Walking down the alleys (or gullies) of Varanasi, everything is flying at you: scruffy dogs, giant cows, men chanting as they carry loved ones to be cremated by the Ganges, incessant honking of motorbikes trying to squeeze by in a tight space... Then, down at the river are the ghats where bodies are being cremated, people are dunk themselves into the river, and the boatmen persistently offer "boat sir, very cheap price." It's overwhelming and I love it, which is why I'm back for the 3rd or 4th time.
Get there
We took the overnight train from Khajuraho, which left at 23.50 and was due in before noon, but ended up being at least 2 hours late. We jumped off after the train had been sitting for 15 minutes about 200m from the station. After walking along the concrete factory, we made our way passed the overpriced auto drivers by telling them a ridiculously low fare and then found a guy to take us to Assi ghat for Rs.120.
Eat and sleep
We ended up at Om guest house just south of Assi ghat for Rs. 600/night although should have bargained another Rs. 100 off the price as it was far from clean.
Itihaas-Alley Kitchen. Good spot. We had some of the Indian dishes and they were good although lacking heat in the spice.
Open Hand cafe, a long-time institution and the "only place for chocolate cake" says my friend who spent 6 months here in 2007. They do a good cappuccino. Wasn't so amazed with the muffin or salad though.
Brown bread bakery does a breakfast
buffet of muesli, yogurt, fruit, cheese, tomato and cucumber, eggs, bread, bacon and sausage, breakfast potatoes, juice and 1 hot drink of choice for Rs. 300. I ate my heart out. Especially on the cheese and bread, a rarity over the past months.
What we did
The first day, we wandered up the ghats stopping to absorb all that was going on at each. Then listened to sitar and tabla at the International Music Ashram, which has music on Wednesday and Saturday nights for Rs. 150 starting at 8pm. Lemon tea is served about 1 hour in.
At 5am the next day, we got up for the morning prayers at Assi ghat. It's become a bit of a thing, but still nice. We were a bit early, so had some lemon tea until about 5:30am when the aarti began. There was a group of girls singing as the men methodically waved various flaming objects through the air. It is enchanting to watch.
After, there was some live music and then a yoga practice of mostly pranayams which was well attended. A great way to start the day.
From there, we wandered up the ghats again. Morning is a fascinating time to be on the ghats as there is so much happening, particularly bathing and laundry.
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| Bathing in the Ganges |
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| Seemed to be a class of sorts. These men were intently rolling balls of white clay as instructed. |
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| What a beautiful smile from this lady. |
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| Fix the mobile phone, then perform morning ritual |
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| Beads for sale |
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| Laundry out to dry |
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| Ladies shopping on the ghat |
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| Cows are everywhere in Varanasi |
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| Boatloads of people heading to the east bank of the Ganges |
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| This guy had a good look |
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| Tour group denoted by matching orange hats |
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| Watch out for these tricksters. No password. |
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| Men playing cards on the ghat |
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| These guys watched me take a photo of some dogs lying around a fire. I turned around and asked, "photo?" and this dog came trotting over to our amusement |
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| Potty break. Varanasi needs more toilets. |
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| This policeman asked to take my photo, so I decided to get one if him too. There are so many scammers on the ghats that I was trying to figure him out. |
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| Boating on the Ganges |
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| Chopping wood for the funeral pyres is hard work |
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| Cow guarded the wood |
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| The Ganges at sunset |
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| Varanasi alleys going to sleep |
After breakfast, we wandered further up the ghats to where there are less people and I thought how nice it was to not be offered a boat ride. Two minutes later I hear, "boat ride?" and then we are pretty much accosted by a massage therapist. There is a handshake that turns into a hand massage that travels up the arm, with the hope that you just can't say no.
We got lost and walked in circles near a big temple where there are tons of guys with big guns for security. A bit ominous when you aren't prepared for it.
The next day was spent trying to upload photos to the blog and reading the news while waiting at Open hand cafe. I wasn't the only one to spend the better part of a day in there. After, headed to Assi ghat for the evening aarti, which seems to be the Bollywood version, with cranked up tunes and a guy suggesting we clap along. I prefer the morning one, even though it's at 5:30am, which is saying something.
Get out
The original plan was to head up to Darjeeling and Sikkim, but as we don't think we will get the permit to cross overland into Myanmar, we decided to change the route. In looking what there is to do nearby, I discovered that Bodhgaya where the Buddha attained enlightenment, was just 5 hours by train. We got tickets on the 4:10pm train from Varanasi to Gaya. It was 2.5 hours late, so we didn't get in until 1am. Although trains book up weeks in advance, we've had luck getting seats from the TTs on board. This time we were in Sleeper class for a stop and then got berths in 3AC in the train, so I slept a couple hours to try to heal/ward off the food sicknesses and sore throat that had arrived.
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