Varanassi by Pau

Travelling in India is not always easy. To buy our train tickets we had to be in a train station with tourist offices. Without these special tourist tickets, any train that we tried to take was full for a few months. So we decided to go to Chennai (4 hours by bus and 1 hour in rickshaw) directly and try to buy our ticket for the same night for Varanassi. In case that this train was full, we would have had to wait for 4 days for the next train to Varanassi. We were very lucky and we could leave that same night, in the worse case we might have taken the train to Delhi and dropped Varanassi from the trip. After the whole day travelling we have a 38 hour train trip waiting for us.

This could have been Deo and Rebecca two years ago...

After the longest train trip ever, 39 hours in the train, we arrived to Varanassi. The most interesting part of the city are the ghats that are the stairs on the site of the Ganga, the sacred river. For two days we were in the south ghats, close to Assi Ghat, and we thought that Varanassi was not that busy as expected. But we were not by the old city at all. When we went to the center ghats, that changed. It was busy, very busy, very hot, very noisy, a lot of people with a lot of ceremonies. This is Varanasi.

The Ganga from the sky

Main ghat during a ceremony

Varanasi was the indian experience that I was expecting. It was intense, chaotic, with cows, monkeys, a lot of people and also very hot, very noisy, very dirty, very smelly but still though very interesting. All together makes it something difficult to forget. You always can get to river through the many little stairs to reach the ghats and get out of the busy and noisy city.

The days were so hot that we did nothing but lying down and read or have a siesta. We were more active during the early morning or the evening. And the same for everybody, the city sleeps during the sunny hours and awake when the sun goes down. It was very nice walking at 9 or 10 pm when everyone is out, all the shops open and the weather was almost nice.

Obviously the most impressive thing is the Ganga and the life around the river. People having a swim/bath even using shower gel, the cows and the buffalos also cooling down in the river and all this by the impressive old building forming castles or forts. The women swim completelly dressed or they just holding theirs men's clothes, waiting for the men to finish their daily bath in the river.

Amazing building by the river side

We are blessed in the sacred Varanassi with our friend

So many things happen by the Ganga. Everything done in the Ganga gives you good karma. Cremations are also performed by the Ganga. We were going to the main ghat when we saw a procession passing by. They were carrying a dead man, that we could see rolled in a sheet and covered by flowers in a bamboo stretcher meanwhile they were singing. When they arrive at the Ganga, the body is dipped in the river and it will be burned in a big fire. When the fire is out the ashes are taken and thrown in the Ganga. It is very impressive to see. I did not see people crying. Maybe because they never die, and the soul of the dead person will take another body and depending on his karma, he or she will be reborned in a higher or lower cast.

Life around the Ganga

Having a bath

Cremation ceremony

Family by the Ganga

Good karma for us

There are also a bunch of kids around selling small candles to be lit and left in the river. These kids were very funny. We had a few chats with some of them. People in general are very nice. At the beginning we were a bit cold with them because they always try to make business, selling  the candles, a boat trip or anything that can be sold and it can be a bit tiring, but at the end you learn to say no, smile and start a conversation about anything else.

Due to the climate, in India there is always a better moment to visit each area. So far, we have not been in the best moment anywhere, mainly because of the heat. In Varanasi it was too hot and the Ganga was quite low. The ghats will be nicer when the Ganga is higher after the rainy season from September. But with the river so low, it is possible to walk all around the city by the ghats what makes it very nice.