My train was 3 hours late departing. A poor american girl had been waiting for the 4pm train, which was now delayed until 3:30AM. I took her under my wings, spoke to the station-master on her behalf, and had her transferred to my train, which left at midnight.
It turned out she was amazingly interesting - lived in Sonoma, north of San Francisco, and grew marijuana (state sanctioned, for medical clinics) for a living. We had a great conversation about money laundering, taxes, and how to effectively hide your accounting books.
It's strange.. but all the criminals/law breakers I meet - most don't care at all about security. She uses a prepaid telephone, but doesn't seem to care enough to get a new phone every month or two - even though it'd be very very easy.
I gave her my card, and told her to drop me a line if she ever had any questions on improving her personal security (encrypted accounting databases, etc)...
Anyhow. My train arrived very very late to Calcutta. It's 6PM now, I have a 9PM flight, so I have just enough time to send a couple emails, grab a bit of plain rice (damn stomach), and then head to the airport. I sleep in Chennai airport tonight, which should be lovely.
It also looks like Air deccan, my carrier of choice, will be flying direct to the Andamans from Calcutta in 15 days, thus, if I had more time in my trip, i could have avoided the whole trip to Chennai.
Oh well.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Last of Varanassi/ Food Poisoning / Major backsheesh
Took care of the last of my errands in Varanasi - which included going to the hospital to have a proper test taken - on and off again food poisoning was making me suspect something nasty.
The doc straight away said "You most certainly have either giuardia or amoebic dissentry. Luckily, the medicine is the same for both."
Translation: I'm not sure which one you have, so I'll give you meds for both, and we'll hope it kills whatever you have off.
The test they gave me proved to be inconclusive, so i'll take the meds, wait, and see.
Something interesting happened later though.
The pharmacy that filled my RX gave me the wrong drugs. One of the 4 sets of pills they gave me was completely wrong, for eplieptic seizures - and since Indian drugs don't come with any descritpions/warnings, I didn't figure it out until after I went back to see the doc that evening.
He looked at the pills, assured me that i would be fine (after just taking one of the wrong pills), and told me to go and shout at the pharmacists..which I did.
I started by asking for them to write their names, their phone #'s, and that of their boss... they refused. I asked for their bosses name/number, which they did, and then promptly took back once I called their bluff and started to dial it on my non-functioning cellphone.
Time was short, as my train to Calcutta was leaving soon - so i didn't have the time to wait for any police involvement. So, when they offered me 500 rupees to let the matter go (12 dollars, or about 1 week's salary for hard labor), I took it.
And that, is the first time i've ever accepted backsheesh in my life.. I think.
The doc straight away said "You most certainly have either giuardia or amoebic dissentry. Luckily, the medicine is the same for both."
Translation: I'm not sure which one you have, so I'll give you meds for both, and we'll hope it kills whatever you have off.
The test they gave me proved to be inconclusive, so i'll take the meds, wait, and see.
Something interesting happened later though.
The pharmacy that filled my RX gave me the wrong drugs. One of the 4 sets of pills they gave me was completely wrong, for eplieptic seizures - and since Indian drugs don't come with any descritpions/warnings, I didn't figure it out until after I went back to see the doc that evening.
He looked at the pills, assured me that i would be fine (after just taking one of the wrong pills), and told me to go and shout at the pharmacists..which I did.
I started by asking for them to write their names, their phone #'s, and that of their boss... they refused. I asked for their bosses name/number, which they did, and then promptly took back once I called their bluff and started to dial it on my non-functioning cellphone.
Time was short, as my train to Calcutta was leaving soon - so i didn't have the time to wait for any police involvement. So, when they offered me 500 rupees to let the matter go (12 dollars, or about 1 week's salary for hard labor), I took it.
And that, is the first time i've ever accepted backsheesh in my life.. I think.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Shiva Rati/ Bhang / Bambolee
Wow. What a public holiday.
Imagine this:
A religious holiday, that involves loud music, a parade, and lots and lots of free drugs.
It seemed like yesterday, everyone in Varanasi was high. Consumption of bhang (marijuana leaves), mostly in lassi (milkshake) form was everywhere. They were being given out on the streets, outside many temples - all for free, of course. I really can't do it justice to describe just how many people were in the streets, sipping a green/white liquid out of clay cups. The elderly, young kids, even babies (usually being helped out by their parents) were consuming the stuff.
I've been to Amsterdam before, a city where all the tourists seem to be high. But this was a city where most of the working people were doing it too - all in the name of Lord Shiva.
Funnily enough, I was expecting a semi-quiet day.. thinking that everyone would be taking the day off to spend at home or in the temple... but no.
Many people still went to work - they just went to work high. My cycle-rickshaw driver was zig-zagging pretty wildly in the morning - which made the usually dangerous ride even more scary.
In the evening, I escaped the intense dancing crowds and took a night-time boat trip down the Ganges. It was very nice, gave me a chance to see the bathing crowds from a far away enough distance that it wasn't claustrophic.... And of course, it seemed as if half of the people sitting on the ghats were smoking ganja out of chillums...
Saw a floating bloated body in the river too. Mmm.
I still can't quite get my head around the drug laws in India. Foreigners are regularly thrown into jail (or pay huge bribes to avoid being sent there), seedy looking gentlemen (and some children) offer to sell you drugs in most cities when you arrive, yet its perfectly allowed (and even encouraged) on this holy of holidays.
Go figure.
I'm taking care of my final errands now (I leave Varanasi this evening on the night train). Mega food poisoning has hit, which is making me very very thankful that i'm travelling to Calcutta by train (with a toilet, phew) and not bus.
I -may- have internet when I arrive in Port Blair (the capital of the andamans), however, I expect to leave there as soon as humanly possible for Havelock Island, where I expect to have no contact with the outside world.
Off I go.
Imagine this:
A religious holiday, that involves loud music, a parade, and lots and lots of free drugs.
It seemed like yesterday, everyone in Varanasi was high. Consumption of bhang (marijuana leaves), mostly in lassi (milkshake) form was everywhere. They were being given out on the streets, outside many temples - all for free, of course. I really can't do it justice to describe just how many people were in the streets, sipping a green/white liquid out of clay cups. The elderly, young kids, even babies (usually being helped out by their parents) were consuming the stuff.
I've been to Amsterdam before, a city where all the tourists seem to be high. But this was a city where most of the working people were doing it too - all in the name of Lord Shiva.
Funnily enough, I was expecting a semi-quiet day.. thinking that everyone would be taking the day off to spend at home or in the temple... but no.
Many people still went to work - they just went to work high. My cycle-rickshaw driver was zig-zagging pretty wildly in the morning - which made the usually dangerous ride even more scary.
In the evening, I escaped the intense dancing crowds and took a night-time boat trip down the Ganges. It was very nice, gave me a chance to see the bathing crowds from a far away enough distance that it wasn't claustrophic.... And of course, it seemed as if half of the people sitting on the ghats were smoking ganja out of chillums...
Saw a floating bloated body in the river too. Mmm.
I still can't quite get my head around the drug laws in India. Foreigners are regularly thrown into jail (or pay huge bribes to avoid being sent there), seedy looking gentlemen (and some children) offer to sell you drugs in most cities when you arrive, yet its perfectly allowed (and even encouraged) on this holy of holidays.
Go figure.
I'm taking care of my final errands now (I leave Varanasi this evening on the night train). Mega food poisoning has hit, which is making me very very thankful that i'm travelling to Calcutta by train (with a toilet, phew) and not bus.
I -may- have internet when I arrive in Port Blair (the capital of the andamans), however, I expect to leave there as soon as humanly possible for Havelock Island, where I expect to have no contact with the outside world.
Off I go.
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