The grottiest place on Earth

http://blogs.smh.com.au
Sydney Morning herald

It's not often you find somewhere so grotty that you're moved to take a photo of it.

I've taken plenty of snaps of beautiful mountains, boring sunsets, and accidental close-ups of my own face, but I've only rarely thought it necessary to take a picture of something on pure dirtiness alone, just so I can prove it really exists when I get home.

But that was the case when I saw this scene while wondering through the Indian town of Agra. India-wise, Agra's not exactly head-and-shoulders above the rest in the grottiness stakes, but it says something when you've been in the country a solid month and are still amazed at just how disgusting a place can look.

It says so much about the contradictions of India that a place could be home to both one of the most beautiful structures in the world, and also the most disgusting about two kilometres away.
So to Agra, I bestow my Golden Garbage Can award.

It was this story that got me thinking about the dirty, disgusting cities of the world. Naples might be known for its great pizza, but it's also known for its ridiculous garbage problem, something no doubt exacerbated by the local mafia's control over the garbage disposal. The result is that, for all its good points, Naples is a bit of a hell-hole.

But that's the thing about grot - it doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, I think a bit of grot goes a long way. Grot shows that a country or a city has soul. I'd much rather hang out in, say, Phnom Penh than Singapore, or Cairo than Dubai. And anyone who's visited the sub-continent will know that although you have to hold your breath every now and then, the payback is enormous. (I was in Jodhpur once, and was about to step over a reeking open drain when I saw another tourist holding his nose as he did the same thing. "Ah, the smell of India," he said as he hopped across.)

So don't take the Golden Garbage Can as too much of a slight.

London may not be grotty in the "bits of garbage lying around the place" sense, but try giving it the old thong test. (Work with me here.) Spend a day walking around the city in thongs, and then take them off. You'll see a nice white mark where the straps have been sitting, while the rest of your foot will be black. It's almost as bad as Oxford St.

In China, you can pretty much take your pick for grotty spots (although Linfen was named by Time in its list of the 10 most polluted places on Earth). Smog seems to hang low over every city, while rubbish often lines the streets.

Cambodia has the same problem, although on a much smaller scale. The pavements of Phnom Penh are cracking, while Siem Reap is strewn with the sort of detritus that comes with a lot of tourists and very little infrastructure. Fortunately, the temples of Angkor are kept spotlessly clean.

Uganda's bulging at the seams with grot, although in quite a lovable way. Strolling around Kampala is like stepping back into a much dirtier version of the '80s, clothing included. The markets are full of as much trash as they are treasure, but that's what the place is all about.
In Europe you would assume a certain level of cleanliness, but you don't always get it. Barcelona is a prime example. While the city centre is kept relatively tidy, step outside of that and you'd think you'd entered a war zone. And my mate who once went swimming in the harbour must have had a few too many Estrellas.

Greece is pretty similar. Athens is an ancient city, which still seems to have an ancient plumbing and garbage disposal system. The place was heaving with trash when I was there, but you still couldn't help but love the place.

Another city that's pretty rough on the eye is Lima, particularly anywhere outside the tourist zone. While the Miraflores area is all spruced up and Westernised, the rest of it is smog-affected, dirty, and generally falling apart.