Ticket to Ride

That's right, I have a ticket to ride - a train to Jaipur. A ticket to Ahmedabad was not to be had, so I went with the next best thing. I even bought another ticket to Delhi. How much does a 1100 km, 14 hour journey cost? About 7 dollars. That includes a pallet for sleeping. Pretty fair, I'd say.

Therefore, my plan is to leave Mumbai tomorrow evening, arrive in Jaipur the following evening, stay in Jaipur for a few days, and then depart for Delhi. I think it will feel good to be in a smaller city for a bit. (I believe Jaipur only has about 4 million people.)

In other news, I took the ferry out to Elephanta Island today. Incidentally, I struck up a conversation with a fairy whilst waiting on the other ferry. The fairy was a very friendly, affable gay man named Micky. He's a dancer and dance instructor from Calcutta. We talked for over an hour about Indian and American culture, romance, the terrorist attacks, and the overarching unity of all existence. Micky is traveling to perform in Alaska in March. An interesting fellow.

I also spoke with one of the ferry operators about the Mumbai attacks. He said it was a pretty crazy thing to witness. Apparently, he watched the entire thing unfold from the landing dock. He said he was amazed how long it lasted. I'm rather amazed as well. The state police headquarters are practically right next to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

Anyway, the photo up top is from Elephanta Island. This island is famous for its carved Shiva cave temples. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is both the creator and the destroyer. His frenzied dance brings about the destruction of the universe while his slower, more graceful steps bring a new world into being. He's really a very fascinating and useful vehicle for explaining an important philisophical concept. Destruction breeds creation. Creation requires destruction.

While you're brooding over that, I'm going to find something spicy to eat. Peace.