Arriving in Varanasi feeling weak and tired after our hellish train ride, we quickly found a rickshaw, and told him where we wanted to go. Of course, in India, nothing is ever that easy- another guy jumped in the front and tried to convince us to visit his guest house instead. 'Just one look?' Despite us politely but firmly saying NO, the driver took us there anyway. We decided to look, but because we were feeling the irritability that one hours sleep gives you, we rejected it almost immediately. In hindsight, this was a mistake- we didn't know how disorientating the cobbled, narrow streets would be. Finally, after asking many street vendors who spoke limited English, we found our original destination- only to discover the first place we were taken to was probably better. Oh well, such is life.
It's funny how the places you expect not to enjoy, are often the ones you enjoy the most. Breakfast on a rooftop cafe overlooking the holy ghats of the Ganges (or Ganga, as Indians call it), and water buffaloes wallowing in the water, helped us to chill out and regroup. Varanasi itself has heaps of character and charm down its winding alleyways, so narrow that if a particularly fat cow was standing there (and there were quite a few), that nobody could get past. Seeing cows slowly amble down busy streets still makes me laugh- no matter how much auto-rickshaws beep them and swerve wildly around them, nothing will startle or speed up those cows.
One of the major Varanasi highlights was the 'ganga aarti' at Dadadwebmedth Ghat- or 'river worship ceremony'. As one man chanted in Hindi to the beat of a drum, four orange men stood in a square, whilst slowly turning and waving around fire torches. Despite almost choking on the smoke clouds blowing into our faces, I was transfixed by this holy ceremony- and even lit a 'lotus flower', a candle-lit paper flower that you set onto the Ganges for good luck. I almost felt like I could have been in the Varanasi of 50 years ago- until I saw an Indian man proudly wearing selling brightly coloured flashing horns and glowsticks, like we were at a pop concert.
The other highlight was the boat ride at dawn down the Ganges. We were woken up by the boatman at 5am ('cos we just love those early mornings), and taken through the eerily silent streets to a rowing boat at one of the smaller ghats. It was still dark when we set off, although many buildings were already coming to life along the river, their lights relecting on the still Ganges beautifully. The only voice we could hear was that of our very informative boatman, telling us the history of each ghat we passed and their temples. Gradually, the sky's dark indigo turned into a lilac-blue, and we passed the most interesting ghat of all- the burning ghat. This was the place where Hindus, after carrying them down the streets draped in flower garlands, cremate dead bodies. If bitten by a cobra, the body is covered in leaves and set along the river, and if pregnant or a baby, attached to bricks to sink to the riverbed. Our boatman knew a lot about the process, his father having been cremated in this way. As well as dozens of Indians washing themselves in the holy (but filthy!) river, we also saw several lines of men performing a religious ceremony, cupping water over and over in prayer for their dead loved ones. Just when we thought we'd seen the best of the sunrise, a shocking pink run rose out of the baby blue-grey clouds, its light gently dappled on the water. A truly stunning sight, especially on such a peaceful river. After reaching Assi Ghat- the last one out of the 20 we'd passed- and enjoying a cup of chai in a clay pot (I know I say this every time, but this was ACTUALLY one of the best I've had), we head back to our hotel. Pat even had a chance to row for a little bit- unlike the journey there, the current was going the same way as the boat!
So, all in all, we actually really enjoyed Varanasi, and was sad we'd decided to spent so little time there. No matter- for our next stop was Agra, and a domed shape white building you just might have heard of....
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