Being in Varanasi during the summer months will probably give an experience of what is it like to be a cake in an oven. Although it can get windy sometimes, one would rather don't wish for this as the winds would bring in more heat. There were several times where I just got giddy after walking in the sun for 10mins and I have to seek relief by hiding in the shade.

If it was really that hot during summer, how do the locals deal with it? An easy answer would be to assume that they simply got conditioned to it (maybe some of them had no choice since they cannot afford to get away). Perhaps, life just has to go on and people go around with their usual business with their scarfs to shield themselves from the burning sun. However, they try to lose heat by drinking a lot of water. Roadside stalls selling refrigerated (cold) water replicate like horny mosquitoes during summer; at least 1 stall can be found at the main streets. These stalls would have metal containers (often with a lemon on it) filled with water. A glass of water would cost around Rs2 (S$0.08) - it is really a cheap way to cool down.

After spending 3 inspiring days here, I boarded the Marudhar Express (12 hours) to Agra for Taj Mahal on sleeper class (Rs263, or S$9.74). It was not as comfortable as compared to the 3rd Class AC train that I took previously but comfort is hardly an excuse here for not having a real Indian Railways experience (i.e. seater or sleeper class though I think I will die if I take do an overnight on seater class). After the train started moving, the cabin became cooler as ventilation improved.

Midway through the journey, I started having diarrhea that would torture me till I got back home (that was 5 days later!). You can imagine how I managed to balance myself in the carriage toilet (while the train was moving) at 3am as I was doing my "thing". Shit (literally) happens.