Joan
 Ubide
 Photography
 &
 a
 few
 sounds

A great country full of contrasts… and cows.

A real wonder, a mystical and spiritual country, sometimes hard, sometimes tiresome, but without a doubt, unique.

First I had in mind crossing India in a couple of months, but finally I’ll stay for 6 months here, as long as my visa lasts.

I started my route in India in Gorakpur, where I arrived by bus from the border of Nepal. I traveled in the packed bus suffering for my backpack, which was on the roof of the vehicle, where new passengers were accommodated.

In Gorakpur I took a train to Varanasi, one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever seen, something unique and really special for those with a camera as a travel companion.

In Varanasi I was very lucky. At Gorakpur station, while I was waiting for my train, I met a guy who turned out to be from my country. We took a night train and, for 1.5 Euro a day, I spent a couple of weeks in a house with a family and a group of Catalan people who travel to India to learn how to play the sitar, a typical Indian instrument. We had the house full of music, and even a serrano ham and pa amb tomaca (bread rubbed with tomato, a Catalan specialty). A few days later Tanja, my German friend with whom I crossed Tibet and the Himalayas, joined us.

Varanasi

Shocking for all those who arrive “fresh” from their “civilized” countries of origin. Although sometimes I feel India, Varanasi and the people who live there are more civilized than many other places with clean streets and nice-smelling but neurotic people, who are envious and worried about trifles. Here people accept things as they are and don’t get obsessed about other people’s lives.

Moreover, here I’ve been walking up and down with my camera and it hasn’t been stolen, which is what probably would have happened in my native country.

Varanasi is surrealistic, as nearly all the country. A place where you can find a trouble-free and somewhat chaotic mix of men, women, bohemian, monkeys, dogs, rats, rickshaws, tuc-tucs (taxis) and hundreds of cows which turn the streets in a mine field.

However, it’s amazing. After several days of adaptation to this new environment, it becomes captivating. At least that’s what happened to me and to several other people who I’ve been lucky enough to meet.

Varanasi is not a place you can visit in one or two days, you must stay there, become familiar with the people drinking chai in the street, visiting hidden spots and participating in their rituals. This is how you will truly know Varanasi and can say you’ve been to India.

Nevertheless, if you’re the fussy type, you’d better not go to India… Or do go and change your attitude, because life is full of pink-colored shit, much more revolving than cow shit.

What is “surrealistic”?

One day, in one of my trips to have a chai for 3 rupees in a street stall, I could see all the following:

A bull trying to mate a cow, the cow didn’t want to, so the all the running and charging caused quite a chaos among pedestrians.

A monkey stealing an apple from a vegetables stall.

Two dogs fighting. A rat walking like an equilibrist on electric cables.

A poor man, who was affected from by leprosy and had no legs, moving on something resembling a skateboard begging for a few rupees.

At the same time, another cow tried to eat some vegetables from another stall, while the saleswoman scared it away with a stick, on the other hand holding an old weighing scale with a coupe of oranges in it.

And, in the background, a policeman with an old rifle and a group of people, singing and smiling, heading to the gath with a defunct.

And all this in only a few minutes.

I looked at the man who was preparing my chai, and we smiled at each other as if I were telling him “Wow…” and he said “That’s the way it is around here, welcome to India!”

I can accept all this, I would even say that, after a few weeks of living here, I like it. However, what I loathe of India is that being a country with such a potential to build transoceanic, supersonic missiles, still has people dying literally in the streets.

During the last months I’ve seen really hard scenes, something that makes you loose sleep and makes you feel very fortunate.

So, after a few days in Varanasi, where I celebrated New Year’s Eve aboard a small boat in the Ganges, I headed to Agra.

In Agra, after paying 750 rupees, I could visit the Taj Mahal. It’s a real wonder, although not as impressive as I thought it would be.

In Agra and mainly around the temple, you can confirm why Indians are famous for pestering tourists. They go on and on with the same questions, all for a few rupees. Here you can even loathe India, but you get used to it, there’s no way out of it. When you get off a bus or a train, you have 50 people offering you a taxi and a hotel. It’s a horribly stressing situation. The best you can do is look down and walk fast, while saying “no, thanks”. Once you’re out of the chaos, you can start to negotiate the taxi, as surely one of the 50 will be more tenacious than the rest and follow you several minutes. A big mistake is to stop in front of them and say “taxi”… Who is going to get the client?

After a couple of days in Agra (more than enough) I headed to Orchaa, a small village South of Agra, very advisable. There are lots of temples there, and it’s very quiet. There’s only a main street, and the rest is open field.

From Agra I took a train for 35 never-ending hours, to spend a few days by the sea, in Goa. Rest, Carnival pictures, and off to Delhi.

In Goa I met Gadea and Tanja again, we had a lot of basking in the sun at the beach, and ate some fish.

I’ll talk about Goa in my next article, about South India.

Delhi

In Delhi, all the backpackers on a low budget gather at the Main Basar, an excellent place to stay, as it’s very close to one of the main train stations. At train stations, you have to be careful, as they will try to rip you off saying they don’t sell tickets because the ticket office for foreigners has been relocated. It’s a scam, they will take you to an office and try to sell you a package. The ticket office for foreigners is on the first floor and it’s very easy to get your tickets.

Another common scam is when you get to Delhi by plane. The taxi driver will take you to a travel agency on the pretext of you having to confirm your hotel before getting there. The call is a fake, and they’ll try to sell you another package. If that should happen, be firm and, if necessary, shout, and they will smile and go “ok, ok”, as if nothing had happened.

In Delhi I picked up Bàrbara, my better half and travel companion during the next months. We met Libita, and Gadea started a new travel to Argentina, where I hope I can meet him and share a good asado while we remember the great moments we’ve spent during these months.

From Delhi I took a train to the north, to Haridwar (110 rupees seated), from Haridwar to Rishikesh, train: 5 rupees, although you can get there by tuc-tuc for 35 rupees. In Rishikesh it’s advisable to stay in Lashman Jaula, a yoga Mecca.

In this area it’s worth visiting the sunrise and sunset ceremonies in the Ganges. It’s amazing, but hard if you see it in Haridwar, as it’s here where the poorest and most miserable people gather. Especially during the sunrise ritual, beggars and sick people approach you to ask you a few rupees, and you can’t do anything to help them.

After a few days in the north, we started a route along the villages of the Rajhastan region. It’s probably the most beautiful and mystic part of India. Cities like Jhaipur, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur are a must. If you have the time, I recommend going from Pushkar to Podhpur riding a camel. Five days, 40 Euros.

I must say that the best I’ve done in India is Rajasthan and the travel by camel between Pushkar and Jodpur. There you can find truly great people and share your time with them. They have a totally rural way of life, living in little houses, most of them made of mud and straw. When they see you arrive, all the family comes out to greet you, they want you to stop and visit their home, to have chai with them –a chai as simple as milking the goat or cow and there you are, chai-chai is ready! Again, those who have less, are those who give you more.

If you have enough time, I recommend you this experience. However, you have to know that you sleep in the open country and everyday you eat more or less the same, and your kidneys will be absolutely battered at the end of the trip. The price is around 4,000 rupees for two people for 5 days of travel.

From Rajhastan to Bombay, the biggest city in India.

Finally, I would like to mention a few negative issues about India. Besides poverty and sick people living badly in the street, I must say that if you are a woman and travel alone, you will feel observed and harassed in many places. My advice: wear local clothes, use a headscarf and totally ignore them. If they’re really a bore, yell at them to leave you alone- they will laugh and go “ok, ok”. Another thing I loathe of this beautiful country is their fooling-about with prices. It’s all about bargaining, but you get used to it.

Photography

I think that in India I’ve made something really special. I’ve called the job “India, faces & places”, you can see it in the Portfolio and albums section. It’s a selection of faces and places, several weeks of work in all these places, which I hope can help you understand these words.

In my opinion, to appreciate what India really is you have to visit it leisurely, get to know streets, hidden spots and people. In the last years I’ve been to 30 countries and none of them was as special and photogenic as India.

I hope you have a few minutes to watch the pictures, that you like them and that you visit the country.

Don’t hesitate to post your comments, I’m really satisfied to see what you think about my work.

Travel facts and tips

In India domestic flights are rather cheap, around 3,000 rupees (60 Euro). Main companies:

www.flykingfisher.com (recommended)
www.goindigo.in
www.goair.in
www.airdeccan.net
www.spicejet.com

Trains

Nearly the whole country is connected by train. There are 3 classes: SEAT, advisable for short distances, Sleeper 3AC and 2AC. To get your tickets at the train station you have to know the number of the train, which is rather confusing, so you can ask a travel agency to do it; they charge a 50/100 rupees (1 or 2 Euros) commission.

Bus

There are lots of buses, precarious but they work, advisable for short distances. Moving by bus is easy and very cheap. There’s always someone who calls out the destination from the door. Ask the price to the people who are waiting, they may try to overcharge you.

Anyway, if you have time to do it, I recommend traveling by train, although it’s a bit chaotic and you travel with a few harmless mice. If you have no time, fly, but get your reservations with plenty of time to get a good price. Don’t leave India without getting on a train.

In the main cities, head to the market area, where you’ll find lots of hotels and guest houses, for 200-500 rupees (4-10 Euros).

Food is excellent, but do ask that it’s not too hot… Living properly in India can cost about 300–1,000 rupees a day (6-20 Euros).

This North route can be made easily in one month.

Best regards to all of you, and especially to all the people I have met during these months.

To my friend Gadea, Barbara, Libita and specially to Nuria
Namaste