Pilgrimage to Varanasi

Two cremation fires burning on the water's edge

Today, I want to share some photos from Varanasi, a famous holy city on the Ganges in Northern India. People from all over the country bring the remains of their loved ones to be cremated and laid to rest in the river here. The way I first learned about this city is the reason why it's special to me. I never knew it by name before planning this trip but I have been wanting to come here for 9 years.

I was hanging out with some college friends at their apartment in 2004 a day before I flew to Korea to study abroad for the next 3 months. As a group, we were trying to finish the entire "Cowboy Bebop" anime series before I left. It was a marathon run on the living room couch.

Alive after four days

Well, I'm still alive and so glad I went on my own for a bit. I can now boast that I took the public bus on my own in India...once at 4am at a station occupied solely with shady looking men. I probably wouldn't have made it through this short trip without the genuinely altruistic help of a few really good guys I met along the way.

In the meantime, it sounds like drama unfolded in my tour group and they're not doing so well together. Sigh...we have one more week to go in each other's company. It may be time to plan another vacation away from them.

Guys hanging out in front of the Monkey Temple in Jaipur

My tourist photo of the Taj Mahal

One duckling temporarily leaves the flock

I'll come clean. I'm not proud of it but I booked a two-week group tour through North India and Nepal because I was afraid of travelling alone. Remember the gang rape in New Delhi that caused nationwide protests and global coverage of the state of womens' safety in India? That happened last December. And what's happened since then? Even more rapes, including this recent one targeting a Swiss tourist. I was scared because of the news I was reading and even more scared because of the first-hand stories from fellow travelers ranging in topics like illness, groping, and aggressive touting. I might have been over-reacting but this was freaking me out at the time.

So I signed my soul away and joined the group on Sunday. I booked with a company called G Adventures because they have a reputation for attracting more independent-minded travelers. I realized this tour was not the right fit for me on the first day. I trudged through it with increasing disappointment for 3 days.

Beautiful Jaipur

Sitting in the Amber Palace outside of Jaipur

Getting ready for Holi with a decoration at the City Palace

A recent conversation I had with my jaded South Indian friend:

Friend: Why do you want to go to Rajasthan so much?

Me: Isn't it where all the old Indian palaces are? I thought it was supposed to represent the picture of India Westerners imagine with all the jewels and royalty.

Friend: Yeah you'll see some palaces. But I think the picture you have in your head is exaggerated. North Indians just know how to market their sites better than South Indians do but some of the temples in South India are just as beautiful.

I'm in Jaipur now and there's a festival going on today called Holi. I'm not kidding when I say this may be one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been to in my life. South India ain't got nothing on this!

Photos from South India

Before coming to India, I used to segment my trip into each country I visited. I thought about them as individual units of culture and modes of travel. Then I entered India on March 11 and every new city I went to seemed to turn into a completely different journey from the last.

I'm travelling with an Indian-born friend currently living in the States and we decided to split the itinerary planning by city. We're spending two weeks together in South India. I booked the first few days, he booked the next four. The differences in our choices of hotel, transportation, and site-seeing agenda were stark. I put us in a hostel that cost $4 a day. To get around, I opted to take the bus which usually cost less than $5 per ride across cities. On the other hand, my friend put us into a 5-star beachfront resort which had three swimming pools on the premises. He claims he only booked such luxury places because he assumed I wanted these things (based on the fact that all Americans are spoiled brats and other such indicators). 

As bipolar as our itinerary has been, I can definitely say with confidence I've now seen people from all walks of life from the extremely rich to the very poor - poor by Indian standards, mind you. It's been a pretty amazing experience.

Pictures from Pondicherry and Mamallapuram (my section of the itinerary)

Goat herding down the street in Pondicherry

Latest itinerary

2 months completed in Asia Pacific. I have 4 more months to go before heading home. I can see myself living this way forever. Haven't felt homesick at all. Here's the latest itinerary for the rest of the trip:

Right now - leaving Hong Kong this afternoon

Mar 11 - India: Hyderabad, Chennai, Pondicherry, various places in Kerala, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi

Apr 2 - Nepal: Lumbini, Chitwan, Kathmandu, Pokhara, and the Annapurna mountain range

Apr 18 - Turkey: Istanbul, Cappadocia, don't know where else but I plan to spend a month here

Mid-May - Central/Eastern Europe. No specific plans yet

Jun 1 - Provence, France. I'll attend a 2 week painting workshop organized by one of my art teachers in SF

Jun 13 - Venice, Italy

Jun 21 - Fly back home to SF

How I spent the rest of my time in China

Walking down a path outside of Ping'an village

I realize I'm long overdue for a new post to this blog. I'm wrapping up a month-long tour through China and haven't shared much about it to anyone. The reason for this being my time in this country has been anything but pleasant. China wore down my spirit.