When the river runs free

And so it continues...

The blip is in the alleys behind the ghats, the old city. We had gone out for some puri Marsala for breakfast - and here it seems,if not normal, the not too unusual, or unexpecter, that you see your plate being washed in the gutter as you sit waiting - when suddenlike there was a slight, but revolting stench...and the a trickle of viscous, slime masquerading as water babbling downhill...what really catches the attention is that the locals were avoiding it! In a flash roadside stalls halted, feet clambered for higher ground: laughter burst forth, bike riders shouted at for splashing....puri in hand, grateful for a pertially blocked nose, I asked.....
The stream is the river Shiva, an underground river which, after the thunderstorms of Wednesday has burst through into the main city. Not so unusual I would guess...but the stench was awful...and it did cause a bit of a people blockage...last night it was finally arriving at the Ganges, flowing/sliming down the stairs of the ghat by the guesthouse and flowing wierdly fluorescent into the Ganges....not a day for a morning swim...

Other news: holi day2...the first head to toe victims of the pink powder...attacked by child with water pistol, luckily only a single squirt left....so plan to buy powder and pistol.....

And chaos central here at Vishnu towers.....the arrival of a famous Korean poet, du ryu si hwa and his entourage.....plans having been mislaid all madness swu g upon us....Milo and I returning from a mini adventure to be told that we would be sharing a room for two nights....maybe three....then I was asked to help by giving up my room....into which Jens was put...a room became available at 300, I took it.....then I realised my mistake.....a river runs through it, everything is damp...it has an unquenchable odour....first time I think that I've enjoyed thoroughly the mix of incence and mosquito coil...but choosing to share the communal toilet rather than risk the dark recesses of the bathroom....while this was happening to me Milo was being flashed roommates at an alarming rate....people left, unhappy with the chaos, others arrived and floundered....

And WiFi departed...

Now is morning the day after....badminton begun outside my window at 0600....and another day in Varanasi begins....