Varanasi 21-24th dec 06
The mist slowly rises to reveal the rows of houses and temples along the ghats on the river's edge, as the new dawn rises... Many small boats are scattered along the Ganges as tourists watch what's happening on the steps leading to the river. People come down to bathe in the holy water (which sadly is very polluted), some fully clothed and some not. The other side of the Ganges is hidden in the mist, a grey horizon with silhouettes, yet as the bright red sun rises, the mists here lifts as well, revealing a row of shacks and figures walking...
This is our early morning boat experience in Varanasi...
The next day we take a cycle rickshaw back to ghats again. Suddenly we are amidst the crazy hussle and bussle of Indian traffic, as the driver pedals with us sitting behind. From our vantage point we see and hear everything. Horns beeping, vehicles zigzagging, little shops on the road side and people everywhere. Soon we arrive at the main ghat on the river's edge. Our first experience is seeing the dead bodies being burned and the 'burning ghat'. From our balcony veiwpoint we see bodies wrapped in clothe, partly hidden under the burning pyre. Flames envelop the stack of wood and the body within it. A man standing next to us explains the ritual, saying that only a certain type of wood can be used and only certain people are not cremated. These include pregnant women an children under ten, who are put in the bottom of the Ganges. The smoke rises, and a strange smell becomes aparant. The sun is hot and our eyes are closing from the smoke, yet we are fascinated with what is happening below. Some time later another procession arrives, holding another body and the ceremony begins again...
Later we wind in amongst the maze of little street behind the ghats, seeing little temples and people going about their daily business as we walk past. We step into a silk shop to admire the famous Varanasi silk, although we resist the pressuring salesman who insists we buy his wares. We visit a music store full of Indian instruments and listen to the guru play the Tavla (drum). Later we go through a glittering maze of stores and shops selling everything you can think of (except nutella!!!!).
Varanasi has such a peaceful atmosphere when you walk along the holy river, yet outside (especially where we were staying) it is still a chaotic Indian city. Once again due to our tour, we were quite some distance from the ghats. This left us for one, unable to soak up the full spirit of the Varanasi and the Ganges, and two, left us susceptible to preying vulture-rickshaw divers. For example:
After spending the day on the ghats, we took a cycle rickshaw in the evening to get back to the hotel. The driver wasnt sure where it was so we showed him the address and he asked another guy, who told us we would be fine and that the price was 30 rupees. We were happy to pay this price as we knew we had been ripped off on the way there that morning (even after asking multiple ricksaw drivers and barganing we still couldnt get the normal price). Anyway everything was fine until all of a sudden the driver stopped in the middle of a busy road and said he couldnt take us further then demanded his money. We tried to explain that we wouldnt pay him until he took us to our hotel but he couldnt speak English. Soon we found ourselves surrounded by more than 10 guys all looking to see what was going on as they circled around us. One guy spoke English and told us the driver didnt want to take us further and told us we should pay him 100 ruppees (tripple the price). We were like 'get real' - as if were gonna pay him tripple for dropping us off in the middle of nowhere! But then we were getting stressed out cos it was dark, we were surrounded by heaps of strange guys and we didnt know where the hell we were! So in the end we paid the driver 2/3 of the agreed price and walked off. Upset and angry we walked down the street, until finally we got another rickshaw and firmly told him we wouldnt pay him until he took us to the hotel. This experience left us feeling frustrated with India and when we were safely in our rooms we had a huge venting session, screaming and giggling until a knock at the door from the laundry guy, stopped us in our tracks!
But thats the way India seems to be - up, down, up, down - like a rollacoaster of amazing and frustrating experiences!
