What's the North/Varanasi like?

-Cold and foggy. I was in four layers yesterday, am in three today. Slept with a space heater on, inside a sleeping bag with a blanket covering me.

-Dirtier/Poorer/less educated/developed: people speak less english here, the internet is slower, there are fewer modern technological accouterments, and the poverty has a more severe feeling to it. There are tons of people trying to extract money from me, who are not particularly charming or inventive. It is easier to bargain and I get lower prices.

-Religiously tense and possibly less diverse/pluralistic. I meet no one who isn't a hindu. There was a terrorist attack a month ago in one of the main public areas along the river, the trauma is evident. There are soldiers all around the main temple, although they seem bored. The closest analogy to walking the streets of Varanasi is wandering around the old city in Jerusalem.

-More culturally foreign. The backpackers and tourists I meet here feel like strangers in a strange landers. I have a nice dinner with a french pair of artists, am interviewed by a wandering Dutch journalist, and meet two friendly Austrians.