day 41 - varanasi - nov 12

picked up at noon to head over to the other side of the river. the ride was extremely bumpy, i had to ask if it was going to be like this on the other side, if he’d said yes i was going to have him turn back. once we got to the bridge it was fairly smooth. he drove me down through this street market to this fort on the river, there was a museum there. the entrance was 12 rupees (25 cents) the place was really in shambles. they had some royal coaches and even some cars of dignitaries that were in really bad shape. there was a wing with apparel from various different eras. this was sad as everything was moth eaten and in various states of disrepair. then there was the wing of weapons (it was a fort after all and what fort museum would be complete without a wing of weapons. it was here that i encountered the guy, who started giving me all the information that was clearly there to read, these were not placards containing great details and historical significance, mind you, these were cards that said ivory bed or a miniature carved elephant under a magnifying glass. they were looking to be compensated for these little bits of info, cleaver idea i thought.

upon completion of my museum tour, i strolled down through the market. it was there that i had another odd encounter with a muslim woman, she said hello in a very flirtatious manner, i guess there is safety behind that veil. stopped to speak with a few children then went back to where the driver was waiting for me.

next he took me to another temple, the staff was at lunch, so we hung out and watched this wedding party at the pool. he started asking me why i wasn’t married and telling me how in india, “no money, no honey” and “no wife, no life” he seemed very sad for me. the pool was huge, it was square with three ramps down into it, at one end a man was bathing some cattle. people were picnicking in other areas a woman was washing here clothes. i asked him what feeds the pools and he indicated that it was rain water fed. i imagine that water must get pretty stagnate later in the year. after we walked around the temple, the driver was speaking with a woman at the temple next thing i knew he was telling me the gist of what he had learned from her. it turns out the wedding party was only the bride. for what ever reason the groom was not coming, and they couldn’t find someone to take his place. i looked at him and said “no way”, i thought he was trying to get me to step up. i was a bit confused because he indicated it may not have been a last minute decision on the grooms part, they may have known for sometime, yet they still go through all the formalities anyway.

well lets just say i was a bit anxious to get out of there, we crossed back over the river and the driver dropped me off to walk from bridge back to guest house. on the way i saw monkeys and a new born calf stand up. thousands of manure patties that had been shaped and then lined up to dry in the sun, to be used as fuel for peoples fires. the perplexing thing to me is that i don’t know where they get it all cause there is lots, yet i still had to watch my step as i walked down the street.

as i was walking there was a little girl walking along side me who wanted rupees, i had no small change to give but as we were walking i started egging her on to race me. so we had a few sprints down the river walk, i suddenly found myself back in the area where they do all the cremations and happened to bump into the guy who’d been following me the day before. i ended up getting stopped by him, so i lost the little girl and more importantly, an attractive tourist i was about to turn back to talk to. he of course wanted to take me up to some silk vendor. this is what i get for being nice. just wait to read what i get for being nice.

i managed to tear myself away from that guy, and wandered down into some narrow streets that i’d been down yesterday and again i’m approached by this kid who wants to know where i’m going, since i told him he has now become my guide. i lag behind trying to let him know i don’t need his assistance. once i finally tell him, he asks for money. i tell him that i’ll buy him some fruit but he wants crackers, i finally find a place that sells samosas so i buy him one (at least there were some vegetables in there) - - i know you’re saying so what’s the big deal, this is now the part i was referring to, so hold your horses already i’m getting there. . .

i wandered down a narrow path where there seemed to be some noise and a crowd. there were some police keeping some kids at bay. i got a bit of information, that there was a film being screened down below, this was perplexing to me because the sun hadn’t set yet and they had a bunch of bright lights in the area also. so i was trying to ask how the movie was be projected, whether it was film or video. of course they kept saying yes it’s a film. they wouldn’t let me peer over the side to see. i waited around a short time until some other guy showed up and asked if he spoke english, he did but he was still confused by the question. so i left with no answers, i suspect it was a video projection. i was curious how the image looked with all the lights.

from there i decided to get back to the river bank. there was quite a crowd amassed for something. as i walked out this guy approached me and wanted to give me a hand rub. brace yourself! it felt okay and he said something about , hand neck and arms for 10 rupees, so i let him sucker me in. so now i have to set the scene: there is a pretty sizable crowd in this area a few hundred people. they have these wooden cots in the middle covered by umbrellas. the original guy passes me on to this other guy who sets me on the cot atop a sarong, he starts rubbing away. then after about 5 minutes i should have said thank you, cause the next think i know he’s laying me flat on this cot and rubbing my face, messing up my hair, working his way down to my feet, mean while i’m no where near comfortable. i’m laying on a filthy rag that others have been laying on all day actually probably since the last rain, or if it has been washed it was washed in the ash ridden ganges. -- i know you’re getting a kick out of this michelle -- i’m surrounded by strangers who are all watching this, my computer is in my bag not exactly in my reach. top it off with flash back of the barber i mentioned yesterday. yet somehow i just suck it up and take it. at the end he wanted 300 rupees and i just couldn’t bring myself to give him more than 200. i just felt so filthy that i couldn’t even relax.

i wanted to run back to the guesthouse and take a shower. but there were all these people out. i thought perhaps it was some special festival. so i waited , but ultimately my hunger got the better of me and since the festivities didn’t seem all that exciting i moved on to a roof top restaurant. i washed my face and hands and figured i could survive long enough to have something to eat. i was the only one in the restaurant. i wasn’t sure if it was because the festivities had drawn everyone up river or if the cremation less that 50 yards away was just to unappetizing for most people. i found out from the guy who had been playing drums that it wasn’t a special event, so the latter must have been the reason for my solitude.

i can’t remember the meal, there was a beer (i needed something to calm the nerves) i finished eating and high tailed it back to the room where i took a very long shower and isolated my clothing from everything else in my bag. i spent the rest of the evening packing and getting ready for my departure.