These are the photos to correspond with the preceding blog. read first then pics... or whatever you so choose....
Mamallapuram:
diana w. krishna's butterball, holding it up like it ain't no thang...
right here should be some pictures of me pushing the butterball off it's perch, me and the matramandir, and the layout of auroville.... but i managed to delete them off the computer and i'm too damn lazy to upload it again. if you wish to see them head on over to diana or eugene's blogs and they should have one up... otherwise next time i blog i'll add)))
Pondicherry:
heinrich et moi in our lovely air-cooled cycle rickshaw... i felt a bit odd at first being chauffered around with all our bags by our man but then was able to justify it with, he gets to keep all the money (it ain't going to gas) and it's environmentally friendly. so there.
this is dee looking extremely pleased with herself after changing the opening time from the stated to the actual... with a bic pen. t.i.i. (this is india)
Chennai to Kolkata: us finally boarding our 5-hour late flight... various states of relief slash utter boredom.
Kolkata: Mcdonalds. 'nuff said.
happiness is but a chicken maharaja mac combo meal away.... :)
see above.
Varanasi:our first night, oddly hyper after zero sleep and non-functioning a/c. diana and eugene model their latest hairdos (my creations) in the form of a human totem pole. mini somehow is less convinced about coming to vancouver now...
the next morning around 4:30 am....
ghats @ 5:15.... very peaceful
colourful building....
the very festive streets of varanasi come alive around 5:30 pm as people head down to the ghats to watch the priests perform the evening puja (worship of the ganga)
however, we didn't quite make it down on time as we got waylaid and ended up spending most of the evening watching cremations at the burning ghats.... the dude in blue led us down the most sketchy alleys in the old part of town that, had we decided to run away from him, we would have surely gotten lost... or eaten by cows.
finally caught the tail end of the evening puja ceremony.
this was our CRAZZZZY cycle-rickshaw dude. he was the wiriest little man you'd ever meet, and tough as nails... however, we thought he was going to die as he cycled the three of us (mini, dee and i) back to our hotel.
sunrise the next day
more sunrise shots (anywhere between 4:45 am to 5:20)
early birds at the dasawamedha ghats.
more sunrise.
diana exhausted at 7 am.... and completely relaxed on our new friend Bablu, the priest's mat.
Bablu instilling some wisdom in our silly western minds....
Sarnath: cool buddhist enclave just outside of Varanasi, where Buddha gave his first sermon after gaining enlightenment.
dee and i sitting under a tree donated to a local temple by the Dalai Lama... it was very peaceful and actually the first time we sat on a lovely plush lawn in a long damn time
monks-in-training from the temple (and the first time any of us had seen female monks... ) also a bird flying through the shot. kinda blends in with the road/buildings)
another monk hanging out/enlightening himself by a big ol' bell, near the grandbaby bodhi tree of the one which buddha sermonized under.
big ol' shiny buddha in a tibetan temple... lots of bling.
these following dudes are supposed to represent something about the north south east and west... i can't remember what exactly but i knew at one time....
lots of lil' buddhas... keeping the big buddha company i suppose.
on the way back to varanasi we came across our favourite billboard to date... enjoy.
Muslim Quarter: our lovely rickshaw chauffer mr. Khan took us to see the silk production areas in Varanasi... and then to the emporium where we spent waaaaaaaaaayyyy too much money. but everythin was sooo purdy we just couldn't resist.
handlooming the silk....
handpunching the holes the go in the handloom machine to make the patterns....
this is how raw silk looks like before it's bleached in vats of boiling water. it's a shitty shitty job.
our entourage... very persistent about getting their photos taken.and finally us deciding on what to buy... spoiled for choice.
More evening Puja ceremonies... Bablu doing his thing.
Canada day: Bablu blessing us... i do not have any idea what he had us recite in hindi and i know at least half the words i repeated sounded nothing like what he said... regardless i hope it had some effect...
the experience was quite amazing despite the fact none of us are in any way religious nor spiritual
me at the washing ghats w. the locals' sarees being hung out to dry
we went to a local temple to see this guru who'd walked to Varanasi from somewehre very far away (as you can see i was totally paying attention) but he was a nowshow. so being the lucky tourists the priests decided to let us try on this massive garland of flowers from an earlier ceremony, weighing about 15 kilos... and shoved some kid into the picture to make it that much more special. awe... she looks cute/petrified and i'm just a sweaty mess. fantastic!
more evening puja.
canadian flag sweat rag. Exremely useful...
this would be my hubby, rinki, who sold flowers and stole hearts along the ghats. i'm not entirely sure when we got married but one day she just started introducing myself as her husband. it stuck.
Bablu's niece, Khajil.... quite possibley the cutest child on the face of the planet. if you wanna see her mad dance moves head on over to dee's blog. she's got a fantastic vid that i believe will be posted in the near future.
Bablu's nephew Suresh, both these kids are basically his responsibility during the day (suresh's dad is a wee bit "loose" according to the locals and just wanders the streets/local bars...quite sad.)
and thus ends Varanasi... our fave city to date. 
2 comments:
taj. i win.
Hi Megan,just a note to say I love your pictures. Diana did not have too many pictures. Also, I left a message for Sarah as your package for her is with me. Diana's Mom
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