Back to north India
Unintended visit in Lucknow: horrible traffic, European ruins, Mughal sights and kebab.
Early morning I got to Chennai Airport, flew over Mumbai’s slums (man, there’s really lots of them!), short stopover at Mumbai’s airport and Lucknow welcomes me back to the north.
Fuck! That traffic again! South has much less traffic than north. I have never heard so much honking as here in Lucknow, and god knows I’ve heard a lot of honking already! First impression of Lucknow was rather bad (anyway I came here only because it’s few hours bus ride from Maha Kumbhmela, not because I would be interested in Lucknow), but after short walk (I had only around 2-3 hours to see the town), I had to admit that some sights of Lucknow are quite nice. “Recidency”, a previous seat of English establishment in Lucknow, which was turned into a fortress and then into pack of ruins during a siege during India’s First Independence War, was set of romantic, European-style ruins in a huge park. It was very quiet and clean place, and every such place is precious in India. Lots of Mughal sights in Lucknow as well. Mughals were former Muslim rulers of India, best known for Taj Mahal, and man, they surely knew how to build tombs! Taj Mahal might be the most famous one, but even tombs of “ordinary” rulers and their family members are marvelous, extravagant constructions, that would cost hundreds of millions EUR these days to build, and probably billions if they would have to be done without machines, as they were back then.
With some difficulties I found a hotel - I found out that it’s wedding season and so all hotels are full – ventured deeper into Muslim district, where my hotel was located, got me a absolutely gorgeous minced lamb kebab (sinner!) and tomorrow I’m off to Maha Kumbhmela.
