i realised that there were a few interesting stories which i forgot to relay in my blog that i'll capture here :-)
1. as i'd indicated, we didn't have a return ticket from umaria to varanasi. while waiting for our train from jhansi to umaria, i waited for the masses to die down and then decided to try my luck with the local ticket counter (normally there's a foreign ticket counter but it wasn't open). i queued with the local women and waited patiently to get to the front of the queue. queuing in india is an interesting affair at best as you have to be pressed against the person in front or someone jumps in front and since i was the tallest woman in the queue, i was a beacon for all to know their place in the queue. i had loads of women pushing and shoving from behind me with multiple hands resting on different parts of my back, claiming their place behind me. it was a hot and tiring 25mins before i finally got to the front and the ticket man gave me one of those 'i'm so sorry you had to go through with that' looks before i tried to get across what i was trying to do. unfortunately, all he'd sell me was a ticket i already had so eventually, i gave up as all the local ladies behind me where starting to get impatient and had started pushing and shoving even further. i resigned to not buying an onward ticket from jhansi and promptly told amg she owed me a beer for my efforts!!
2. i attended a beauty trade show in cochin (ernakulam) designed for the locals. it had an interesting mix of items for sale from pressure cookers and pots to massage and weight-loss machines, from gym memberships and sexual dysfunction booths to make up, facial packs and spa treatments. i had my make up done (first time i've worn make up since i arrived in india) and watched the locals interact. it was an interesting non-touristy thing to observe..
3. i met an indian guy in varkala who told me a fantastic story :-) he'd met up with a canadian guy who had flags, etc.. all over his bags. they spent two days traveling around india together and were riding a motorcycle when they got pulled over by the police to check identification. the canadian refused to hand over his passport for some time until it was obvious the police were not willing to accept "no". he finally handed over an american passport!! he was so embarrassed to have been caught in his lie and apologised profusely to this india guy i met. made me laugh ;-)
4. i'd heard previously that traveling in the north was much harder than traveling in the south from a number of people however i was still amazed at the difference between northern india and kerala. everything seemed much more orderly and organised in kerala but i think the most notable change for me was the reduction in quantity of stares/leers and the level of their intensity. curiosity i'm okay with but the leers were tiring after awhile so it was a welcome change...
i will definitely have to make the trip back to india as i definitely don't feel like i've seen or done all of the fantastic things that india has to offer. it was a busy holiday (with a bit of needed relaxing at the end) however i'm confident there's no way i would have managed to fit much more in..
hugs to all and i hope you enjoyed reading about the trip! ;-)
s
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