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Namaste (hindi for "hello", if only we knew how to say "no we don't want a taxi, go away, leave us alone").
After a night sleeper train from Delhi, we arrived into Varanasi early in the morning. Varanasi is the oldest city in India and the holy capital of India. The river Ganges is where Indians bathe to wash away their sins and they cremate their loved ones here before putting the remains in the river. For both Buddha's and Hindus it is one of the holiest places in existence and it is every Hindus wish to be burned and put in the river (once dead of course). It is however an expensive privilege that only the wealthy can afford.
The river is very wide and very attractive, especially with the old buildings and the steps that run down to it. It is however brimming with people and cows, so this makes it extremely noisy, dirty and very smelly. The riverbank is teaming with priests, Buddha's, beggars and fishermen trying to sell you tours. The priests or wise men im not sure what they were, "babas" they are called, are scary looking things, and we saw many walking around naked covered in some white paste; not a pleasant sight. It gets very hot here and was reaching 38degs, maybe they were just too hot for clothes and smothered in factor 50.
You can walk along the river bank, which was nice, but we found the best way to appreciate this place was by boat and did both a sunrise and sunset tour. In the early morning you see people bathing, praying and washing their laundry in the Ganges and at sunset there is a big religious ceremony. There is so much to take in! We only spent 2 nights here. Whilst the river is very beautiful and the place has a certain charm, it is also hard to really relax and enjoy it due to the noise and constant hassling. We have also had a lot of Indians wanting to have their photo taken with us, again, weird!!!!!!!
Anyway, thanks Carl, for the tip. Cant say we loved it here but there is no denying we have never seen a place like it, and so will never forget it!
Our journey out of there has ended up being the worst and longest journey experienced so far involving:
1. A one hour richshaw ride to train station
2. A 7 hour wait in a rat infested train station due to delays.
3. A 16 hour journey in a slow running cockroach infested train
4. A 4 hour bumpy jeep ride
Its been great meeting other travellers and comparing our experiences. We have met people from Iran, Usa, Canada, Israel, Europe (various), Australia and from the U.K. of course. When you're sat in a bar in the sun, drinking cheap beer, having a laugh about the crazy day you have just had, all the things we have moaned about just dont matter, and we just feel lucky to be here!
Oh, and we have been vegetarians for 5 weeks now (well Dom had a few attempts at eating meat). If you could see the raw meat on sale here you would know why it just doesnt appeal! The thought of having a Sunday roast or just some ham....yum. I don't know if the meat anywhere else in Asia will be just as unappetizing, but when we get to Australia, we are going meat crazy. Cows-watch out, we are going to smother you in ketchup and eat you whole.
So our next stop (and our last in india) is Darjeeling up in the Himalayas for some peace and quiet!!! Please!!!
- comments
Carl I'm so glad you guys did visit Varanasi. I know it's chaotic but I'm sure you will tell your children & grandchildren about it one day! I just loved it & would go back tomorrow! And in the future, I'm sure you'll miss it as well. India does that to people. Sometimes when you're there it's all a bit much & just too much hassle, but something draws you back to it later. Believe me! I bet you just think I'm bonkers!