A Maharashtra town viewed thru a dirty bus window and the reflection of a girl

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I’m not the best at forward planning. I was supposed to follow the Rama trail all the way to Ayodhya but I won’t make it this time. The two major sites in the north I won’t make. Covering just the southern part has taken a month, I’ll come back during Dussehra in September/October. Of course, it could have been possible if I’d planned ahead instead of bouncing around. But that has its merits as well. However, planned travel in India requires, well, planning. Otherwise you end up losing a lot of time and money.

These Trains

Ah, the Indian train. I actually sleep really well here. Right now I’m chilling on the lower side bunk (best ever), with both window and table and a plug point, that holy yoni of our lady connectivity. This is because I thought about what I was doing three days ago and actually booked properly. Normally I’m like ‘Where the fuck am I and how do I get out of here?’ Which doesn’t work. You just end up paying more and ending up in similar situations. If I actually wanted to follow the Rama trail I would’ve booked all my tickets before hand and followed a schedule. But that would also kinda suck, and I didn’t know where half the stuff was till I got here.

This Country

India is damn big. I mean, obviously, but I hadn’t thought about it that much. In my head you can somehow get from Nasik to Delhi, but you kinda can’t. The train is like days long and if you break it up it ends up taking a week. So that costs money and sucks and I need to catch a flight out of Chennai and it’s not going to work. There’s too many variables and it just doesn’t happen at the last minute. You end up in the usual orbital, the gravity of the city, heading down south.

These People

Plus, as fun as it is poking around random temples, eating by oneself gets old after awhile and it’s nice to see a place through knowledgeable eyes. Everyone I’ve reconnected with in India has been so hospitable and awesome that I honestly feel bad. I mean, I only consistently go out of my way for pretty girls and I feel like a dick. I wish people would visit me in Sri Lanka now.

That said, if you’re travelling to India for a reason, people often take you away from that. For example, I’m heading back to Bangalore and Mysore to see people again, though I could go see new cities. It’s something I want to do, but it is a different center of gravity.

This End

That said, I live an hour away. If I can just keep like three hundred dollars together then I can come back in October, do some volunteering in Varanasi and watch the whole Ramayana being reenacted. So I guess I’m OK, journey wise. I mean, it took Rama decades. I’m meandering down south to Rameshwaran, where Rama and his army crossed into Sri Lanka. And then I’m crossing over myself. I like it here, but I’m tired of getting ripped off and I miss pol sambol and my parents.

Posted on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 in facebook, India, out, Personal, Photography, travel.