The girl I love has her arms wrapped firmly around me. It's sunny. I'm not
burning to death. We're shooting through the motor-rickshaws, cows, cars,
and pedestrians with death wishes. Well I suppose they're believers in
reincarnation, so why worry? The temples, palaces, and wonderfully scungy
little shops all passed by in a blur.
She rested her head on my shoulder, and watched the world go by, very fast. Neither of us had helmets. Places like this just don't use 'em. It did mean her hair caressed my face as we made turns. She'd got her hands under the fleece, on the t-shirt. They tended to wander on the straight roads. Made it bloody hard to concentrate on the road, I'll tell you. Made it bloody hard, full stop.
Road, concentrate on the road. Right, left, look for a big white and gold half onion thing, with eyes painted on it, and flags streaming from the top. I can do this. I can enjoy this, and not crash the motorbike. I can, but it's bloody difficult.
Cricket, baseball, Arsenal, the whelp. Ok that worked. Road concentrating Spike present and correct. It was a long ride. Well not really, it just felt like it. But in a really good way, you know?
Found it. Looked just like the picture on the map. There were loads of people too. Some were pilgrims pushing big engraved prayer filled drums as they walked round the stupa. Others were families chatting, looking up at the prayer flags sending out good karma to the wind. Others were tourists, trying to get the perfect shot of the eyes, the stupa itself, and the colourful locals. It was life. It was beautiful. Those tossers aren't going to stop this, or us.
Found a street kid to keep an eye on the bike for a few rupees. In the past I'd have done the same, on the old find a local to keep an eye on the transport. Big difference now is that I'll be paying, not eating.
We took the camera and the lighter fluid, and started searching.
Had one false start. Accidentally ended up in a monastery. Quite different to what I'm used to. But then Angelus always preferred Nunneries. Darla just said monks were boring, and a waste. This one was dark, lit only by lamps that smelt like butter. The Buddha figures flickered in the semi- dark. There were pictures of the wheel of life, fearsome Bhairab type geezers, and some statues of a graceful woman - some green, some white. The chants seemed to touch something deep in both Buffy and me. It was very tempting to stay. But we've got a job to do, and people depending on us. Even if some can't recognise that they are people.
Took us about an hour to find the right place. The scents of the monastery seem to have clouded my sense of smell. Sure I would have found the stink of Finn sooner otherwise. We'd had to go by Ethan's description and good old fashioned sneaking around. But we did find it. Found it, photographed everything, then fried it.
The flames were lovely. Dru always loved the flames. I had to stop her dancing into them sometimes. She used to say that one day she and grandmother would dance in the flames. She had such a lovely smile on her face when she said that. I don't think it was as much fun when it happened.
Back to the now. Back to my girl. Back to mission accomplished. Spike 1 Cardboard 0. It's a nice feeling that. Call me petty if you like. I don't care. I deserve this.
Now what? I know negotiating anything in countries like this can take forever. I can guess they both want some time together. We're all going to be stuck very close together for the next bit. Space is always good. Time with my lady is even better. Not going to be much time for sightseeing ever really. So carpe time. Besides we need to get away from the fire.
I took a quick look at the map. Big Shiva temple down a path from the stupa. Worth taking a walk down to have a bit of a look. I showed it to Buffy. She agreed. She took my hand, and we took a walk.
We didn't hurry. No need to. Besides we both look less suspicious this way. It was just nice enjoying the scene and the company. Turned out we couldn't go into the temple - not Hindus. All we could see was a huge brass bull with the biggest pair I've ever seen. Buffy took one look, blushed, and said, "one pair I can't bust, huh?" We both laughed and carried on walking.
We ended up at the river. There were terraces built up beside it. We sat down to enjoy the late afternoon. On one side of the river people were bathing and washing their pots and pans. On the other a group of people had built a pile of logs. Then they put a shrouded body on it and lit the pyre. Everyone else just carried on with their business. Buffy just looked totally shocked. I've seen it before, though I hadn't realised these were burning ghats.
She looked at me, and I explained. Cremation, sacred rivers, life and death as integral parts of the whole, creation and destruction - covered the lot. Nice long time it took too. But she got that. Don't think she'd thought of it all before. It was good to talk about this sort of stuff. It was good to talk about anything actually. The hygiene aspect still squicked her out. Me too. We agreed on a beer, freshly boiled tea, and not eating anywhere nearby policy. Then we watched the sun go down.
One it got dark we walked back, found the kid, paid him and retrieved the bike.
If it was fun riding over here, the return journey was even better. The dark combined with the potholes to make it just so much wilder. It made Buffy grip harder too - which is always good. When we shot past the Royal Palace we set off a storm of bats from the local trees. Buffy laughed. So did I. I'm pretty sure they weren't vampire bats, but the image still worked for the funny. The powerslide into the courtyard of the hotel was just classic. The broad grin on Buffy's face made it all worthwhile.
We both went up to our rooms. There was a note from Giles and Anya saying they'd got everything arranged. We'd be off tomorrow, and they'd gone out to dinner, and would see us later, back in the rooms. Guess it'll be an early start. So we followed suit. We found a nice little place called KC's. Buffy had pasta, I had barely cooked steak, and we talked, talked, and just enjoyed being together, with no interruptions, or anyone else. It was wonderful, and we took our time.
When we got back to the hotel I opened Giles and my room, and she followed so we could discuss the plans for tomorrow. No chance of that. They were both sound asleep. Anyanka snug in Giles arms, draped across his chest like an Anya Blanket.
We tip-toed out of the room. I don't think a nuclear blast would have woken them, but we were being considerate. Buffy opened up her room and beckoned me in. I said, "it's ok pet. I'll go and see if they have a spare room." Had to offer. Don't want to, but I have to do the gentlemanly thing, even if it kills me.
She smiled, shook her head, and said, "No point wasting money. Anya'd go all vengeancy on us for that. It's twin beds. I don't think she'll be using hers. You can. It's cool. You can slip in there and get some sweats while I change. You've seen her before, and you're roomies with Giles anyway." That crack about my having seen all of Anyanka would have torn me to the quick, if she hadn't had a kind "I'm joking" expression on her face. I love that. So I did, and we both crashed. Didn't sleep much. Don't know if she did. Breathing could have been anything. Tried to give her space. Been trying. Seems to be working.
She rested her head on my shoulder, and watched the world go by, very fast. Neither of us had helmets. Places like this just don't use 'em. It did mean her hair caressed my face as we made turns. She'd got her hands under the fleece, on the t-shirt. They tended to wander on the straight roads. Made it bloody hard to concentrate on the road, I'll tell you. Made it bloody hard, full stop.
Road, concentrate on the road. Right, left, look for a big white and gold half onion thing, with eyes painted on it, and flags streaming from the top. I can do this. I can enjoy this, and not crash the motorbike. I can, but it's bloody difficult.
Cricket, baseball, Arsenal, the whelp. Ok that worked. Road concentrating Spike present and correct. It was a long ride. Well not really, it just felt like it. But in a really good way, you know?
Found it. Looked just like the picture on the map. There were loads of people too. Some were pilgrims pushing big engraved prayer filled drums as they walked round the stupa. Others were families chatting, looking up at the prayer flags sending out good karma to the wind. Others were tourists, trying to get the perfect shot of the eyes, the stupa itself, and the colourful locals. It was life. It was beautiful. Those tossers aren't going to stop this, or us.
Found a street kid to keep an eye on the bike for a few rupees. In the past I'd have done the same, on the old find a local to keep an eye on the transport. Big difference now is that I'll be paying, not eating.
We took the camera and the lighter fluid, and started searching.
Had one false start. Accidentally ended up in a monastery. Quite different to what I'm used to. But then Angelus always preferred Nunneries. Darla just said monks were boring, and a waste. This one was dark, lit only by lamps that smelt like butter. The Buddha figures flickered in the semi- dark. There were pictures of the wheel of life, fearsome Bhairab type geezers, and some statues of a graceful woman - some green, some white. The chants seemed to touch something deep in both Buffy and me. It was very tempting to stay. But we've got a job to do, and people depending on us. Even if some can't recognise that they are people.
Took us about an hour to find the right place. The scents of the monastery seem to have clouded my sense of smell. Sure I would have found the stink of Finn sooner otherwise. We'd had to go by Ethan's description and good old fashioned sneaking around. But we did find it. Found it, photographed everything, then fried it.
The flames were lovely. Dru always loved the flames. I had to stop her dancing into them sometimes. She used to say that one day she and grandmother would dance in the flames. She had such a lovely smile on her face when she said that. I don't think it was as much fun when it happened.
Back to the now. Back to my girl. Back to mission accomplished. Spike 1 Cardboard 0. It's a nice feeling that. Call me petty if you like. I don't care. I deserve this.
Now what? I know negotiating anything in countries like this can take forever. I can guess they both want some time together. We're all going to be stuck very close together for the next bit. Space is always good. Time with my lady is even better. Not going to be much time for sightseeing ever really. So carpe time. Besides we need to get away from the fire.
I took a quick look at the map. Big Shiva temple down a path from the stupa. Worth taking a walk down to have a bit of a look. I showed it to Buffy. She agreed. She took my hand, and we took a walk.
We didn't hurry. No need to. Besides we both look less suspicious this way. It was just nice enjoying the scene and the company. Turned out we couldn't go into the temple - not Hindus. All we could see was a huge brass bull with the biggest pair I've ever seen. Buffy took one look, blushed, and said, "one pair I can't bust, huh?" We both laughed and carried on walking.
We ended up at the river. There were terraces built up beside it. We sat down to enjoy the late afternoon. On one side of the river people were bathing and washing their pots and pans. On the other a group of people had built a pile of logs. Then they put a shrouded body on it and lit the pyre. Everyone else just carried on with their business. Buffy just looked totally shocked. I've seen it before, though I hadn't realised these were burning ghats.
She looked at me, and I explained. Cremation, sacred rivers, life and death as integral parts of the whole, creation and destruction - covered the lot. Nice long time it took too. But she got that. Don't think she'd thought of it all before. It was good to talk about this sort of stuff. It was good to talk about anything actually. The hygiene aspect still squicked her out. Me too. We agreed on a beer, freshly boiled tea, and not eating anywhere nearby policy. Then we watched the sun go down.
One it got dark we walked back, found the kid, paid him and retrieved the bike.
If it was fun riding over here, the return journey was even better. The dark combined with the potholes to make it just so much wilder. It made Buffy grip harder too - which is always good. When we shot past the Royal Palace we set off a storm of bats from the local trees. Buffy laughed. So did I. I'm pretty sure they weren't vampire bats, but the image still worked for the funny. The powerslide into the courtyard of the hotel was just classic. The broad grin on Buffy's face made it all worthwhile.
We both went up to our rooms. There was a note from Giles and Anya saying they'd got everything arranged. We'd be off tomorrow, and they'd gone out to dinner, and would see us later, back in the rooms. Guess it'll be an early start. So we followed suit. We found a nice little place called KC's. Buffy had pasta, I had barely cooked steak, and we talked, talked, and just enjoyed being together, with no interruptions, or anyone else. It was wonderful, and we took our time.
When we got back to the hotel I opened Giles and my room, and she followed so we could discuss the plans for tomorrow. No chance of that. They were both sound asleep. Anyanka snug in Giles arms, draped across his chest like an Anya Blanket.
We tip-toed out of the room. I don't think a nuclear blast would have woken them, but we were being considerate. Buffy opened up her room and beckoned me in. I said, "it's ok pet. I'll go and see if they have a spare room." Had to offer. Don't want to, but I have to do the gentlemanly thing, even if it kills me.
She smiled, shook her head, and said, "No point wasting money. Anya'd go all vengeancy on us for that. It's twin beds. I don't think she'll be using hers. You can. It's cool. You can slip in there and get some sweats while I change. You've seen her before, and you're roomies with Giles anyway." That crack about my having seen all of Anyanka would have torn me to the quick, if she hadn't had a kind "I'm joking" expression on her face. I love that. So I did, and we both crashed. Didn't sleep much. Don't know if she did. Breathing could have been anything. Tried to give her space. Been trying. Seems to be working.
