Fort Rammagar and Varanasi

We checked the guidebook and decided to go to nearby Fort Rammagar - not ancient and not a fort, more a 19th century barracks probably built by the Brits for a regiment of Indian troops. It was very rundown and contained a museum that had interesting objects - early 20th century cars and all kinds of sedan chairs from the 17th to 19th centuries and an extensive display of early guns and swords. All poorly displayed, full of dust, and badly lighted.

As we approached the fort in this suburb of Varanasi, we passed through a very active local farmers market. After visiting the fort, we went walking thru the market and I got a lot of pictures - we’ll see how they look when I download them.

This evening we went back to the ghats to view the crematorium and a performance in a separate section of the ghats, all from the same boat from which we had seen the sunrise a couple of days ago. The crematorium was much more dramatic at night with 10 or more fires burning in the night and crowds of family & relatives participating in the funeral scene. (no photos allowed)). The performance was hokey - on a stage at water’s edge, with maybe 100 performers, one chanting, perhaps 90 beating drums and ringing bells and 5 or 6 doing a simple dance and holding an Xmas tree-shaped candleholder with maybe 50 small candles and waving them around. There were a couple of hundred in the audience behind the performers and a like number in boats crowding around in front of the performance. We left after about a half hour of the droning voice and overly-simple music and dance.

Approaching the performance site was a very different experience than that of our first early morning experience. For about a quarter mile of the site, the bazaar was open and there were tens of thousands of people shopping in the shops and filling the street. We were told that this is a very important bazaar and as busy every night of the week. Cars were prohibited during this time of day, but there were lots of bicycles, motorcycles, rickshaws, and auto-rickshaws. Colorful, noisy, and daunting to pedestrians - at least to us foreigners.

Another surprise is how few foreign tourists there are in this city - and those who are here are mostly Japanese tour groups. We were told that Dec. is typically a slow tourist month, but that this year is even slower than usual.

We are 1/2 way thru the trip. Time to evaluate the experience? Maybe I’m too close to it to do that.

I’m now sitting in a VERY SLOW moving train. My back aches. I’d like to be in a more comfortable situation. It’s hard to evaluate the experiences we’ve had. Now it feels like a schedule we’ve committed to and we’ve got to play it out. We’re both hoping that the South will be less hectic, more tourist manageable, a more livable scale and pace. I shouldn’t complain. The weather has been perfect, the guides and drivers, for the most part very accommodating. The “mid range” hotels, on average 2 stars, adequate but drab. The cities unmanageable without the help we have paid for and received. I do think that our goal of experiencing the society - to have windows into what life is like in this society - is being achieved. It’s an extreme version of our society, the rich living and working as if the 75% of the population that are poor don’t exist. The energy of the bigger cities is palpable -everyone is on the move - except perhaps the homeless who live in shanty towns (slums) or squat along roadways and other places where they won’t be hassled, and who seem to be living without hope or expectation.

Except for the Taj Mahal and a few other enclosed and protected and self financed places, there is little effort or ability to manage the cities and provide basic services that we in the west take for granted. Perhaps it’s like life in the US during our fast growth era of the 1890’s? There are clearly efforts to improve, if not maintain, the infrastructure. But the local governments are so far behind the growth curve, it seems that there is no way they can catch up.

This is the 2nd sleeper train we’ve been on - two more to go. We are traveling 2nd class, with bunk beds and no privacy. First class has 4-person compartments with a door to a hallway. No doors in 2nd class. But the beds are reasonably comfortable and I sleep ok- with a little help from Ambien. Our fellow bunkmates appear to be middle class, reasonably well dressed, and many speak English - and there are very few children. We appear to be the only tourists - at least in this car. There were some backpackers on the previous sleeper. Clean sheets, a pillow and blanket and an inexpensive meal are provided, but the cars themselves are worn to a frazzle - the level of wear, tear and maintenance a notch below the 2-star hotels we’ve been staying in. Squat toilets are another delightful feature of this train.