Day 13 and 14: Varanasi India
The photo waas taken on the Ganges in Varanasi.
The 12 hour night train to Varanasi went well. There were about 60 beds in the train car and they were separated into areas of eight, triple bunks and then two length ways across when in most trains it would be the corridor, not here, pack them in and make a small alley way through. Each area of eight is only separated by curtains, no doors to lock just curtains. It was interesting; I slept ok with my ear plugs in.
Varanasi is another large city and the sounds of Varanasi are honk, honk, honnnnnnnnk, continuous honking 24 hours a day. It is necessary to wear ear plugs while sleeping and even that doesn’t block it out. The pollution is intense and it has made me happy that we have visited villages and small towns along the way as the traffic is crazy and it is so busy.
The Ganges River is in Varanasi and being around it has been a life lesson. The vibe in that area is incredible. Hindu’s cremate their loved ones on the banks of the river. There are continuously fires burning along the side and you know that that is a person. We took a sunset and then a sunrise boat trip along the Ganges and saw many fires burning at night and in the morning. They cremate their loved ones along the river bank and then put their ashes in the river.
The fires are bodies being cremated.
If you are a monk or a pregnant woman they don’t cremate them so they are tied to a rock and sunk in the Ganges. Then people bath in this river and do their laundry too. That is a bit much.
We were in an alleyway and a body came past us on a bamboo stretcher and then when we were walking to a temple on the bank we saw a body stacked up amongst firewood ready to be burned. It is a very spiritual place and Hindu’s are to visit at least once in their lifetime and send a marigold flower and candle down the river making a wish.
Our guide made an Amazing Race for us through Varanasi and it was wicked. My team was awesome and we won! Yeah team. We were to take a minimum of three modes of transport and if you count piggy backing like we did we took 11 modes. It was awesome. For team spirit we wrapped scarves on our heads kind of like turbans and struck out to three temples, a bakery, a lassie shop (like a yogurt shake) and had to buy the cheapest Shiva statue we could find. While getting receipts for purchases along the way and it is India there are no cash registers for receipts. It was a ton of fun and we were efficient and our guide was shocked when our team made it back an hour and an hour and a half before the others. We got 98 points the others 84 and 80.
Got to love India the power just went out again. Good thing this thing has battery backup. It usually goes out at least a few times a day.
Click on this link for photos from Varanasi India, remember there are captions there so you know what the photos are about
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