A quick note from Varanasi. I am hoping to at some point be able to upload some pictures, but the internet connections here are not so good, and it seems a shame to waste hours fooling around with a computer when there is so much to see!
What an incredible place. As I got ready to step off the train yesterday morning, the man who had been sitting next to me, giving me a quick rundown of Hindu deities, smiled a huge, bright smile and said, "Welcome to the holiest place in India!"
I'm staying here with Ute, a friend of my friend Mandy's. It's great to have a nice (ahem... not to mention free!) place to stay. Ute works with developmentally disabled individuals at a vocational training center, which I was able to visit today. The adults and teens (whose diagnoses range from autism to mental retardation to CP) work on general "life skills" and some basic education as well as learning to make handicrafts which are sold in a variety of free-trade shops and help to provide them with a small stipend.
I enjoyed the rest of my time in Delhi, and the Taj Mahal in Agra was every bit as spectacular as I'd hoped it would be. In Varanasi until Thursday evening and then it's off to Darjeeling for tea, and perhaps slightly cooler temperatures. It's HOT here, especially after a few surprisingly cool days in Delhi.
More soon!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Josie!!!
Ian here. Reading your blog makes me homesick! I'm so glad you're getting to see where I grew up. Keep in mind that you're looking at the world the way 1/6th of the worlds humans see it. My mom will be gone to China when you get to bombay! your timing sucks! I was in bombay early in year but you were enjoying Thailand!! haha.
Post a Comment