Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Making my way to Nepal Via Varanasi
I decided to stop at Varanasi before heading to Nepal. Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world and is of great importance to many Indians. The indians believe that if they die in this holy city, the cycle of death and rebirth would end leaving them in peace from reincarnation. They also believe that bathing in the Ganga river will wash away their mortal sins. They must have a high tolorence for bacteria and pollution because the river in Varanasi is not the least bit clean! Varanasi is a city where they worship the dead. Over 800-900 bodies are burned everyday at the burning ghats and those that are pregnant, holimen, children or have been bitten by a cobra are dumped into the river instead of being burned...like I said, not a nice place to be taking your kids for a sunday dip in the river! Sarnath, the place where Buddha gave his first sermon, is only 10 kilometers away.
The crowded streets in Varanasi were almost unbearable! It was a fight just to walk down the street in the evening time (in the daytime ppl stay indoors to escape the blistering heat). I had to dodge tuc tucs, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, rikshaws, people, shop owners, cows, beggars etc. My first evening in Varanasi, I decided to go see the celebration at the main Ghat. They celebrate every evening rain or shine, offering puja to the holy Ganga river. The steps of the Ghats were filled with spectators and vashnavas (devotees to lord krishna) with their hands on their rosaries chanting hari krishna all watching the fire ceremony. There were many boats watching the ceremony from the river also.
During the daytime I stayed in my hotel room reading or would go to the internet, anything just to stay out of the 47 C heat. My stomach has been bad since I arrived in Delhi so I did not eat anything but nuts and raisins for 3 days until I got better. I have been reading a book about the Silva method of healing which takes you into the alpha state (the state of relaxation between awake,beta, and sleeping, theta). In this state it is all in the mind on how you can heal yourself. The next day after my healing session, my stomach was better for the first time since I ate bad mango in Delhi. I was so happy! The second evening I met up with a english journalist whom I had met at the internet cafe. We rented a boat for $1/hr. We passed the burning ghat on the river where we could see the bodies burning. Pictures were not allowed of course, but the site was bizzare! I wanted to get a better look, so the following evening I went to the burning ghats with the hotel owner. He explained to me what they did with the bodies. After laying the body on the side of the river, the family members would spray perfums and sandalwood on the body to hide the smells. Then they would pile logs, lay the body in the middle and pile logs on top so that they were covered leaving only their head and legs sticking out. They would then circle the body 4 x and then light the feet of the body, then the head watching it burn completing the destiny of the 5th element, fire. The hindus believe that we are made up of 5 elements; Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether and as the body dies, so does the fire in it, that is why they believe in bringing back the fire by cremation. We were able to walk right up to the bodies. There faces were pale and lifeless, kinda eery! They were just laying there awaiting their fate of being burned. Remarkably they did not smell bad! It must have been due to the use of perfumes and sandalwood during the ceremony.
The next day I set out to fix my iphone. I had to find a computer with itunes so that I can redownload blackra1n to unlock my phone. I have been having this same issue since the beginning of my trip. Everytime the power dies on my phone, I have to rerun the program from a computer with itunes, which is easier said than done in countries like these with slow computers and almost no-one has itunes. Anyways, on my way to fixing my phone I met a local man who works in a homeopathic pharmacy. He showed me how to make homeopathic medicines. It was much easier than I imagined. All you really need to do is follow a recipe for a certain concoction for a certain alliment.
My last evening in Varanasi was a strange one in deed! I stayed up late reading a book when I suddenly had the feeling that I was not alone. i have never felt such a strong feeling before! I looked around and there was no-one there! The feeling was so strong! Then I heard whispering, which became louder as if the volume of the TV was on full blast. I looked around again, still nothing in sight but my big backpack. I tried to make out what the whispers were saying, but it was difficult. It felt very real to me. I felt many presences, not just one and heard many loud whispers simultaneously which made it difficult to interpret what they were saying. I remeber that I understood some of what one of the whispers said. I told myself I would wright it down in the morning and I eventually fell asleep trying to listen to the others and forgot what it said. This was the most bizzare thing I have ever experienced! I am one that does not believe in ghost stories unless I experience it...and this time I did! It was not self manifested, because it came out of nowhere! Not one time had I such a thought! And the book I was reading was "you the healer" by Jose Silva which has nothing to do with such phenomena as spirits or ghosts.
I decided this was the day for me to leave, that I have been here in Varanasi long enough! So I headed to the train station. There was a seperate line for the men and women. I bought a ticket for Gorakhpur, which is 2 hrs away from the Nepal border. The ticket costed only $1.50. I finally got the ticket, but there was no info on it, no train #, no time of departure, no platform number, nothing! I was clueless what I was supposed to do. No one knew how to help me. I eventually found a girl who read the board for me, which was in hindi and told me what train I was supposed to take, which platform (platform 5) and the time it left. I had to wait in the heat for 4 hrs before my train departed! I decided to charge my iphone and slept a bit in the waiting room (I was sick once again...bad stomach). The girl whom was helping me left. Around the time when my train was to arrive another lady said Quick grab your bags, your train is on platform 2 and will be leaving any minute! So I grabed my big bag and two smaller bags and ran up the steps and down the steps with at least 60-70 lbs worth of luggage on my back! It was exhausting. The lady asked the soldiers if the train went to Gorakhpure and they said no, go back to platform 5. But she insisted that I go on this train. The passangers said that it was the right train, but I dont think they really understood. As I got settled in and climbed to the top bunk I remembered that my iphone and its case which had about $200 in it was sitting in the waiting room still charging! I quickly jumped down like a crazy woman grabbed my bags and tried to run off a crowded train. I fell as I tried to run through all the passangers droping my water bottles. I got back on my feet and ran off the train, droped my big bag on the floor before the steps and ran with my 2 small bags to platform 5. luckily my phone was still sitting there peacefully charging. I grabed it and ran like lightning to my other bag and train which was sitting at platform 2. The train was still there. I straped my bags on and headed to the train and asked if it goes to Gorakhpur. The passangers said no, you need to go to platform 5. I knew it! I was decieved! This was the wrong train! Luckily leaving my iphone saved me from getting on the wrong train. I then heard an announcement that my train was at platform 5 gettin ready to leave! I ran up the stairs AGAIN to platform 5 and immediatly jumped on the train. I was dripping with sweat and exhausted from my 3 heavy bags. Finally! Just as I thought my troubles were over, the ticket man came to check my ticket and said I was in the wrong part of the train. He asked me how much money I had, luckily I was low on Rupees. I did not feel the need to exchange money since I was headed to Nepal. He tried to get money from me, hahahah for him that I did not have any. He let me stay regardless. When the man left the other passangers praised me on how I handled it. They said many people get scamed out of money that way for no reason but to fill their greedy pockets. By now, I know better to whom I need to give money to and whom not to. There are so many scams and corruption in India. I have heard of many stories from fellow travelers where they lost all their money to men like these! It was so hot on the train, the wind was like that of a furnace or a blowdryer, so we rode with the windows shut, literally baking in the heat of the train. The train ride lasted about 8 hrs. During that time I have had many interesting conversations with a young Indian passanger. He was only 21 or 22 and a student of mechanical engineering. We talked about Swami Vivekananda's 4 day speach on what the meaning of zero is, time travel, nutrinos and ghost hunting via alpha, beta and gamma waves, where love comes from (heart or mind), Einstein and his many theories, physical laws of the universe, religion and death, his village where there is still no electric and where he must swim accross a lake to get to school. He says that when he was younger he would tie his clothes in a bag and swim accross the lake. When he would get to the other side, he would put his dry clothes on from the bag and go to school while we Americans complain about walking to the bus stop! Many of the other passangers were interested in our conversations. The topic of ghost hunting was started by another passanger whom did not speak english. My new friend would translate for me. The man asked, "did you not see ghosts in Varanasi?" I was supprised at his question because of my experience during my last night in Varanasi. I replied, "yes, I felt other presences around me and heard loud whispers". He says that he is doing research on ghosts which can be detected using alpha, beta and gamma frequencies. Quite interesting! At the end of the train ride my new Indian friend gave me a bracelet for good luck. He used it during his examinations which always brought him goodluck. I thanked him by giving him my friendship bracelet that I recieved from the Cambodian girl on the beach in Cambodia.
After arriving in Gorakhpur I headed to the bus station. I asked a local tuc tuc driver where the station was. He told me it was far and that i would need to pay 90 Rps to get there. Luckily I was low on rupees. I had a feeling that he was riping me off, so I just walked ahead. Another man told me that the bus station was right there, as he pointed just feet ahead of us. Wow, I trusted my instincts as the tuc tuc man decieved me! The other man took me to his travel agency where I could buy the ticket for the bus. he said that I would have to spend the night because the buses are so crowded that ppl are sitting on the roof! Again I did not believe their lies so I insisted on walking to the bus myself. It was a mini bus and luckily I got a seat on it. The only thing that sat on the roof was the luggage. It took 2 hrs to get to the border. By the time we got there it was closed, so we had to check into a hotel. I ate dinner with a Nepali boy and his friends at my hotel. He taught me quite a bit of the Nepali language. It was very simular to Hindi. The next morning we headed to the border. The indian border police tried to get 1000 rupees from Ganesh, the boy I met. He refused and ran away accross the border. Again, a great example of the corruption in India. As I was waiting for them to outprocess me, I met a 68 yr old woman named Maggie. She volunteers for an NGO for child trafficing through Nepal and India. She was so lively and energetic. Its great to see her still living her life without age bearing her down. Thats how I want to be when I am 68. Just because you are old, does not mean you have to feel old! I finally made it accross the border where I got a 4x4 vehicle to Kathmandu. It was a 8 hr drive through the beautiful mountains along the riverside. We rode on the cliff side, passing slow vehicles and bouncing all over the road. It was enought to give anyone with a weak stomach car sickness. As I arrived, Arun, the ex-prime ministers son, picked me up and took me to his home. I checked my email as I arrived to find out that Vinny was also arriving that night. His flight arrived 20 minutes after I read his email! Luckily the airport is only a stone throw away (1-2 miles max). The planes flew directly over head and landed just below, a great view from the house! Arun had a driver and many servants (approx 10-12) that lived at his house. We entered through a big red metal gate with the wheel of life symbol on it. There was also a guard house with a opening in the glass, it looked like the size for a gun. He has a large court yard with many potted plants and flowers surrounding his 3 story house and his 2 story guest house. Their backyard is on a slope where you can follow the steps down a beautiful pathway to the pool and jacuzi and eventually the farm. His wife Sneha told me that they gave the town people that land to farm on so that it does not go to waste, in return Sneha and Arun were allowed to take vegetables as they pleased. Every morning they worked hard mending the farm and taking care of the yard. The servants were just a phone call away if I needed anything to be brought to the guest house like water, tea, lunch etc. Dinner, we ate upstairs with Sneha and her daughter Ashta. Arun told me about the history of the Moaists and how he was kidnaped a few years ago and held for ransom! The Moaists are a communist group whos aim is to over throw the government. I originally wanted to go to Nepal during my 2006 trip, I even already bought the ticket, but luckily the universe had other plans for me. During 2006 is when there was a civil war was going on and that was also when Arun had been kidnapped by the Moaists. I had so many plans for Nepal, but I was about done with traveling, so we spent much of our time just chilling out at the house. Not to mention that everything is so expensive here! ($3000 to trek to Mt Everest, $700 for a 2hr drive to Tibet, $849 to voluteer at an orphanage for 1 week...you get the point). We did manage to take a night bus to Pokhara. That was a dreadful journey. Our bus stoped 6 times to load vegetables, 2 dinner stops where one of the bus crew got drunk and out of hand and many more unecessary stops. We finally reached Pokhara without sleep. We checked into our hotel, slept for 1 hr and rented bikes. We took a map and just headed up to the mountains. Once we were up there, we realized that the camera had no batery in it and that we were lost....well not really lost, but it was impossible for a bike to travel where we were going. The paths were deap and thin and overgrown on the side of a cliff. The bike tires were wore out, shocks no good and so not to be trusted with your life riding on a cliff side. So we walked the bikes a good portion of the way. It was difficult to see the white tops of the mountains anyways because of the clouds, so I guess no big deal about leaving the camera battery :P I had my iphone that I could use. At one point going down the rough washed out mountain my foot sliped from the pedal and my wounded shin hit hard. I ended up getting a big black goose egg. I fell 2 other times and so did Vinny LOL. It was not a trail for beginners :)
Finally my visa for China arrived and we got our tickets. Today is our last day here in Nepal. I cant wait to eat normal food again. The food here has gotten Vinny and I sick one too many times. We both had fevers and bad stomachs for the majority of our time here. I had a fever 2 days ago which I treated with tulsi tea (basil). Tulsi is a miracle plant! It is of great medicinal importance to Ayurveda (natural healing). One hour after I drank the tea, my fever was gone! Tylenol does not even work so fast. I started drinking the tulsi tea and green tea (also has antibacterial properties) for my stomach as well. Slowly but surely my stomach problems vanished, unfortunatly not as fast as my fever though. Tulsi heals fevers, malaria, snake bites, toxins, leprosy, cataracts, rheumatism, sprains, loss of hair, diabetes, blood pressure, diarrhea, it has anti-HIV properties, antibacterial, anticancer and antiviral properties etc. They say that the air within 200 yards from a plant is clean. The tulsi tree is the only plant that breaths out O3 which is ozone layer in comparison to other plants with breath out pure oxygen. This plant wards off mosquitos, insects, snakes etc....It is a truely is a miracle plant and I recommend everyone to have one in their house!
- comments