Tuesday a.m. Sept 20. In a lunchtime discussion with Siddharth yesterday, he told me that the "U.P." (Uttar Pradesh) is absolutely the worst state in all of India by far, and seemingly getting worse. Beyond corrupt, crumbling infrastructure, no rules, no jobs, more people in poverty than any other place.
I have only been to Delhi, Agra, and here, which are all in U.P., so I never saw anything else, and assumed this is "India". He showed me some photos his friend sent to him (so even they, as citizens, found this photo-worthy) that showed the border between the U.P. and another state, and in a literal line drawn across by a bridge or state line, the streets and surrounding go from mud piles of garbage Varanasi style broken down trash poverty, to a clean bright freshly painted black with white stripes road, manicured roadways, no mud, all green and lovely.
Brig and I did travel to Rishikesh which is in Uttarakhand and thinking back, I think it was in better shape than Varanasi.
So basically I'm here extolling the virtues of someplace like Tijuana or Juarez-- never knowing that San Miguel Allende or Oaxaca even exist. Its like Detroit, Compton, or post-Katrina Ward 9.
However, I was also fascinated by TJ and Mata Moros etc.. so it make sense that I would be interested in this place.
My brother in law sent me this and it does capture how it has become here:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-18/varanasi/30171828_1_tourist-spots-foreign-tourists-guides
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Large "Booted" or "Imperial" or "Black" Eagles outside my hotel, they say
some go through 5 colors of plumage during their lives so how am I supposed to identify that? |
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| Its really hard to capture as they are so far away, but the eagles have a huge wingspan approx 5-6 feet? They are being chased around by smaller Black Kites trying to keep them from stealing the kite babies for a little feathery snack. |
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| Got one of the body shots I've been trying to get for years. |
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| And it turns down another road toward the Burning Ghat... |
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| Trying to make garbage and pests look artistic |
