Having taken an uncomfortable thirty hour train journey from south to north, I now find myself in Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, one of the holiest cities in India. From a tourist's point of view, the main attraction of Varanasi is its location right along the Ganges, where people bathe morning, noon and night in order to wash away their past sins. In itself, this does not seem an odd thing to do, but the intense pollution - apparently the contents of 30 large sewers run into the river - and sheer dirtiness of the place takes a little adjustment. Before I came to India, I felt fascinated at the prospect of cows and monkeys in its streets, and perhaps seeing these things at first brings distinct photo opportunities, but when the goats, pigs and dogs which lay waiting to die in the narrow cobbled streets become unavoidable and the stench of death and other things wafts in one's direction, the novelty wears off a little.

I guess it depends on the type of traveller you are, but I'm finding a certain degree of frustration, having been here for about two weeks now, which is caused predominantly by those natives who claim me, each and everyone, as their 'special friend'! Hmmm. Lonely Planet, which has become my travelling bible, is particularly scathing about this aspect of Varanasi, stating, "Don't listen to anyone who tries to take you to a better hotel...and ignore nonsense about your hotel being closed, full, burnt down, very badly infested with mosquitoes or gangsters..." Well, folks, it's all true. To my relief, my hotel was neither full nor burnt down (it's actually very nice and when I woke up this morning, I laughed a lot as the scene outside, some sort of ritual chanting, sounded like one from The Life of Brian), but one has to be extremely single-minded about being firm here, and sometimes has to really put one's foot down. Whether they're doing it out of desperation, or, perhaps more likely, just to earn themselves a little more cash, I'm not sure, but it is this 'don't trust anyone' mindset one must become accustomed to for venturing here, which leaves me more and more a cynical traveller.

But enough of the ranting. Since last I wrote I've covered lots of ground and you know nothing of that as yet. After Goa, the rain stopped - and has thankfully held off since, by the way - and I made my way to historical Hampi (thanks to Molly for the advice), which is a really fascinating, if touristy place, where I walked around for a day in utter adoration of its ruins. Most dramatic were the beautiful Virupaksha and Vittala Temples, and I also made a couple of friends on the way. The highlight for me however, was meeting and being blessed by an elephant called Lakshmi (see photos). After that I took a ten hour night bus ride to Hyderabad, where I spent a couple of days rambling around the chaotic Bazaars, which line the route to the city's most famous landmark, The Charminar, and the next day, I saw its famous floating Buddha statue in the Hussain Sugar. For the first time during my stay in India, I felt a clear Muslim influence in Hyderabad, with itself together with its Hindu population, makes for an interestingly influenced city.

It's kinda strange that I feel, probably since having covered so much ground just lately, that I'm on the home strait now. My time here will have been very short, but it's certainly and undeniably been an eye-opening experience. My next blog, by which time I hope to have seen what some may consider as the 'touristy' things, will probably be my last, but until then, take it easy.