Last stop before Nepal; Varanasi and the Ganges.
India | Monday, November 2, 2015 | 9 photos
VARANASI (GANGES)
Blatant Wikipedia plagiarism: Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities and is the holiest of Hinduism's seven holy cities. Pilgrims come to the ghats lining the River Ganges here to wash away a lifetime of sins in the sacred waters or to cremate their loved ones. It's a particularly auspicious place to die, since expiring here offers moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death), making Varanasi the beating heart of the Hindu universe. End plagiarism ;-)
Yes, and also the dirtiest city in India we've seen - that's saying a lot! The narrow alleys near the river are a nightmarish labyrinth - try looking for a unreserved hostel and haggling for prices?! Took us 2 hours to visit 3 "adjacent" hostels. Even after 3 days we get lost every time we leave and come back to the hostel. Oh, and there are cows in every alley; eating garbage, napping, or peeing/pooping. Omg, never seen so much fresh poop in my life! 100 times worse than the dog poop of NYC!
WRAP-UP
Hmm, Varanasi doesn't make the cut unfortunately. The mythical place where people bathe and cremate their loved ones. Sorry. Here's our list,
MUNNAR: tea plantations, cool weather, cool backpackers, good food
MADURAI: Hindu temple, good food
AMRITSAR: golden temple, good food, best naan and lassi in India
AGRA: Taj, cool backpackers
NEPAL
Overnight train at 12:30am, last overnight train was 4 hours late :-( 3 hr bus to Nepal, walk across the border, then 8-10 hr bus to Kathmandu! If there are no snags (there always are), tomorrow night we arrive... Exhausted but in Nepal!!! :-)
