Delhi Revisited

Cooking my lunch

The alleys and streets that extend back from the ghats in Varanasi are the narrowest ones I’ve ever wandered through – in places you could simultaneously touch both sides .I was invited to come in for a haircut when I wandered past a tiny barber shop and decided it was about time .These streets  were relatively cool and quiet  because Tuktuks  couldn’t fit through, but still the occasional motorbike with lots of tooting would squeeze by Eventually this old part of Varanasi merges with newer parts where streets are a bit wider but the same dusty congestion prevails and of course all manner of vehicle, making it noisy and horrible. But I did find a nice place for some local food on a main street not far away.

Getting my haircut

On Friday morning after my last wander along the ghats I cleaned up and repacked and headed for the airport. My tour of India was coming to an end and I could hardly believe it. I was glad I had visited Varanasi at the end because after that place everything else would have been almost an anticlimax – it really was a fascinating experience and extraordinary spectacle.

                            

On the bus from the Delhi Airport into the city, I caught myself marveling at how clean and tidy and orderly everything seemed – and yet when I had first been driven along these very same streets a month ago, when I first arrived, I had thought they were shockingly chaotic and filthy! The other thing that I noticed was how few cows there were, and there were no monkeys or camels. And I missed them.

I spent Saturday wandering a market called Chandi Chowk. I also inspected the site of an industrial accident where, 100 yards from my hotel, the sides of a huge hole being dug for an underground carpark collapsed, taking with it the ramshackle shops along its edge, the footpath and a few vehicles and people. I had seen this on TV just before I left the hotel, not realizing it was just across the road! In the evening I had dinner in a  lovely Chinese restaurant on Connaught Place, which is the hub of the city as far as tourists are concerned – there are posh shops selling all the famous brands, smart hotels and quality local shops as well. I went there to meet a woman who was related to one of my friends in Australia, and to give her the present from him that I had been carrying everywhere. Today, Sunday I didnt have to check out till 12 noon, and as my plane to Berlin doesnt leave till midnight I had an extra late breakfast and an extra long shower before repacking everything and heading to Paharganj, the part of Delhi that I first came to, to check email and do some last minute shopping. Once again I am shocked to  recall how I thought this place looked chaotic and filthy  when I first got here! Now after seeing a bit more of India I realise this street is not really like the real India at all -  the real India  is much more chaotic and crowded and dusty and filthy and congested and overrun with animals and people and kids and beggars and holymen and touts and carts and stalls and did I mention the cows? I will probably make another posting to the Blog from Germany, maybe just reflecting on my Trip, but right now I do feel quite sad and a bit upset to be leaving this absolutely amazing and unforgettable place. I have had the most incredible time.