By 5:30 a.m. I was on a boat in the Ganges touring the ghats along the river.
Sunrise over the Ganges.
Sludge along the river's bank. It is one of the most polluted rivers. People here say the garbage is dirty, but the river is pure. I saw a small dead goat floating in the river, as well as a dead dog and what appeared to be a body wrapped in a sheet. People are using the stairs to the river as a toilet near where people are bathing.
At sunrise, the river is buzzing with activities. Every morning about 4,000 people come to bathe in the Ganges. Bathing here cleanses you from all your sins, past and future.
Women bathe in their saris and men bathe in their underwear, which look kind of
like a speedo swimsuit.
I bathed western style, which involves putting your hand in the water then placing a few drops on yourself. Yam tells me this is just as good as a full bath.
The women can change their saris in these small chambers.
We stopped by a private school that teaches boys "laughing yoga." They have traveled here from all over India to learn. They all sleep in a room in the building on the left.
They all, on cue from the instructor, laugh together while they perform yoga poses. They believe laughing is good for the body, even when it is a staged laugh.
Beside the people bathing and doing yoga, men were washing clothes by banging them on large stones in the river. I'm pretty sure the laundry I dropped off at the hotel is going to be washed in the river.
Nearby was a females-only punja where they are made offerings to the Ganga. They do this ceremony then bathe in the Ganges. One woman who came to speak to me was very nice and explained parts of the ceremony. The flowers in the center will be placed in the river.
I lit floating candles for my family and friends and then placed the candles in the river. When you place the candle in the river, you say the person's name and it brings them good luck. I bought all the candles in his basket.
A few of my candles making their way down the Ganges.
A priest making offerings to the Ganga. He is offering, among other things, fire and air.
Shiva's palace. Shiva is the supreme god in Hinduism. They believe she came down from the heavens to bathe in the Ganges. People from Varanasi saw her when she came here to bathe. When she was bathing near what is now the main burning ghat, she lost her gold and diamond earring. The manikarneka ghat is named after the earring she lost. Translated into English the word means the gold, diamond and stairs.
As a side note, 95 percent of the information I write comes from what I am told. Everyone seems to have their own story about the symbolic meaning behind something, the story behind an object, or even what the culture as a whole believes. Bammie, our guide from Chiang Mai, said that religions and beliefs are like milkshakes with different blends and varieties. One person's chocolate milkshake is a little different than another's. I'm often not sure what flavor milkshake I'm relaying, but it is the one most interesting to me because it is a local person's interpretation.
Meditation is commonly performed along the river.
Harishchandra, another cremation area along the Ganges. This one, unlike the other site, has a crematorium. It is the building on the left side of the picture. It is much cheaper to be cremated in the crematorium. It seems only people who cannot afford to purchase the wood for the open-air cremation are cremated in the crematorium. They also do the open-air cremations here but not to the same extent as Manikarnika.
It is a little difficult to see but the man in orange in the alcove is a Sadhu, a holy man who goes from temple to temple to pray. You see them praying throughout the city.
After the boat ride, I grabbed some breakfast at the hotel before I met up with my tuk tuk driver for some sightseeing.
I had the free breakfast special--banana pancakes with honey (it was more like chewy sweet nan than a pancake) and a vegetable sandwich (which I didn't eat out of fear for the uncooked vegetables).
Dadu took me around in his tuk tuk for the day. My guide's friend was sick, so I hung out with Dadu instead. I loved him from the minute I saw he had a ferrari label on his tuk tuk. Himanshu, the other label, is the name of his 5 year old son. We saw a handful of temples but as usual, the sights around town and the people I met were my favorite.
Goats being carted to the market next to Sadhu men walking in the street.
It is hard to capture how chaotic the streets are but this picture gives you a hint. All three were moving and all of them seemed confident that they had plenty of space to get through, which they did.
Again, plenty of space.
A moving shot of oncoming traffic.
Our view through the FRONT window as we were driving. People tend to drive on whichever side of the street works best at that moment.
Again, coziness on the streets.
This is the Durga Temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga. Cameras are not allowed inside. When entering the Hindu temple, you ring a bell to announce your presence to the gods. You also step over the door frame, not on it. Once inside, worshippers take holy water from the Ganges and drink it. With a flip of the wrist, I "drank" some too. Many locals come to worship at this temple. Today, Saturday, was an especially busy day to visit because Saturday is a holy day. Being inside gives you a sense of how intensely religious people are in Varanasi.
This alley led us to the Sankat Mochen temple. Cameras are not allowed. The walkway to the temple had about 20 monkeys hanging around it. They were pretty aggressive; one brawl broke out as we walked past. My pace definitely quickened when I saw the monkey brawl. Sankat Mochen means liberator from trouble. It is believed that regular visitors to the temple will get their wishes fulfilled. This temple was packed. These temples were outside of town, so I was typically the only tourist visiting. Most temples in Varanasi allow anyone to visit and pray but certain Hindu temples do not allow muslims to enter.
We also toured University Park. The area houses many of the colleges. Above is the law school. It is an additional 2 years of graduate school to become an attorney.
We picked up three school boys as hitchhikers and gave them rides home. One boy's father is an engineer and another's is a tuk tuk driver. One boy spoke pretty good English.
This is Ramnagar Fort. It is located along the south bank of the Ganges. It is the ancestral home of the Maharaja (king) of Banaras (Varanasi).
There was also an interesting archeological museum inside. Cameras are not allowed. There is an interesting collection of daggers and other weapons. There are also antique Ford cars and Oldsmobiles used by the Maharaja.
These bats were hanging out in the ceiling of a passageway connecting sections of the museum. The museum was a little different than the MET.
We also stopped in Sarnath, the location where the Buddha gave his first sermon to his disciples.
I really enjoyed our stop in a weaving factory in Sarnath. Men, above, were hard at work weaving a variety of silk items. The factory weaves high-end goods. One sari can take up to two months to weave. All the weaving is done by hand.
This man was my favorite weaver. He was very sweet and gave me a simple silk bracelet that he tied on my wrist. My bracelet total is now three.
This was a cheap sari, but I did buy it so I can go to the golden temple tomorrow. My guide said I need to wear one to be able to visit.
The runner up. The shop owner said blue was a happier color, so I went with blue. Dadu, the tuk tuk driver, said locals are very happy when they see tourists wearing a sari. I just hope I can remember how to put it back on (it involves lots of bunching, tucking and wrapping).
They sold gorgeous silk pieces. This is a twin size duvet cover. It sells for about $120.
Dadu wanted to treat me to some chai at his favorite spot, which is located on the way back to the city. The locals seemed to get a kick out of me. Not many tourists stop in this town. It was darn good chai. They made it from buffalo milk, which is creamier than cow milk.
The Sanskrit University. The students then become astrologists.
I had skipped lunch and was starving by the time I returned to the hotel. Above is a potato peanut masala appetizer--darn tasty.
The green dish has dumplings of cottage cheese stuffed with spinach, potato and vegetable that are topped with sauce made from spinach, cream and butter. A side order of rice and cheese nan (more like a cheese curd than a cheddar) completed my order. I ate almost everything.
Tomorrow I will spend most of the day in Varanasi and then take the overnight train from here to Agra.
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Location:Dashaswmedh Ghat Rd,Varanasi,India
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