View allAll Photos Tagged Congested
Yemen, Kowkaban, elevated view of congested residential houses trees in background
The transformation of a narrow, congested, dusty and chaotic street to the Harmandir Sahib/ Golden Temple is indeed really something to be proud of! A couple of locals we'd asked directions from were also justifiably proud of the development. 'Just turn the corner, you will see London there', one street vendor said proudly. Now London or now I do not know, I haven't been there, but it certainly was a grand and impressive sight. Here a group of weary pedestrians rests in front of a newly restored fort like structure on that street. (Amritsar, Punjab, northern India, Nov. 2017)
File name: 08_06_020813
Title: Stopping cars for stickers - Dorchester Ave. & 4th St.
Creator/Contributor: Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967 (photographer)
Date created: 1942-05
Physical description: 1 negative : film, black & white ; 4 x 5 in.
Genre: Film negatives
Subject: Traffic congestion; Police
Notes: Title and date from information provided by Leslie Jones or the Boston Public Library on the negative or negative sleeve.
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection
Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department
Rights: Copyright Leslie Jones.
Preferred credit: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
The usual scene on Manila's everyday congested road. Pictured are my modified diecast as UV Express (a shared taxi franchise system) here are Toyota Hi Ace (the 1988 and Grandia variant) and Probox (as Toyota Revo)
Late morning on Monday, October 5, and we step off the train into yet another quite warm autumn day, this time in hectic Varanasi, at the eastern edge of Uttar Pradesh. Though we’d be going to Delhi/New Delhi on the noon train tomorrow, I didn’t realize at the time that this would be the last of my photo shooting in India for this trip. (We were in Delhi for roughly 48 hours, but I got sick from train food on the 18 hour journey between Varanasi & the capital. Since the capital seemed way too smoggy, dirty, congested, disorganized…I didn’t feel like I’d missed out terribly, though there were a few places I would have liked seeing there.)
I’ll finish this posting on a good note, though, and focus on Varanasi. Before getting there, I wasn’t terribly excited about the tourist attractions I’d read about, but that’s not why people come to Varanasi. Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca & Medina are to Muslims, or Jerusalem to Christians. It’s their holiest city. On the banks of the Ganges, people come here to die, then have their ashes spread in the river.
Varanasi has a lot of poor and indigent people as well, who come and hope to be cremated and buried in the river, and there are a few places that serve as pseudo-hospices to help them. They tend to try to collect donations from anyone to afford to pay for the wood – it’s a specific wood they use for the cremation – so they can help these people.
So Varanasi is an interesting place. There are many ghats (ghat is like…a pier, or a place where you can access the river), and the most famous are probably Dashashwamedh Ghat (the liveliest and most colorful) and Manikarnika (the Burning Ghat). There are many other ghats, as well, and some have specific histories attached to them.
For me, the best plan was to stay in a hotel near the ghats in the Old City so we could enjoy the sunrise and stroll around. The Hotel Alka was my random choice, and it turned out to be good. It’s cheap, riverside, has a decent restaurant (though, as it’s a hotel restaurant, not as good as many of the others where we’d eaten in the past two weeks), and overall a comfortable room.
After getting checked in (and this place was pretty crowded), I took a shower, then headed off with a local guy who gave me a tour of the Old City. Now, a word on that… It’s not recommended that you go with any local who offers because most of them will steer you into various businesses, or towards people who are all too happy to try to get your money. I was very firm with this guy, though, and told him the maximum price I’d pay regardless of what he showed me, and that he should plan accordingly. He didn’t, and was a bit disappointed when I paid him exactly what I said I would.
The tour included stops at a few temples – they all started to look a bit alike after the second one – and at Manikarnika (one of the places where you’re herded and they try to make you feel guilty if you don’t fork over five million dollars to pay for everyone’s cremation). The last stop was at his boss’s store, well away from the old city, over in the Muslim Quarter, where I had to sit patiently through a whole lot of lecturing on textiles and their pleading that I buy the entire building. I tried to be as polite as possible with the last part, stating up front that I wouldn’t buy a thing before going in, though that disappointed them to no end. In the end, perhaps it’s better to go on your own…
After about four hours with my guide, it was already dusk and the city actually felt less safe than others. (There were a lot of police out and about.) It turns out that there wa s a religious ceremony that the police were banning this particular year for some reason, so there was a bit of tension. And since Varanasi isn’t a city that is lit up much at night, there wasn’t much to see, so I was glad to just get to my room and call it a day.
Waking early on Tuesday morning, I caught the sunrise over the Ganges, then wandered up and down the ghats for an hour or so. This really was an interesting experience as it seems the entire city comes to bathe in the river, and everyone seems pretty happy. There are plenty of boat tours, too, which I skipped, as I just wanted to take a walk.
After an hour or so of wandering the riverside, I went back to the Alka, had breakfast, and enjoyed my remaining few hours just watching the sun rise higher before heading to the train station for the unofficial (though still unbeknownst to me) end of this trip to India.
In hindsight, this was a terrific two weeks. Though I enjoyed Uttar Pradesh, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return here – unless going to different parts of the state, and I would certainly include a trip to Agra in that – but Rajasthan…I would gladly go back to anytime. However, India has a lot to offer, and I’m not sure if I’ll return here or go to different parts of the country. Anything is possible…
Late morning on Monday, October 5, and we step off the train into yet another quite warm autumn day, this time in hectic Varanasi, at the eastern edge of Uttar Pradesh. Though we’d be going to Delhi/New Delhi on the noon train tomorrow, I didn’t realize at the time that this would be the last of my photo shooting in India for this trip. (We were in Delhi for roughly 48 hours, but I got sick from train food on the 18 hour journey between Varanasi & the capital. Since the capital seemed way too smoggy, dirty, congested, disorganized…I didn’t feel like I’d missed out terribly, though there were a few places I would have liked seeing there.)
I’ll finish this posting on a good note, though, and focus on Varanasi. Before getting there, I wasn’t terribly excited about the tourist attractions I’d read about, but that’s not why people come to Varanasi. Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca & Medina are to Muslims, or Jerusalem to Christians. It’s their holiest city. On the banks of the Ganges, people come here to die, then have their ashes spread in the river.
Varanasi has a lot of poor and indigent people as well, who come and hope to be cremated and buried in the river, and there are a few places that serve as pseudo-hospices to help them. They tend to try to collect donations from anyone to afford to pay for the wood – it’s a specific wood they use for the cremation – so they can help these people.
So Varanasi is an interesting place. There are many ghats (ghat is like…a pier, or a place where you can access the river), and the most famous are probably Dashashwamedh Ghat (the liveliest and most colorful) and Manikarnika (the Burning Ghat). There are many other ghats, as well, and some have specific histories attached to them.
For me, the best plan was to stay in a hotel near the ghats in the Old City so we could enjoy the sunrise and stroll around. The Hotel Alka was my random choice, and it turned out to be good. It’s cheap, riverside, has a decent restaurant (though, as it’s a hotel restaurant, not as good as many of the others where we’d eaten in the past two weeks), and overall a comfortable room.
After getting checked in (and this place was pretty crowded), I took a shower, then headed off with a local guy who gave me a tour of the Old City. Now, a word on that… It’s not recommended that you go with any local who offers because most of them will steer you into various businesses, or towards people who are all too happy to try to get your money. I was very firm with this guy, though, and told him the maximum price I’d pay regardless of what he showed me, and that he should plan accordingly. He didn’t, and was a bit disappointed when I paid him exactly what I said I would.
The tour included stops at a few temples – they all started to look a bit alike after the second one – and at Manikarnika (one of the places where you’re herded and they try to make you feel guilty if you don’t fork over five million dollars to pay for everyone’s cremation). The last stop was at his boss’s store, well away from the old city, over in the Muslim Quarter, where I had to sit patiently through a whole lot of lecturing on textiles and their pleading that I buy the entire building. I tried to be as polite as possible with the last part, stating up front that I wouldn’t buy a thing before going in, though that disappointed them to no end. In the end, perhaps it’s better to go on your own…
After about four hours with my guide, it was already dusk and the city actually felt less safe than others. (There were a lot of police out and about.) It turns out that there wa s a religious ceremony that the police were banning this particular year for some reason, so there was a bit of tension. And since Varanasi isn’t a city that is lit up much at night, there wasn’t much to see, so I was glad to just get to my room and call it a day.
Waking early on Tuesday morning, I caught the sunrise over the Ganges, then wandered up and down the ghats for an hour or so. This really was an interesting experience as it seems the entire city comes to bathe in the river, and everyone seems pretty happy. There are plenty of boat tours, too, which I skipped, as I just wanted to take a walk.
After an hour or so of wandering the riverside, I went back to the Alka, had breakfast, and enjoyed my remaining few hours just watching the sun rise higher before heading to the train station for the unofficial (though still unbeknownst to me) end of this trip to India.
In hindsight, this was a terrific two weeks. Though I enjoyed Uttar Pradesh, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return here – unless going to different parts of the state, and I would certainly include a trip to Agra in that – but Rajasthan…I would gladly go back to anytime. However, India has a lot to offer, and I’m not sure if I’ll return here or go to different parts of the country. Anything is possible…
Girl on the stairs.
7/13/11
Title.
Girl on the stairs.
She was carving the cellular phone summer.
However, it got congested, too.
The E-mail to the loved boy also.
image from Next novel.
''Still would stand all time ( unforgettable'2 )''
Honolulu. Hawaii. USA. 2011. shot..... 4/6
image.
Van Halen - Dreams
_________________________________
_________________________________
stealaway - for - iPad .
( free pics .download . 181 pieces )
www.fotolog.com/stealaway/80808592
_________________________________
_________________________________
My Novel Unforgettable'
Mitsushiro Nakagawa
All Translated by Yumi Ikeda .
1 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/63010795
2 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/63010850
3 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/67367788
4 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/67367870
5 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/71689162
6 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/71689178
7 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/74743283
8 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/74743308
9 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/74743327
10 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/74743347
11 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/78430116
12 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/78430133
13 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/78430151
14 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/78430171
15 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/78430187
16 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/78430217
17 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/81839262
18 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/81839268
19 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/81839275
20 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/81839277
21 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/81839286
22 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/81839299
23 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441380
24 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441385
25 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441393
26 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441399
27 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441403
28 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441405
29 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/84441411
Up-dated.
30 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928332
31 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928336
32 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928339
33 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928343
34 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928345
35 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928348
36 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928352
37 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928356
38 www.fotolog.com/stealaway/85928359
to be continues.
images.
U2 - No Line On The Horizon Live in Dublin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related
to be continues.
The following up-loading.
The end of August.
It is a final episode.
To the people in the world.
Thank you for reading my novel.
I have feelings of the deep gratitude.
_________________________________
_________________________________
The following exhibition.
2011. November 12. - 13.
Theme.
Long ago and far away.
Place.
Tokyo Big sight.
Sponsoring.
Design festival.
Tokyo Big sight.
www.bigsight.jp/english/index.html
Design festival.
_________________________________
_________________________________
Title of my book > unforgettable'
Author : Mitsushiro Nakagawa
Out Now.
ISBN978-4-86264-866-2
in Amazon.
www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4862648665/ref=mem_taf_books_u
_________________________________
_________________________________
I went to New York 2007.
Day when Japan was left. March 9. Afternoon.
Day where it returned to Japan. March 14. Afternoon.
I am in Japan now.
The photograph in New York starts as follows.
www.fotolog.com/stealaway/22748231
_________________________________
Japanese is the following.
_________________________________
_________________________________
Photo uploaded at 8:59 AM
Route 511 using the congested express lanes, and a route 512 that left 30 minutes later and made extra stops in the mainline.
One more night in Memphis and we took another look at Beale Street. This time a lot less congested and a lot less intimidating. Altogether a much better experience. Ate in the Hard Rock Cafe. I know not very adventurous but it was decent. And a stroll along Beale Street led to BB Kings where we were thoroughly entertained by one Patrick Dodd. Amaze-ing!!! Terrific blues and made Beale Street feel so much more worthwhile. This guy is awesome. He's on facebook, so check him out and if he's ever in your neck of the woods and if you love blues you will defy love this guy... www.facebook.com/patrickdoddmusic
Before leaving Memphis for Nashville I wanted to visit the Lorraine Motel, the scene of Martin Luther King's assasination as I read it was a civil right museum. When we got there we met the most incredible woman Ms Jacqueline Smith. She has bee protesting there for over 22 years. I got chatting to her and decided not to visit the museum after all. Read her story she is an amazing woman. And I got a wee kiss from her too!!! :D www.fulfillthedream.net/
Next stop Nashville wooooohooooo! (At last!!!)
Located on the shore of Lough (Lake) Swilly on the Fanad Peninsula, the village of Rathmullan is well known for it’s beautiful, wide, un-congested, 3km long sandy beach in addition to its many other attractions for those looking for a holiday location offering peace and quiet.
Rathmullan is a holiday retreat for the whole family:
Classed as one of Europe's cleanest, Rathmullan's beautiful beach is there for all to enjoy.
Children and adults build sand castles on the beach inspired by and virtually in the shadow of a 15th Century monetary.
Fishermen (fisherpersons) charter boats to fish in Lough Swilly, from the pier or the beach.
Visitors go horseback riding on the beach or along the many equestrian trails.
Specializing in sea food, visitors and residents alike sample the cuisine at some of Rathmullan’s fine restaurants.
Those with a thirst enjoy a pint or two, fine pub grub, lively music and a friendly atmosphere at any of several pubs.
Walkers enjoy strolls along the beach or the roads in the gently rolling hills back of Rathmullan.
Golfers tee off at Portsalon Golf Club which is 20 minutes away or Otway Golf Club just 5 minutes away.
Village denizens often make visitors feel welcome by means of a friendly smile to a warm greeting wherever they might meet.
The village of Rathmullan is in an area with a rich history dating back to the Late Neolithic Epoch and is significant also for being the point of departure for The Flight of the Earls.
For more information about September celebrations commerating "The Flight of the Earls": www.flightoftheearls.ie
But in spite of the tumult of days gone by, Rathmullan is now a peaceful village where residents and visitors alike watch the sun rise over Lough Swilly in the morning and take strolls along the beach at twilight.
One more night in Memphis and we took another look at Beale Street. This time a lot less congested and a lot less intimidating. Altogether a much better experience. Ate in the Hard Rock Cafe. I know not very adventurous but it was decent. And a stroll along Beale Street led to BB Kings where we were thoroughly entertained by one Patrick Dodd. Amaze-ing!!! Terrific blues and made Beale Street feel so much more worthwhile. This guy is awesome. He's on facebook, so check him out and if he's ever in your neck of the woods and if you love blues you will defy love this guy... www.facebook.com/patrickdoddmusic
Before leaving Memphis for Nashville I wanted to visit the Lorraine Motel, the scene of Martin Luther King's assasination as I read it was a civil right museum. When we got there we met the most incredible woman Ms Jacqueline Smith. She has bee protesting there for over 22 years. I got chatting to her and decided not to visit the museum after all. Read her story she is an amazing woman. And I got a wee kiss from her too!!! :D www.fulfillthedream.net/
Next stop Nashville wooooohooooo! (At last!!!)
File name: 08_06_020814
Title: Stopping cars for stickers - Dorchester Ave. & 4th St.
Creator/Contributor: Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967 (photographer)
Date created: 1942-05
Physical description: 1 negative : film, black & white ; 4 x 5 in.
Genre: Film negatives
Subject: Traffic congestion; Police
Notes: Title and date from information provided by Leslie Jones or the Boston Public Library on the negative or negative sleeve.
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection
Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department
Rights: Copyright Leslie Jones.
Preferred credit: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
One of the main streets in downtown Jaipur. This pictures shows how congested and chaotic the streets of India can become.
Jaipur, India
Sydney terminal was very congested on this day. The AK cars arrived with S317 and a couple of "KL" (49 class) locos. Due to a double-consist Indian Pacific being shunted, there were no places to run the AK cars locos around. The middle road of platforms 5/6 were used and the NR loco off the IP was used. It was a marathon effort which caused further delays in and out of Sydney Yard.
A congested crossing has become a spacious one thanks to the space that has been released by the burning of the Meghalaya Assembly.
Mumbai's traffic is notoriously congested and crazy. We didnt care, we had a car to drive with!
Camera www.topshot.fi, AF lenses www.vuokrakamera.fi or MF Leica R www.kameratori.fi
Do you suffer from congested skin pores, blackheads, whiteheads, acne, tired dull skin, redness or even fine lines and wrinkles? Why not try our advanced skin peels, the best way to help clear and restore the skin to give it a youthful look. Visit us online here www.riverbanksclinic.co.uk/Treatments/SkinCare.aspx
The Micro is a new concept of vehicle designed to operate with maximum efficiency in congested urban traffic. On 95% of town journeys, conventional 4-5 seater cars carry only one or two people, with obvious wastage of energy and road space. The Micro can carry two people in comfort. Its very narrow body makes it almost as mobile in dense traffic as a motorcycle. To give it high stability, the body tilts on corners like a 2-wheeler. Tilt is controlled automatically by a patented mechanism. With a small petrol engine and automatic transmission, the Micro can average over 100 m.p.g. in town use and has performance similar to that of a typical small car. If used in large numbers for town journeys, it would drastically reduce urban traffic congestion and air pollution. Electric propulsion is also possible.
Bentley Wildfowl and Motor Museum, Halland, East Sussex
17th July 2011
Avery has been congested and doesn't feel well at all. He had to stay home from daycare since it was so bad.
My blog Adley Haywood Photography | Greensboro | High Point | Winston Salem NC
chick getting grouchy with mom inside the already congested nest which he is sharing with his sibling (not visible in this image).
Mom would say it's my duty to keep you guys safe and warm and stop your nonsense.
I have a fantastic time shooting their activities. The nest was constructed in a very open position with little or almost no obstruction and best of all, beside a bench where I could even sit down comfortably while waiting in between feedings.
A very rare opportunity as most nesting birds would prefer a position well hidden from view and especially for this species is invariably over a body of water making photography rather challenging in may ways.
@jurong eco garden, sg
Late morning on Monday, October 5, and we step off the train into yet another quite warm autumn day, this time in hectic Varanasi, at the eastern edge of Uttar Pradesh. Though we’d be going to Delhi/New Delhi on the noon train tomorrow, I didn’t realize at the time that this would be the last of my photo shooting in India for this trip. (We were in Delhi for roughly 48 hours, but I got sick from train food on the 18 hour journey between Varanasi & the capital. Since the capital seemed way too smoggy, dirty, congested, disorganized…I didn’t feel like I’d missed out terribly, though there were a few places I would have liked seeing there.)
I’ll finish this posting on a good note, though, and focus on Varanasi. Before getting there, I wasn’t terribly excited about the tourist attractions I’d read about, but that’s not why people come to Varanasi. Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca & Medina are to Muslims, or Jerusalem to Christians. It’s their holiest city. On the banks of the Ganges, people come here to die, then have their ashes spread in the river.
Varanasi has a lot of poor and indigent people as well, who come and hope to be cremated and buried in the river, and there are a few places that serve as pseudo-hospices to help them. They tend to try to collect donations from anyone to afford to pay for the wood – it’s a specific wood they use for the cremation – so they can help these people.
So Varanasi is an interesting place. There are many ghats (ghat is like…a pier, or a place where you can access the river), and the most famous are probably Dashashwamedh Ghat (the liveliest and most colorful) and Manikarnika (the Burning Ghat). There are many other ghats, as well, and some have specific histories attached to them.
For me, the best plan was to stay in a hotel near the ghats in the Old City so we could enjoy the sunrise and stroll around. The Hotel Alka was my random choice, and it turned out to be good. It’s cheap, riverside, has a decent restaurant (though, as it’s a hotel restaurant, not as good as many of the others where we’d eaten in the past two weeks), and overall a comfortable room.
After getting checked in (and this place was pretty crowded), I took a shower, then headed off with a local guy who gave me a tour of the Old City. Now, a word on that… It’s not recommended that you go with any local who offers because most of them will steer you into various businesses, or towards people who are all too happy to try to get your money. I was very firm with this guy, though, and told him the maximum price I’d pay regardless of what he showed me, and that he should plan accordingly. He didn’t, and was a bit disappointed when I paid him exactly what I said I would.
The tour included stops at a few temples – they all started to look a bit alike after the second one – and at Manikarnika (one of the places where you’re herded and they try to make you feel guilty if you don’t fork over five million dollars to pay for everyone’s cremation). The last stop was at his boss’s store, well away from the old city, over in the Muslim Quarter, where I had to sit patiently through a whole lot of lecturing on textiles and their pleading that I buy the entire building. I tried to be as polite as possible with the last part, stating up front that I wouldn’t buy a thing before going in, though that disappointed them to no end. In the end, perhaps it’s better to go on your own…
After about four hours with my guide, it was already dusk and the city actually felt less safe than others. (There were a lot of police out and about.) It turns out that there wa s a religious ceremony that the police were banning this particular year for some reason, so there was a bit of tension. And since Varanasi isn’t a city that is lit up much at night, there wasn’t much to see, so I was glad to just get to my room and call it a day.
Waking early on Tuesday morning, I caught the sunrise over the Ganges, then wandered up and down the ghats for an hour or so. This really was an interesting experience as it seems the entire city comes to bathe in the river, and everyone seems pretty happy. There are plenty of boat tours, too, which I skipped, as I just wanted to take a walk.
After an hour or so of wandering the riverside, I went back to the Alka, had breakfast, and enjoyed my remaining few hours just watching the sun rise higher before heading to the train station for the unofficial (though still unbeknownst to me) end of this trip to India.
In hindsight, this was a terrific two weeks. Though I enjoyed Uttar Pradesh, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return here – unless going to different parts of the state, and I would certainly include a trip to Agra in that – but Rajasthan…I would gladly go back to anytime. However, India has a lot to offer, and I’m not sure if I’ll return here or go to different parts of the country. Anything is possible…
Saigon, Vietnam - Jun 30, 2017. People standing on Nguyen Hue Street in Saigon, Vietnam. Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) has exotic food, colonial architecture, and memories of war.
Chalmers Street in Clydebank can get congested at the best of times however this week has seen utilities work take place which has taken all the stops out of use, as well as narrowing the road at this end making it impossible for two vehicles to pass each other. Hopefully normal service will be resumed for next week.
Democratic Republic of North Korea, Pyongyang, elevated view of congested cityscape with bridge over river
Hai Phong, Vietnam - May 21, 2016. People and vehicles on street in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Hai Phong is a major port city in northeastern Vietnam, across from Cat Ba Island.
Mumbai's tiffin carriers have impressed many management gurus worldwide with their ability to bring tens of thousands of people their lunches every day across the sprawling and congested city.
some cool and interesting facts about Aamchi Mumbai here
Congested Toronto CBD or the Financial district as viewed from atop the observation deck atop the CN Tower. Notes about CN Tower itself appear in previous captions earlier in this album. In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It also belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers, where it holds second-place ranking.(Toronto, Canada, Nov.2015)
Once a railway backwater, the Chiltern line is now a very congested railway, with frequent Chiltern Railways services to Aylesbury, Banbury and Birmingham, WSMR services to Shrewsbury and Wrexham and several freight flows. On the left is the 1217 Marylebone-Shrewsbury with a DVT at the rear, passing a Freightliner class 66 with a train of binliners which I presume are heading for Calvert on the old Great central line north of Aylesbury. Taken at South Ruislip station on 3 September 2009.
Late morning on Monday, October 5, and we step off the train into yet another quite warm autumn day, this time in hectic Varanasi, at the eastern edge of Uttar Pradesh. Though we’d be going to Delhi/New Delhi on the noon train tomorrow, I didn’t realize at the time that this would be the last of my photo shooting in India for this trip. (We were in Delhi for roughly 48 hours, but I got sick from train food on the 18 hour journey between Varanasi & the capital. Since the capital seemed way too smoggy, dirty, congested, disorganized…I didn’t feel like I’d missed out terribly, though there were a few places I would have liked seeing there.)
I’ll finish this posting on a good note, though, and focus on Varanasi. Before getting there, I wasn’t terribly excited about the tourist attractions I’d read about, but that’s not why people come to Varanasi. Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca & Medina are to Muslims, or Jerusalem to Christians. It’s their holiest city. On the banks of the Ganges, people come here to die, then have their ashes spread in the river.
Varanasi has a lot of poor and indigent people as well, who come and hope to be cremated and buried in the river, and there are a few places that serve as pseudo-hospices to help them. They tend to try to collect donations from anyone to afford to pay for the wood – it’s a specific wood they use for the cremation – so they can help these people.
So Varanasi is an interesting place. There are many ghats (ghat is like…a pier, or a place where you can access the river), and the most famous are probably Dashashwamedh Ghat (the liveliest and most colorful) and Manikarnika (the Burning Ghat). There are many other ghats, as well, and some have specific histories attached to them.
For me, the best plan was to stay in a hotel near the ghats in the Old City so we could enjoy the sunrise and stroll around. The Hotel Alka was my random choice, and it turned out to be good. It’s cheap, riverside, has a decent restaurant (though, as it’s a hotel restaurant, not as good as many of the others where we’d eaten in the past two weeks), and overall a comfortable room.
After getting checked in (and this place was pretty crowded), I took a shower, then headed off with a local guy who gave me a tour of the Old City. Now, a word on that… It’s not recommended that you go with any local who offers because most of them will steer you into various businesses, or towards people who are all too happy to try to get your money. I was very firm with this guy, though, and told him the maximum price I’d pay regardless of what he showed me, and that he should plan accordingly. He didn’t, and was a bit disappointed when I paid him exactly what I said I would.
The tour included stops at a few temples – they all started to look a bit alike after the second one – and at Manikarnika (one of the places where you’re herded and they try to make you feel guilty if you don’t fork over five million dollars to pay for everyone’s cremation). The last stop was at his boss’s store, well away from the old city, over in the Muslim Quarter, where I had to sit patiently through a whole lot of lecturing on textiles and their pleading that I buy the entire building. I tried to be as polite as possible with the last part, stating up front that I wouldn’t buy a thing before going in, though that disappointed them to no end. In the end, perhaps it’s better to go on your own…
After about four hours with my guide, it was already dusk and the city actually felt less safe than others. (There were a lot of police out and about.) It turns out that there wa s a religious ceremony that the police were banning this particular year for some reason, so there was a bit of tension. And since Varanasi isn’t a city that is lit up much at night, there wasn’t much to see, so I was glad to just get to my room and call it a day.
Waking early on Tuesday morning, I caught the sunrise over the Ganges, then wandered up and down the ghats for an hour or so. This really was an interesting experience as it seems the entire city comes to bathe in the river, and everyone seems pretty happy. There are plenty of boat tours, too, which I skipped, as I just wanted to take a walk.
After an hour or so of wandering the riverside, I went back to the Alka, had breakfast, and enjoyed my remaining few hours just watching the sun rise higher before heading to the train station for the unofficial (though still unbeknownst to me) end of this trip to India.
In hindsight, this was a terrific two weeks. Though I enjoyed Uttar Pradesh, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return here – unless going to different parts of the state, and I would certainly include a trip to Agra in that – but Rajasthan…I would gladly go back to anytime. However, India has a lot to offer, and I’m not sure if I’ll return here or go to different parts of the country. Anything is possible…
My high-schooler came home with a congested head and a fever today. He got a little medicine and a long nap, and he's already feeling much better.
This is a rather congested part of Prek Toal town. But the lake is widening now, as the buildings at the far end will show. These are the last few buildings of the town- we are almost out of the town now. (Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Apr. 2014)
Brownhills High Street, even more congested than usual today, when this DAF lost its nearside rear wheels. Taken from the driving seat of ex-WMPTE Bristol VR 4714, before squeezing it through the gap.
The Delhi donkey rider shows us around his homestead.
Flash Parker Photography:
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