And the award for the most brazen Varanasi hawker goes to...
I'm walking through one of the quieter, more isolated ghats, when I see a figure heading my way. Unlike some of the other hawkers, this one isn't yelling at me from a distance. He comes up close to me and is speaking more softly. I can't really make out what he's saying, but I don't see any postcards, bindis, or candles on him, so I assume he must be peddling boat rides.
--Thank you, but I took a boat ride this morning.
No boat ride, madam.
--I don't want it, whatever it is.
But it is best quality!
--Best quality?
Yes, best quality hashish. Come to my house, I will show you.
--I'm sure it is, but I don't do hashish.
You don't? Everyone here do it. You should try it.
--I should? Why?
It is good for the sex.
--I don't do sex.
What! You don't do? I do sex every day. I have good Indian woman.
--Well, maybe if I had good Indian woman, I might want to do it every day too..
No, no, no. You must try it with Indian man. You could try it with me, even.
--The hashish, or the sex?
Everything! It is good together.
--But what about your good Indian woman? She won't care?
She ok. Sometimes a man has to do these things...
It was a deal I couldn't resist. Oh what a wild night we had...
;o)
Basia,
You missed the oppurtunity, you should have tried it..(hashish and the
offer... :-)
My life this week: morning coffee, morning toast and morning laugh with
Basia. Life is good! Make it a daily from now on. OK?
Just a clarification - ya'll know that the last line was written
tongue-in-cheek, right? Some of the comments I was hearing today (not the
ones posted here) made me wonder whether some people thought I'd really had
a wild night with a drug dealer in Varanasi...I'M JUST KIDDING, guys! (I
better be careful what I put out there for the world to see...a girl's
gotta clear her name! sheesh!)
Basia, you actually visited my home state Kerala. My grandma lives an hour
from Cochin in Kottayam. Isnt it beautiful? But the weather's absolutely
terrible. If you go again you should visit my grandma. Im sure she'd love
to see you... So when are you getting back to Rochester..
Hi Maya! I didn't know you were from Kerala. Yes, it's absolutely gorgeous.
Let me know where your grandma lives - I'll definitely visit her. Not sure
when I'll be getting back to Rochester - sometime this year?
Why cant put the positive image about india? I am sure, this kind of things
will happen every part of the world. Sitting in other part of the world and
touring few times to india and posting only the bad experiences is not
good. I am sure you also had good experience and met the good people who
are ready to help you.
I have no idea who you are, Suresh, but you might want to read a few more
of my blog entries before posting these comments. My blog is filled with
things that I love about India. And just for the record, I am not "sitting
in other part of the world and touring few times to india." I live in
India. Just like any country on earth, India has both positive and negative
images. The purpose of this blog is to talk about them both, not to paint a
rosy picture. You need to get yourself a sense of humor, man!