Nausea

So this is what the cow dung was for!

Or breakfast pakoras, or hell knows what else. After ten days in India with no gastric problems whatsoever, the legendary diarrhea of doom caught up with me. I knew I should expect it, that’s why I reserved so many days for Mumbai. Instead, it got me at the worst time possible – just for Holi. It started on the train to Agra, but that wasn’t the worst of it. I spent pretty much the entire night in the toilet, didn’t get any sleep and by morning I was completely exhausted and, well, completely empty. Constant nausea, vertigo when standing up, exhausted after taking five steps – exactly the sort of thing you want for Holi and a visit to Taj Mahal.

Check out the horns!

Needless to say, the plan to go see the Taj at sunrise failed. In the morning I managed to eat something, build up a little strength and decided that I can’t just spend all day in the hostel. I slowly went out and started feeling a bit better soon, medicating with chocolate, cola and fruit juices. Since it’s Holi, I soon got some paint splashed on me – not much just yet, but new colours were added to my face all the time. Things started picking up for a moment when a small crowd of guys covered in paint and dancing to gangam style pulled me into the mosh pit – I somehow found the strength to dance for a couple tunes, and I got completely covered in paint and splashed with water. It was great, even though it meant that by the time I got to Taj Mahal my legs refused to cooperate. I had to sit for a longer while, but after a rest I made it in.

Ever seen a coloured wild pig in a city?

India Gangam Style!

Before dancing

After dancing

The Taj is awesome…

The Taj is most impressive, it really is a wonder. Huge yet graceful and somehow ephemeral, perfect both in the grand scale and in the details, wonderfully placed in extensive gardens… It’s also an antithesis of most Hindu architecture – instead of the horror vacui and abundance of ornament, it amazes with a plain, perfect structure. I’m glad I managed to see it.

… though not as colourful as me

Ugh, writing this is really tiring now… anyhow, throughout the day many people wanted to take pictures with me – I guess I didn’t see other white people completely covered in paint, so I must have been a bit of an attraction. This time all the attention was really nice, people joyfully shouting ‘happy Holi’ reminded me of Beltane atmosphere – good times.

I like this best about the Taj: most surfaces only look flat. Beauty.

Agra, the little that I saw of it, turned out better than I thought. Coming here for Holi was a good idea, because this might be the only day when the Indians want to have fun, not sell me stuff. There are tons of tourists here, the place is much cleaner, and it’s really expensive too. I guess any other day here would be a pain in the ass, but on Holi it was good.

‘friends’ everywhere.

Even though I was out for only about three hours, I was really exhausted and had to go back to the hostel. I hoped to go to the fort still, but didn’t manage, too sick. The rest of the day was spent catching up with friends in Europe and attempting to eat something. In the evening I got relocated – last night I was alone in a dorm room (lucky, I really wouldn’t want to be sick all night with five more people in the room…), but just now a larger group showed up and the manager asked if I could change for a back storage room with a bed, for free.  A private room, and I can stay for free? Sure!

Tomorrow I need to wake up at 4am to catch a 5am train – I hope I’ll manage to get some more sleep on the train, because I really need it now.