. FYI the indication it's a "hostel" infers you share a bathroom and sleeping quarters with complete strangers. I'd rather camp or sleep in my rental car myself but to each his very own. There is no "group sex" in a hostel. If you want that, share a cheap hotel room with five or seven Indian males, find a lady boy, and hope you don't all get drugged.

Um... this thread took a disturbing turn while I was sleeping... 5 to 7 males and a ladyboy??? Wtf lol that sounds like the absolute worst possible thing to do in Asia lol. I’m going to pass on the gay orgy. Girls with vaginas are more my thing. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming...

Quote: Romes

When the f*$& else do you see naked german girls??? 2am is when the bars let out (in the states at least). #PrimeTime

How do you always get quotes rates/etc? It sounds like you search for hostels before hand (good hostels and the area?) then call them and they also tell you which taxi's to take and how much they should be? Teach me your traveling ways!

Next, I've noticed in your last thread and this one... NONE of the taxi drivers ever seem to have heard of the hostels you travel to! I find that pretty insane that airport taxi's don't know how to get to hotels/hostels in the surrounding area. Do you think perhaps they do that as a scam to "look it up" and "it's convoluted so that'll cost extra" kind of thing?

Thanks for posting!

If the naked German girls were dtf then yes that would have been a very nice wake up at 2 am. However since they were just naked and loud and weren’t dtf it was more of an annoyance.

It’s actually very simple. I use an app called Hostelworld which is amazing. They have ratings for how the hostels and the ratings are calculated by reviews from travellers that stay there. So you can scope out what part of the city you want to stay in and what amenities you are looking for and choose your hostel based on that plus the price. Also most hostels provide you directions to get to them from both the airport and train station after you have booked. It’s very simple.

As far as the taxis, the common problem that I have found is that I have the address and hostel name in English and they don’t speak English. They know all the street names in their local language. That makes it a lot harder. Also the cities are massive. Could you take someone to every hotel where you live? I know I couldn’t in Winnipeg lol.

5 to 7 males and a ladyboy. Are we back on cock fighting again??????

Quote: ontariodealer

5 to 7 males and a ladyboy. Are we back on cock fighting again??????

Just an example of the real life in SEA, Indian's vacationing in Thailand. No worries, we are all enjoying PG's travel blog.

ummm so with all this talk of ladyboys I was like WTF. Whats the big deal, you see a dude dressed like a lady you avoid. So I googled it.

http://www.bangkok.com/magazine/ladyboys-photos.htm

If those are all dudes. I am never going to Thailand. I woul definitely.... well never mind. PG the ones you have seen, could you be fooled into thinking they were woman? I would just stick with naked german girls unless they were 6ft 5. Those ones scare me.

Quote: NokTang

Just an example of the real life in SEA,.

I keep seeing SEA but thinking of Seattle rather than South East Asia.
Anyway, its poker, strange foods, naked German girls, strange temperatures that are of interest.

In Thailand, poverty is so rampant that entire industries of sex change operations develop simply because female prostitutes make far more money than male prostitutes can.

No need to dwell on it.

What is dtf please?
Enjoy the read PG. Keep it going.

Quote: speedycrap

What is dtf please?

Typo for wtf, I think. What the XXXX?

Down to fornicate

Quote: rdw4potus

Down to fornicate

Hahahaha close enough I guess.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Hahahaha close enough I guess.

LOL. Not about to take a suspension explaining your acronym choices:-)

Loving the thread PG. Keep the stories coming.

I wrote this yesterday afternoon but I was too lazy to insert the pictures last night so I am posting it now.

I’m currently on the flight from Delhi to Varanasi waiting for takeoff. I have a whole row of seats to myself, that’s what I call winning. This is a short flight of only 80 minutes so I figured that I would use that time to do a recap of the last day or so.

Yesterday I went to the Red Fort by Uber by myself and I’m glad I did go by myself since then I’m not required to stick around until everyone is done. The Red Fort and the buildings inside are beautiful but after 45 minutes I just felt like I was looking at the same building over and over again. I knew this going in but the tourist pricing is quite funny. For locals to enter the Fort I think it was 35 rupees and for tourists it is 500 rupees. Talk about markup. As you enter the temple area you walk through a market with jacked up prices, the stuff was beautiful but I knew the prices would be insane at a national monument. After the market there was a little food stand where I got this triangle pastry thing with curry potatoes and other things inside of it. I’m not sure what it was (don’t say samosa, it wasn’t) but it was very tasty.

The carvings and paintings on the walls of the buildings were absolutely beautiful. They have two museums in the grounds. I visited the first one which showed tons of old swords, daggers and extremely old guns. It was neat to see how far weapons have come along. They also had some old army uniforms, fuse boxes, telephones and portable batteries. My portable battery is a much more convenient size! I never did find the other museum but I’m not that into museums so I didn’t try too hard.





One thing I’ve noticed about Delhi is how many stray dogs there are. They are absolutely everywhere and they all look like they have nothing but skin and bones to them. It’s really sad seeing them like this but there isn’t much a tourist can do to help them. As I was leaving the Red Fort a rickshaw tout tried to get me to go with him so he could take me to the spice market and whatever else he was saying. I kept saying no thank you but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. After saying no thank you about 14 times I gave up and stopped responding to him. I walked around a market in old Delhi and had to fight off a couple more touts. I tried being nice, I tried being stern and then I went with the ignore them completely technique. This seemed to work the best but they would still follow me. My next move is going to be to start talking to them in a foreign language and see if that works.

I got some salty street snacks that I paid the white man price for. They were ok, I ate about 1/3 of it and then gave it to a guy on the street. They weren’t good enough to take with me on the metro and for $0.50 I really couldn’t care.

My next stop was the Lotus Temple, which I reached by the metro. The metro is really simple and it is basically the same as it is in the rest of Asia or at least the parts where I have been. The Lotus Temple was absolutely beautiful. I walked through the long courtyard to reach the building that is you guessed it shaped like a lotus flower. I waited in line, bagged my shoes, got the speech about what goes on inside and then we were allowed to go in. The Temple is used for silent prayer so there isn’t or shouldn’t be any talking inside. The building is made of marble (I think) and the benches to pray on are wood with a marble slab to sit on, just gorgeous looking. I’m not religious at all but I decided to just sit and enjoy the silence for a few minutes. I know the point is to pray but I left the temple feeling very relaxed from just sitting silently. Sitting in silence can be very nice sometimes.


I left the temple and walked the couple kilometres back to the metro. I had a long ride ahead of me, 11 stops and then a transfer followed by 11 more stops. I walked from the metro to the hostel and managed not to get lost, yay me!

Back at the hostel I met a few travellers while I was waiting for my gobhi aloo, rice and chapata bread. Basically gobhi aloo is curried potatoes and cauliflower with a few other things thrown in. The next few hours I didn’t do much but get my bags ready for my flight today and play around online. Around 9 I was planning on going to bed when two guys from Pennsylvania checked into the room and we are started talking. They had done basically my whole trip but in 14 days, insane! They couldn’t possibly have seen much in cities like Jaipur where they were for 1 day, Agra for 6 hours and Jodhpur for 1 day. They had 1 day in Delhi before flying home. It sounds like a tiring and stressful trip. After we talked they convinced me to go to the corner store, grab beer and go to the rooftop and drink around the bonfire with everyone. I’m glad I did as we had a great time. We talked until about midnight when everyone started calling it a night. I woke up refreshed this morning and I have moved into the next stage of my sickness. The sneezing and runny nose are gone but now I have a cough. I’m hoping a few more days of not abusing my body and I will be all good.

I finally got my India SIM card to fully work today which is a relief. It will be nice to have data for the whole month. I took an Uber to the airport for a whopping 250 rupees, I don’t understand how they make any money when a 45 minute trip is only $5 Canadian. We are currently 3rd in line to take off so it looks like we will be leaving Delhi a full hour after we were scheduled to leave. From what I heard that’s considered on time in India. I’m going to watch Netflix, talk to you all later.

Quote: FleaStiff

In Thailand, poverty is so rampant that entire industries of sex change operations develop simply because female prostitutes make far more money than male prostitutes can.
.

That is wrong and a total misconception of the "industry". People come from all over the world for not just sex change procedures, but other medical tourism. There is no liability which is why it flourishes. Poverty isn't "rampant" in Thailand. People generally live in concrete structures vs tin sheds like they do in Cambodia and the Philippines and Burma. A Thai can tell a "lady boy" from 100 meters away and the real prostitution is within the Thai community, not the idiot tourists in Bangkok and Pattaya. We don't need to explain it fully here and get off topic. I just felt compelled to correct your as I say misconception of it all. Need a boob job? Only about $2000.usd here. How much in the USA?

Me being silly on the airport bed chair.

Well the yesterday was not boring, I think that is a good way to put it. My plane landed, I grabbed my bag and I went in search of a taxi. Its about 90 minutes from the airport to my hostel. Varanasi doesn’t have a metro system and no buses from at the airport so a taxi is the only option. I left the airport and immediately got swarmed by drivers I knew roughly how much the ride should be and I agreed on 600 rupees after he asked for 850. I got to the cab and he wanted to take another guy too, I said no. He insisted I said that’s not what we agreed on and walked away. He yelled 500 rupees I said no and said I’d share the cab for 400. He agreed, then I find out he wants another passenger, now this is getting ridiculous. Also he now wants to only go as far as the bus station which is still 30 minutes to the hostel. I was irritated with him and I said I’d give him 200 to the bus or I walk back to the airport and get a different taxi. He agreed and then he found another passenger, finally we were off! First though two of his friends pushed the car before he started it, I’m not sure why it was necessary for this crap car to start but it was.

The new passenger paid 500 rupees, I paid 200 and I think the third guy who was a local paid 100 or 150. The drive was insane! The roads are barely paved and they have bumps and wholes everywhere. It’s barely one lane of road and they use it as a two way street. There are buses, bikes, scooters, motorcycles, Tuk Tuks and cars all sharing this “road”. Everyone honks nonstop and the drivers drive wherever they want without a care in the world. As well there are people walking with traffic, against traffic and across the street. That mixed with the cows, dogs and the occasional goat makes the roads ridiculous.

We arrived at the bus station and the fun started. Varanasi doesn’t have uber but they use another app called Ola. It’s basically the same thing. I ordered an Ola and he got close to me and then called. I answered but he spoke Hindi and didn’t understand me at all. I eventually asked another driver to talk to him and it sounded like all was good. All was not good. 15 minutes pass and he calls me a few more times, he wants me to walk somewhere but I don’t know where. He says walk and what I think sounds like bridge. Just as I’m about to give up I decided to walk across the street and I see a guy waving to me... I found the driver! He was a very nice man and he got me right to my hostel without problems. He was a good driver and didn’t honk his horn once which was very odd. The fare was 178 rupees but I gave him 240 because I felt bad that it took so long for him to find me.
These are pictures from the drive, the poverty here is insane.







At the hostel the worker told me to go to Kalika Dhaba Banaras for dinner. He puts it into my maps and I walked the ten minutes to the restaurant. The food was amazing!

I had the half order of chicken tikka masala with rice, naan and a chapati which is a type of bread. The flavours were out of this world, I’m really not sure how to describe it. I ate everything, paid and said thank you to the owner. Just outside of the restaurant were two dogs, a puppy and two cows going through the garbage. The cow would tip it over and they all would go through it. One of the dogs kept barking at the cows to back away from his garbage and the cows seemed intimidated by him. I walked back to the hostel and took it easy until falling asleep.
Cow outside my hostel.


A couple tidbits about India so far. At some of the monuments I’ve had locals want to take pictures with me which I knew would happen but it’s still weird when they ask. At the Lotus Temple this group of kids asked my name and then giggled. One of them asked me something else that I didn’t catch and I eventually told them where I was from because I thought that’s what they wanted to know. They kept giggling to themselves. They said a couple more things and asked my name, all the while they couldn’t stop laughing. I’m not sure what was so funny, possibly just that I was different looking than them?

The people of India are so kind, the only ones I have had a problem with are the ones involved with transportation. I have found that it seems like they are just there to scam you as much as they can which is why I’ve used ride sharing apps as much as possible so that the price is preset. That’s all I’ve got for now. I’m going to go explore for a while. Bye!

Thanks for the posts PG... What a crazy adventure you're on. Hope India is fun! Look forward to the next post =D.

Thank Romes! It is crazy lol, I’m having fun but at the same time there are points where I wonder why I came here. Sometimes it just seems like too much but for the most apart India is amazing.

Will you be taking ritual ablution on the banks of the Ganges at The Ghats?

Pics of that area and the pilgrims in the river would be cool.

You say lots of poverty. Is it poverty or just a way of living? Everything is so cheap maybe that is just the standard.

Ganges? I've heard its an open sewer, at least the lower part. Ofcourse this is from the National Enquirer but . . . .

With as cheap as it is there. Could I just take 50k and live like a king for life? Or is their version of living like a king the same as living poor here?

Mr. V I’m not 100% what your question meant but I’m assuming you’re asking about the burning Ghat? I walked along the Ganges for hours through all the Ghats today and watched the burning of the bodies.

GWAE it’s hard for you to understand what I mean without seeing it. This is poverty, no two ways about it. There are obviously nicer areas but I haven’t seen much of them. I drove through what looked like a nicer shopping area yesterday. 50k wouldn’t last you very long if you want to live like a king. You can spend $100-$150 a night on a nice hotel if you want. I also assume that there are restaurants that cost a lot. It might be a poor city but they want to cater to rich travelers and rich travelers aren’t staying where I’m willing to stay. My taxi driver said tourism is the number industry in Varanasi.

Another great trip report PG! Thanks again for taking the time to share your adventures with us. I wish I would have taken time off to do some adventure travelling when I was your age. Best I did was spend a couple of weeks hitchhiking through BC in the early 80’s - the same time Clifford Olson was roaming around murdering kids my age.

You are missing some great weather back home. It hit -38 C in my neck of the woods in Alberta last night. Winnipeg was slightly better at -31. For those of you not into metric, -40 C = -40 F = frickin cold!

Anyway, have fun and keep the reports coming - a very enjoyable read!

Great trip report.
Good reading.
Thanks, PG!

Quote: AB21

Another great trip report PG! Thanks again for taking the time to share your adventures with us. I wish I would have taken time off to do some adventure travelling when I was your age. Best I did was spend a couple of weeks hitchhiking through BC in the early 80’s - the same time Clifford Olson was roaming around murdering kids my age.

You are missing some great weather back home. It hit -38 C in my neck of the woods in Alberta last night. Winnipeg was slightly better at -31. For those of you not into metric, -40 C = -40 F = frickin cold!

Anyway, have fun and keep the reports coming - a very enjoyable read!

I just learned something so my day is complete. I know F is always a larger number. Like 0 = 32. What I didn't know is that the closer you get to -40c the closer F is to it. Once you cross over -40c, F becomes a small number. Intetesting.

I just looked at Trip Advisor for that city and do not think I would trek there at gunpoint. Standing Budha or not it is just a statue. Now naked German girls is a different matter but why would a naked German girl want to go to Veransi either

This is huge destination for backpackers in India. There are people from all over the world. My room is 2 mexicans, 2 Aussies and a Korean.

PG:
I was under the impression that Varanasi is a very holy city, and that pilgrims immerse themselves in the Ganges there for purification; there are steps leading down to the river called Ghats. Hordes of people do it, akin to Muslims visiting the Mecca in Saudi Arabia, or Christians going to Jerusalem.

I wouldn't seriously expect you'd take ablution yourself, as I understand the water is not clean.

never did I think that a guy from Winnipeg wearing my beloved redsox shirt would travel thru the far east and i would read about it.....great stuff.

Mr.V yes it is a very holy city. I just wasn’t sure what you were asking exactly. I saw many people washing clothes or bathing in the Ganges. The water is filthy and there are things floating in it. You couldn’t pay me to touch it lol. I even saw some people drinking the water, I can’t even imagine all the germs that are in it.

Ontariodealer I was also wearing my Sox hat and I have my 2013 World Series hoody in my backpack!

there is nothing holier than the sox.

Quote: ontariodealer

there is nothing holier than the sox.

Amen to that brother! Sox Nation strong and proud!

Yesterday I was advised to walk from the hostel through all the Ghats along the Ganges River until I reached the Burning Ghats. I did just that. It took me about me about 4.5 hours start to finish. About 30 minutes in I stopped for lunch at the Brown Bread Bakery as per a fellow backpackers suggestion. I climbed 6 flights of stairs through the hostel they have to reach the rooftop restaurant. I ordered the chicken curry with rice and chapati bread. The meal was fine but not the greatest.

The Ganges River is filthy and yet people bathe in it, drink from it and wash their clothes in it.


I kept walking, taking pictures and taking it all in. There are so many people who either want to take you on a boat ride or want money or food from you. I was told by other travellers that they bought cookies at a stall and gave those to the kids instead of money. I wasn’t able to find any so today when I went back to that area I took along some of the Welch’s gummies that I brought to Asia. The kids went nuts for them. It was like I had given them gold or something.


I got to the Burning Ghats and a guy showed me where to view from as to not offend the families of the deceased. Up there a man took me on a 15 minute tour of the whole area including where the wood comes from, the eternal fire where they get the fire to light the bodies and different views of the ceremony. At the end I made a 150 rupee donation to the fund that pays for poor families who can’t afford it. I don’t know if the money actually goes there or not but the tour guide wouldn’t personally take the money from me so maybe. The smoke was burning my eyes but luckily there wasn’t a bad smell. The guide said the wood that they use masks the smell of the burning bodies. I was fine with the whole thing until I saw a human head on fire, I figured that was enough for me. At that point I started to head back towards the hostel.
You can’t take pictures of the ceremonies but you can take pictures of the surrounding area.

The wood piles.

The eternal fire that has apparently been burning for 3500 years.

Today Jake a Korean guy from the hostel and I went for lunch at Kerala Cafe. I had the Chole Bhature.

The giant balloons are soft bread (Bhature) that deflate when you tear them. The Chole is the spicy chickpeas which were very tasty. I enjoyed the meal a lot, something so simple and yet it is so flavourful. After lunch we tried to go to the Golden Temple but because it’s Sunday the lines were hours long and I had no interest in that long a wait for a Temple. I’ll maybe go tomorrow or not I’m sure there will be many more temples, this is india you know! Jake wanted me to try something called Lassi which is a yoghurt dessert. We got to this tiny stall the size of a bathroom and sat on the bench. You get fruit and nuts on it and it was good. The texture was a little weird as it was chunky for parts of it. I’m glad I tried it though.

We then did a little shopping. I bought some beautiful Indian pants, I wanted to buy a pair while I was here. The pants cost me a whole 300 rupees or $6 Canadian. I also bought some a gift for a friend. We walked back to the hostel along the Ganges River and took some more pictures. I couldn’t believe how many people were bathing in the river today.



I paid 10 rupees to see the cobra, it’s hard to say no for less than a quarter.

This was just a pretty building on the way back to the hostel.


It’s around 6 pm here so I am going to go find dinner. I think I’m going to go back to the place that I went the first night and had the amazing tikka masala. Bye for now!

what ever method you are using to post pictures is great. It's the only format that seems to work on my ten year old MacBook. I haven seen 95% of anything uploaded to the forum for a few years now.