Orchha

It's the last day of 2014 and I'm in Orchha, and I slept in a king's palace!

Orchha is a charming little place where much of the ancientness is well preserved. Not many people know about it, but it's such a little gem waiting to be discovered!  It's situated in the middle of a forest in which life goes at its own pace without worrying about the rest of India. I spent two days here to rest, recover from my cold, learn to cook a few Indian dishes, and visit some of the main attractions.

Here is Orchha in pictures!

Train to Orchha

So, I've been on trains in Vietnam, China, Thailand, Uzbekistan...and now in India. Trains in India are never on schedule. Sometimes, even if it picks you up on time, it doesn't mean that it will get you to your destination on time. As for me, my train was 2 hours late.

I've always been scared because of the dirty factor. Some people say it's not that bad...and after that experience, I can say that it wasn't actually that bad, except for the toilet smell, and a mouse.

Something funny happened on the train. As you know, I was very sick and I didn't have enough water with me. I met this British girl on the train who wanted some food, and we wondered if we could get off at a station to get some. The train would stop at some stations for 15 minutes, and for 2 minutes at other stations...and we had no idea how to figure out when was time to get back on the train. An Indian lady next to us said that the train will stop for 30 minutes at the next station...which sounds believable.

We got off the train and started walking, and bumped into a little kid selling water at about 300 meters further. While we were trying to figure out how much the water was, the train started moving. We were so terrified to miss the train because our baggage was on the train, so we ran and jumped on the moving train.

I was so glad we made it, but then we realized that the wagon started detaching from the rest of the train...we were like, no way! So, we jumped off the moving train and ran back to our wagon like two crazy people....which didn't start moving until 30 minutes later.

Jumping on and off a moving train? check!

Varanasi: Last day

I love Varanasi, but I have to keep going. I've gotten very sick...in every sense of the word. I have a bad cold and my stomach isn't feeling well. Just breathing the air makes me sicker and sicker.

I had to make the most of my last day of course, so I went to a huge market to buy some silk scarves for myself. After that, I walked along Ganges...which was probably one of my best moments on this trip. It was relaxing, yet surprises were found around every corner. I even got charged by a buffalo! Also, it was one of those rare moments that the sun came out, and it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt.

I finally had to go back to the hotel to pick up my stuff for my next adventure; the Indian train!

Varanasi: Exploring

People often tell me about how dirty India is, and I didn't quite believe it...until I came here. I've been to many place in my life, and I've never seen a place as dirty as India. I used to think that Africa is dirty...but Africa is actually very far from being dirty, it is however very dusty. I like India though...it is wild, and full of energy! There are endless things to do, endless things to see!

After coming back from the sailing trip, I went to do some shopping and some more picture-taking. I went into a saree shop, and the shop owner sat me down on the carpet and opened every drawer and pulled out every saree he had. I felt so bad, because I was definitely not going to buy one, haha

Then I took another boat to watch a ceremony whereby small offerings are given to Goddess Ganga. People placed a small candle inside a cup made of leaves and flowers and float it down the river. You are supposed to make a wish and it will supposedly come true...but I can assure you that it doesn't. It was quite special nonetheless; there were so many boats and people watching.

Varanasi: Ganges

I just came back from two days of sailing in the biggest toilet in the world; Ganges! It's the holy river where you can see cremation...2 meters further, you can see people washing clothes...2 meters further, you can see people bathing...2 meters further, you can see people shitting and pissing.

Here's the guy doing the rowing. He was quite nice, although he didn't speak English. There are blankets and pillows on the boat. It was relaxing...

There is so much going on as the boat passed through villages and communities. I saw a group of dogs feasting on a dead cow, which is quite crazy.

At other times, there wasn't much going on, so I read. I'm reading "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed, a girl who walked 1100 miles across the pacific crest trail. I do hiking often, but I've never been on a long-distance trekking trip like this...and I'm thinking that I should do this someday.

I got off the boat on a small deserted island. It felt like I was exploring another planet. The fog was thick, and it felt like I was alone in this world. There are pages of religious book on the ground...which made things even creepier.

Here's my little tent for the night. To be honest, it was quite cold and uncomfortable, and I had weird dreams.

I finished reading the book "Wild", and somewhere I read that you have to be strong enough to break your own heart. It can mean many different things, but to me, it's saying no to toxic relationships, saying no to liars, saying no to poisonous habits...

Varanasi: Intro

Varanasi is my favorite city in this trip. All the things that is representative of India can be found here. It reminds me a little bit of China, because people are easy-going, they are fun, and they don't mind you taking pictures of them.

This place is indiscreet, crazy and colorful. It's a place where you can express yourself 100%. It's a place you will love if you're open-minded, because this can be a mind-challenging place...and it is what I'm looking for! If I wanted something easy and comfortable, I would've gone to a museum in Europe, but no, I wanted something ugly yet beautiful and that's why I came to India!

Varanasi is the city of prayer and yearning, life and rebirth, decay and waste, hopes and dreams, lights and darkness, holiness and perversity, everything and anything. There are cows wandering on the streets just like humans, poop and piss are everywhere, it's simply awesome!

Here's Varanasi in pictures...

Lumbini

Lumbini is a small town on the border of Nepal, which is also the town where Buddha is born. There isn't much to do in this town other than visiting that place in question, and it's a nice mid-point place to rest before border-crossing to India!

This is what it looks like from the outside. Photos are not allowed inside, but I'm a rule breaker, so...

...here's the inside. Basically, there are people waiting in line to see the exact spot where Buddha is born. That's about it.

There were many monks behind that place near the tree where Buddha meditated.

I'm not Buddhist, and if you're not Buddhist, you will not really "feel" anything spiritual here, but it's fun to do some people-watching!

...and that was my Christmas! I ate a Christmas cake with strangers at the hotel :)

Getting close to wildlife

Chitwan is known for its wildlife. You can either take a canoe or a jeep; I did both.

The canoe is actually a tree that they dug out the inside. You make sure not to move because it is not very stable. It was very relaxing to just sit there, listening to the noises that animals make...birds, water buffaloes, peacocks, deers, etc.

Some houses by the river....

Many women washing clothes there as well...

...and lots of crocodiles; I've never seen so many of them! They were everywhere on the river bank.

Oh and this is what the canoe looks like.

After that canoe ride, I did the jeep. It reminded me of Africa, except that it was much better in Africa, because it was more deserted and less affected by humans. In Chitwan, I noticed more traces that humans left..like garbage for example, it is more poluted. It is not as natural and wild as Africa.

However, it is a different type of landscape; the grass  were taller, greener and more dense than Africa, and I really enjoyed trying to spot animals. They blend in so well with the surrounding that it's hard to spot them, but when you do, you feel like you've accomplished something. I was hoping to see a tiger, but it didn't happen unfortunately.

I slept in a small village near the river. At 5am, someone knocks on my door, which scared me. "A rhino outside near the fireplace!" I heard. I wasn't 100% excited because I've tracked rhinos on foot in Africa...but I was already half awake because of the chicken screaming, so I thought, why not have a look! I got outside just in time to see the rhino's butt, haha. It ran away the next second. I'm happy I saw it.

It was very foggy in the morning. I 've never seen such thick fog, and I like it! Everything just looks so great on picture and it looks mysterious and romantic.

I took the jeep back to my hotel, and drove through the foggy forest. The landscape was simply amazing.

I've never seen anywhere so pretty. Everything just looks like a picture in a fairy tale book!

This is what a cow looks like in a fairy tale, haha..

...and the kids, of course!

That concludes my little adventure in Chitwan.

By the way, Sherbrooke's lullaby singer wrote me; he asked if we will see each other again...and honestly, if it wasn't because I was seeing another guy, I would've given him a second chance. But even without that other guy in the picture, I see more negative points about him than positive ones if I had to think about that rationally:

1- First of all, he lives in Sherbrooke, which is 2 hours away, so it's pretty much impossible to see him during the week. It's nice to see him, but I don't want to drive 2 hours just to see him all the time! I want to be able to enjoy the outdoors instead of wasting my weekends away.

2-He once lost his temper and said mean and immature things to me. Most importantly, he never apologized.

3-He was still on tinder when he told me that he didn't want to see other girls. Another man whose actions are not aligned with words...

4-He seems very troubled by his mom's behavior.

5-He was seeing another girl after that, but it probably didn't work out, which is why he wants to see me now...but it's not me that he actually wants to see, he's just a lonely and pathetic man who is prisoner of his own success.

6-Last time he wanted us to meet again, he wanted us to be friends with benefits, which proves that there's huge gap in the values that we hold.

I think I would've helped him...we got along quite well. But his behavior is quite problematic and we would have a long way to go if we were to give this a shot...and I just don't have time for that. Timing isn't right, and the location is not helping either. So fuck that.