So, I’ve spent four days in this crazy city now. The internet connection is super-slow so I’m not able to upload any nice pictures and don’t even ask for videos. Here’s a picture I have taken with my phone.. it’s Paharganj street in the Main Bazaar in New Delhi, right where I have been staying these days.. an insane melting pot of rickshaws, stray dogs, people, screaming people, more people, street food, poor people, hippies and noise. A video would be so much better.
This evening I’m jumping onto a 12,5h train to Varanasi. I will be there at 7.30am tomorrow, if it’s on time.. I need a lot of cookies!
I’m alive, happy, and not as exhausted as yesterday. Delhi is insane. Chaotic. Dirty. Weird.. & wonderfully colourful.
I jumped into a prepaid cab at 3.30 in the morning yesterday and found my way to Anoop Hotel in Paharganj. After arguing with the “we don’t have any cheap room free” -guys in the reception for a while I got to stay in the super-luxury-airconditioned “this room normally costs 900rupees” -room while refusing to pay more than 400rupees. At 6 o’clock in the morning I got a phonecall:
“hello ma’am, yes ma’am, there is better room for you free now, you move better now, cheaper room very good, I send a boy yes okey?”
The reception guy hung up, I was half asleep and four seconds later there was a knock on my door. As I struggle with covering my shoulders and legs with a blanket I let the boy in, he grabs my bags and runs off to a room just across the corridor, which is basically the same, except the luxury-AC.. and I’m very happy about that – I never use AC anyway. And well, 400 rupees is 6,6euros. I’m okay with that for now.
Yesterday I met my friend Shakti from the Expo 2008 Zaragoza in the evening and we had a really nice meal. Except from him, and the few other travellers I’ve bumped in to, every single person I meet says the same thing about the person I last spoke to:
“don’t trust him, he’s a dodgy guy..”
It’s quite funny because they try to create some sort of mutual-trust with their “I’m a nice guy because I warned you about the previous one” technique. However, it still doesn’t make any sense as I already know the next person will say the same – and well, it’s true. They all somehow want to sell something. Seriously. You really get paranoid over here. But I guess it’s part of the charm of this place.. everything is just.. weird and dodgy. In a harmless way. The dodgyness just wants as much of your money as possible, nothing else.
And darlings, if you want to have a talk – skype me. I’ve forwarded the call to my Indian number. The time difference is +3,5h.
I don’t know how long this video will stay in youtube before people react.. until then, let’s enjoy the insane randomness, the naked skin and the catchy song.
El Guincho – Bombay
Pop Negro (2010)
And the title is quite suitable as well, isn’t it? Haha, hvala grizzly.
The preparations before a big trip are so much fun, I love my lists of what I need to pack, buy and do before leaving.. and this part, the putting new and awesome unexplored music in my ipod – is one of my absolute favourite ones! I’m really looking forward to the flight and all the sound-candy I will get to enjoy.
I have been wearing my travel-watch for four days now.. my friends know what it means and it’s usually a sort of a mental indicator for me that I am leaving soon, however, this time it still feels quite distant.. let me tell you one thing – it’s not! :)
Anyways, here’s some new awesomeness for you, music!
Aphex Twin – Ageispolis
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992)
To appreciate this tune you might need in-ear headphones with a nice frequency response, if you use mediocre laptop speakers the most important details may be lost. I like it, it’s one of those old classics that isolates you from everything and take you on a mind-trip. Enjoy.
Not letting oneself get provoked by the stupidity or aggression of other people is a crucial energy-saver in daily life.
It takes a lot to provoke me in a way that will make me angry or care, and when you expose yourself to a lot of culture differences, unexpected situations and well, find yourself in clubs next to young girls undergoing their attitude-crisis, it is a priceless skill. Answering aggression with love is easy once you’ve learnt how to not take yourself too seriously, and it’s a lot of fun!
This example is a demonstration of personal strength beyond what I believe I would ever be able to express, in this case faith might play its role, however, getting angry is human, so the fact that the man they talk about in this video is a reverend is for me irrelevant, he’s just admirably self confident and strong.
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Being angry might be important to demonstrate an attitude to the wider public and the entry of the xenophobic party Sweden Democrats into our parliament did make me upset even if it was expected. However, the campaigning that I see on facebook that urges us to isolate all the people that voted for them, burn their cars and make riots is just.. uhm.. very much working to their own advantage.
Non-violent demonstration of resistance against the attitudes that this party is campaigning and a clear debate is important, however, dialogue and communication is crucial for changing attitudes, and these people clearly have some issue that they want to us to take more seriously and listen to, so.. they need to be a part of the dialogue in order for it to have any effect. That’s what democracy is all about, and we need to respect that.
Using reverend Wade Watts from the example above, a forgive them father for they don’t know what they are doing –kind of way is the first step. Then the next one is to quickly identify and find them, put them in a room and tell them the truth: xenophobia just isn’t awesome in any way.
Dukoral works by introducing very small amounts of dead cholera bacteria and nontoxic components of cholera toxin into the body.
That does sound quite nasty, doesn’t it? I am deliberately ingesting something that is dead, and sick, and.. bacterial?
This allows the body to make antibodies against the bacteria and toxin so that if the bacteria does get into the body and produce the toxin, they are immediately attacked by the body’s own defense system.
Defense system for the win, at least I’m not getting the real thing.. and by the way, Dukoral has the most random of tastes: Raspberry. Awesome.
