Entry for January 05, 2006

Crap, I'm cold. I headed for the south, going to do little jumps, but I was really so cold (the whole Deccan plains are supposed to be really cold for the next while) and long distance trains were real hard to come by...... so I'm back in Delhi after a quick ride. Gwalior was.... well a big India town with a huge fort on a plateau in the middle, but nothing else going for it. I was just too damn chilled. Went to the fort & walked around in it and around it (got a bit too much sun, but good walk through some residential areas). The other thing I wanted to see was closed for the next little while, so, crap, figured why suffer through a slow cold trip. Back to Delhi, and see about getting to Goa. See how it goes, but I'll have a bit of a rest, then head out. Grabbing the Express train to Delhi was a bit of a problem - I ended up jumping a ticket queue, running across the tracks and jumping on to a moving train. Not bright, I think especially at 55. Had an interesting ride back, sitting with a bunch of young Indian guys, coming up after a 54 hour train ride from Trivandrum. They were all heading back to Univ. in Delhi after visting parents. One guy's english was perfect. He's in Engineering, but having second thoughts about finishing in it (with only one year to go) and going in to something else. Neat to listen to them, as southern languages always sound like people talking with marbles in their mouths (no offense, but it is, to my ears, a somewhat 'bubbly' language). We had a couple of Hijras (men, or boys, often castrated and who dress and act like women) on the train. They're REALLY aggressive - one came into our compartment, dressed all in Rajasthani clothes, demanding money or she would stand there and clap 'her' hands. She then started to grab at a couple of the guys legs, then crotches, to get money. They chucked 10 rupees at him & he left to join his compatriot. These folks do this kind of thing all the time - they show up in groups at weddings and birth parties, and won't leave until they get money. Then, unfortunate to see , there were the regular legless beggars, singers, and a 10 year old girl doing cartwheels down the corridor for baksheesh. Back in Delhi.... power's been going out on parts of the street - just always carry a small flashlight. Had a great thali in the 'Sonu restaurant' - real full so heading off to get under the blankets & crash. Ahh... India.

Thursday January 5, 2006 - 07:19am (PST)