What a whirlwind! We've covered a lot of ground and seen some big sights recently. We are definitely tired and ready for some beach time!
We finished up our time in Varanasi with two sunrise boat tours. The sun never came out but it was still beautiful. We got to see people's morning routines along the river: bathing, yoga, and laundry. One man was very happy and had a contagious laugh that was spreading to us and all those around. What a great way to start the day! The mornings were the calmest time of day, even though it was quite busy.
We found a lovely little store with beautiful brass jewelry with semiprecious stones and stunningly intricate macrame jewelry. The shop is owned by a French woman and staffed by two lovely young girls. We asked if they would teach us to macrame but they weren't allowed, but they showed us a shop nearby that would teach us for a small fee. What a haven it turned out to be! There was a young man named Rohid who spoke great English, Japanese, and Korean. He attracted all the tourists! People would hang out and macrame all day and drink chai and be merry. He had a street dog as a pet inside who he had saved from being hit by a car. We met a Japanese couple who were making very intricate pieces. They had been traveling the world for 3 years and were buying semiprecious stones all over (like us!) This little shop was a great place to hang out, drink chai, be creative, and share travel stories away from the craziness of the streets. It was especially nice to have a retreat when the streets turned to mud/poo. What a joy!
Another place that won our hearts (and stomachs) was Dosa Cafe. They made delicious dosas and the owner/server was so friendly, and his wife made the magical dosas. We went here 3 or 4 times! There is also a cow that goes to the restaurant every morning and eats a dosa. It climbs up the steps and sticks its head in the door. It's been getting breakfast there for two years!!
So now to get some important late night thoughts written down:
In sum, Varanasi has been my favourite place in the north so far. However it was a place of many contrasts. Incredible spirituality but tons of heckling. Beautiful temples and flowers but horribly dirty streets. Incredible affluence but saddening poverty. The list goes on. Just when we were the most irritated by an aggressive salesperson we would experience the wonderful hospitality of another.
At times, the harassment was very frustrating. But these people are just trying to make a living in a way that has worked for them countless times with other tourists. The aggressive and sometimes downright rude behaviour, lies, and rip-offs would get tiring, but we have to remember that we are traveling in their country, which my ancestors (and others) took over and really screwed up for a long time. They impressed their ways of life aggressively and violently on India, plundered and exploited it, and then left. I'm not an expert on the history of India by any means, but I can understand why such a tumultuous past can lead to problems now. (And even the corruption is pretty transparent here, it probably happens just as much in the West too when you look up high enough in the system.)
Ok, stream of consciousness/rant commencing:
Aside from the direct history of European conquest in India (and the world in general), this trip has also made me reflect on the globalization of Western ways in a broader sense. Westerners have made up capitalism, and have made themselves the winners. Everywhere else now has to strive to be successful and conform to Western ideals. I think any culture could have made up the system, but with the timing it just worked out to be the West, and on an industrial scale. But it makes me sad that Europeans went around dominating diverse cultures all over the world trying to make them their own. Trying to make them all the same. Imagine what a diverse world we could be living in right now otherwise! (Imagine all the diverse food!!) Imagine all the horrible pollution and climate warming and suffering we could could have avoided if capitalism and consumerism and big houses and multiple care cars and TVs were not the ideal for everyone! Certainly there have been many benefits, particularly in medicine, that has ended suffering. But there have been many costs from exploiting other countries to produce the luxuries we enjoy in the West. I don't have a solution for this problem, except to realize that in the West we are incredibly lucky and we should learn to live with a lot less. I'm not sure if we could reach an acceptable global standard of living with the current population, but I think the first step is to try to reduce the negative impact we have on the rest of the world's people and environment by BUYING LESS and being happy with LESS STUFF. (This is so hard to do since our whole lives we have been told that buying things is good and will make us happy!) Buying less means less needless resource and fossil fuel extraction, fewer workers exposed to dangerous conditions and manufacturing chemicals, less stuff that ultimately ends up as garbage polluting our earth. Let's build economies on something more sustainable so that we can continue to live! Buying less has been my mantra for a while now (especially for environmental reasons), and while traveling I am reminded of its importance again in other ways.
I guess this is why we travel: to gain a new perspective on the world (see how other people are doing things) that makes us reexamine why or how we do things. So many people suffer and live with less because they have to. I want to learn to live with less so other people don't have to so much. Maybe this will even out the playing field a little more and make our planet a better place to live in!
We finished up our time in Varanasi with two sunrise boat tours. The sun never came out but it was still beautiful. We got to see people's morning routines along the river: bathing, yoga, and laundry. One man was very happy and had a contagious laugh that was spreading to us and all those around. What a great way to start the day! The mornings were the calmest time of day, even though it was quite busy.
We found a lovely little store with beautiful brass jewelry with semiprecious stones and stunningly intricate macrame jewelry. The shop is owned by a French woman and staffed by two lovely young girls. We asked if they would teach us to macrame but they weren't allowed, but they showed us a shop nearby that would teach us for a small fee. What a haven it turned out to be! There was a young man named Rohid who spoke great English, Japanese, and Korean. He attracted all the tourists! People would hang out and macrame all day and drink chai and be merry. He had a street dog as a pet inside who he had saved from being hit by a car. We met a Japanese couple who were making very intricate pieces. They had been traveling the world for 3 years and were buying semiprecious stones all over (like us!) This little shop was a great place to hang out, drink chai, be creative, and share travel stories away from the craziness of the streets. It was especially nice to have a retreat when the streets turned to mud/poo. What a joy!
Another place that won our hearts (and stomachs) was Dosa Cafe. They made delicious dosas and the owner/server was so friendly, and his wife made the magical dosas. We went here 3 or 4 times! There is also a cow that goes to the restaurant every morning and eats a dosa. It climbs up the steps and sticks its head in the door. It's been getting breakfast there for two years!!
So now to get some important late night thoughts written down:
In sum, Varanasi has been my favourite place in the north so far. However it was a place of many contrasts. Incredible spirituality but tons of heckling. Beautiful temples and flowers but horribly dirty streets. Incredible affluence but saddening poverty. The list goes on. Just when we were the most irritated by an aggressive salesperson we would experience the wonderful hospitality of another.
At times, the harassment was very frustrating. But these people are just trying to make a living in a way that has worked for them countless times with other tourists. The aggressive and sometimes downright rude behaviour, lies, and rip-offs would get tiring, but we have to remember that we are traveling in their country, which my ancestors (and others) took over and really screwed up for a long time. They impressed their ways of life aggressively and violently on India, plundered and exploited it, and then left. I'm not an expert on the history of India by any means, but I can understand why such a tumultuous past can lead to problems now. (And even the corruption is pretty transparent here, it probably happens just as much in the West too when you look up high enough in the system.)
Ok, stream of consciousness/rant commencing:
Aside from the direct history of European conquest in India (and the world in general), this trip has also made me reflect on the globalization of Western ways in a broader sense. Westerners have made up capitalism, and have made themselves the winners. Everywhere else now has to strive to be successful and conform to Western ideals. I think any culture could have made up the system, but with the timing it just worked out to be the West, and on an industrial scale. But it makes me sad that Europeans went around dominating diverse cultures all over the world trying to make them their own. Trying to make them all the same. Imagine what a diverse world we could be living in right now otherwise! (Imagine all the diverse food!!) Imagine all the horrible pollution and climate warming and suffering we could could have avoided if capitalism and consumerism and big houses and multiple care cars and TVs were not the ideal for everyone! Certainly there have been many benefits, particularly in medicine, that has ended suffering. But there have been many costs from exploiting other countries to produce the luxuries we enjoy in the West. I don't have a solution for this problem, except to realize that in the West we are incredibly lucky and we should learn to live with a lot less. I'm not sure if we could reach an acceptable global standard of living with the current population, but I think the first step is to try to reduce the negative impact we have on the rest of the world's people and environment by BUYING LESS and being happy with LESS STUFF. (This is so hard to do since our whole lives we have been told that buying things is good and will make us happy!) Buying less means less needless resource and fossil fuel extraction, fewer workers exposed to dangerous conditions and manufacturing chemicals, less stuff that ultimately ends up as garbage polluting our earth. Let's build economies on something more sustainable so that we can continue to live! Buying less has been my mantra for a while now (especially for environmental reasons), and while traveling I am reminded of its importance again in other ways.
I guess this is why we travel: to gain a new perspective on the world (see how other people are doing things) that makes us reexamine why or how we do things. So many people suffer and live with less because they have to. I want to learn to live with less so other people don't have to so much. Maybe this will even out the playing field a little more and make our planet a better place to live in!
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| Last flower light on the river |
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| Sunrise |
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| xoxo |
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| Morning routines |
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