Day 77:

I'm in Sarnath, just north of Varnasi, and the place where Buddha have his first "sermon" to his disciples. I'm in a park, and there's a pack of Korean tourists to my left having a singalong. A few moments ago they performed a fan dance of some sort. Man, Korean tourists - as I have said - are such a delightful sort. They are so charming and ridiculous. Almost as much as the average Canadian backpacker. The Korean tourists can do no wrong, and the Indian visitors to this park are in awe of this group of madmen and women. I think it will take some time to shake lose the Korean sojourn from my consciousness. I feel like I'm "in the club," or more accurately "in on the joke."

I'll head back to Varanasi this evening. Shortly thereafter I'll catch a train to Delhi. Varanasi is, without a doubt, the most horrible place I've ever visited. One simple CANNOT find a moment of tranquility there, which is odd considering that Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in all of India. The only quiet time is spent locked inside of a hotel room, and even that is a tenuous proposition considering how many times someone has knocked on my door to "sweep up" for a few rupees gratuity.

As I sat at the ghats (places along the Ganges river to bathe and to cremate bodies) a particularly annoying guy sat down beside me trying to sell me on a tour of the area. His pitch was thirty minutes long, and when he got to the part about "showing the burning bodies" he included such patter as "burning and learning... cremation education!" The dude wouldn't go away, and I really wanted to smack him and point out that he was in a holy place. But that's not for me to say.

Even my driver on this side trip to Sarnath has been making desperate lunges at my wallet. I had to firmly request that his "friend" NOT "explain Buddhism" to me in Sarnath in exchange for a donation to his "charity."

...

Now the Koreans have moved on, and so I shall pack up my things and do the same.

...

Delhi tomorrow morning.