turbans & bhangra

buying your own ticket at the rail station is a real lesson in hell. over 60 windows to choose from, you have to go to the right one without allowing all the touts to steer you in the wrong direction. focus. 52 was my lucky window. i got second class seats and had to pay in american dollars. why they did not take rupees is beyone me. can you say scam?

i have to take a taxi one hour to bandra, where i have to meet the train. an hour of the worst ghettos i have ever seen, i have been through this ride before. every time the cab stops is an opportunity for beggers to seperate you from your rupees and give you a guilt trip. "maaaaaaa" buy these whistles, buy this, buy that. finally arrive at bandra terminus. millions of flies live here because it's one big pile of waste, consisting of poo, piss, vomit, garbage and dogs feasting on it, children playing in it. totally disgusting.

get to my "room"-actually its a small space with a curtain, and i have to share with "twitchy"-a man who can't sit still. he paces, sits, paces, hums,groans,belches,coughs,farts,paces,snorts for the entire 34 hours. ok. i can deal with this. but 3 hours into the trip arrives a family of 6-queen ma and dud & mum with their 3 abusive kicking screaming bouncing light flicking on and off - staring down at us like gargoyles "children". queenie grandma sitting cross legged applying her cherry red lipstick, with long manicured fingernails and toes, sipping chai, proud as all hell. daddy sitting on twitchy's legs while he pretends to sleep, and we can't do a damn thing about it. they even try to take our room away from us. i repeat the same mantra to myself, cause i can't do nuthin about it-"get through it, get through it, get through it, all things pass, all things pass...." about 6 hours later, finally, they get kicked out. rudest damn people i have ever encountered in all my travels.

arrive in amritsar, punjab 34 long hours later, dumped into a street with nothing but turbans and rickshaws for miles. find the wrong hotel-ooops-super luxury hotel. stay anyhow, cause i deserve it. hot shower, room service, bad bollywood gossip show on plasma tv...and nothing but that delicious bhangra music and gorgeous turbans! god i love turbans!

off to the golden temple. stay tuned