Ghats at Varanasi
From Panna we drove to Varanasi, a holy city on the Ganges. We stopped on the way to pick up lunch at a truckers cafe – I thought the simple vegetarian food was great but everyone else seemed to start throwing up about twenty minutes later, which was unpleasant to watch for the duration of the 14 hour drive.
Having two free days in Varanasi, the three of us hired a tuk-tuk driver/fixer to hang about and take us round the city whilst making massive commission on anything we bought or ate.
First we went for a boat ride along the ghats. This is the holy area where families cremate bodies and scatter the ashes, which we saw, or if the dead person is of a high caste they are just sunk in the river by having a few rocks tied to them. Sometimes the rocks come off and the bloated body floats back to the surface and gets eaten by crows. Which we also saw…
Just downriver from the ashes and dead bodies is another area used for washing, laundry and cleaning teeth, but as the water is still full of ashes and rotting flesh we waited until we got back to the hotel before having a freshen up.
The tuk-tuk then took us to a couple of temples before insisting that we wanted to go shopping. As he was on commission he seemed very keen for us to visit the best places and buy the most expensive goods, which we duly obliged.
In a rush we stopped briefly at a McDonalds, only to find the first thing on the menu was a McCurry – a flaky pastry square filed with worryingly yellow curry sauce.
After freshening up we went back to the ghats and got a boat to the far end of town then walked back beside the river. Aside from all the washing and burning the wider ghats are used as meeting places, markets and cricket grounds so made for an interesting walk. As it got towards sunset one of the touts invited us into a bar overlooking the river in which the tables are surrounded by beds and you can lie down and watch the world go by. Was perfect after a long day, but did get slightly distracted by some chap doing yoga in just his y-fronts.
We wandered back to the hotel to see what everyone was doing for the evening but the plan seemed to involve just drinking in the local bar so two of us headed back into town and watched Casino Royale in Hindi. Worked out ok as there wasn’t too much dialogue but there were two power cuts during the film and the cinema seemed to be men only, so being white and female Emma got stared at as much as the film.
The following morning most people were sleeping off the effects of the bar the previous night so we lay around the pool. Once the girls arrived in their bikinis the number of chaps cleaning the pool and workmen sitting on the scaffolding opposite seemed to multiply so we wandered indoors and got massages and pedicures (first one I’ve had – the guy looked pretty horrified, shook his head and reached for the belt sander to remove months of dirt from Africa and Asia).
Again everyone wanted to go drinking so we left them to it and went back to the ghats for a great meal on a rooftop overlooking the whole city. From there we could see a concert being set up below so wandered down for a closer look. It was being held in honour of the Indian Minister for Tourism but as it wasn’t due to start for a couple of hours we wandered into the old town to find the (Kashi Vishwanath) Golden Temple. This was harder than expected as if you ask anyone where it might be they assume you’re asking the way to the chowk (market) and point you to the top of the hill. We walked down the hill again and found a bicycle rickshaw and asked him to take us to the Golden Temple. He pointed up the hill and quoted 20 rupees which seemed a bargain. We climbed in the back before realising the man was quite so old and nearly at deaths door so I ended up cycling up the hill with him in the back…and paid for the privilege…before realising he had no idea where the Golden Temple was and had taken us to the chowk again.
Giving up, another tuk-tuk got us back to the festival. The setting was great – the wooden scaffolding we’d seen them putting up earlier had all been covered with white cotton sheets, as had the steps of the ghat. Little red tea lights had been lit and set to float all over the river making it quite a special scene. The seating was on the base and steps of the ghat and had been divided up into the tourist area at the front with proper seats and the locals area at the back with the sheets on the steps. The front area was full of American coach parties with video cameras so we sat at the back with the locals and swapped food and drinks with a party of soldiers. Would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the awful piercing singing coming from the stage.
OMG! I’m so happy to find your blog. I’m heading to India in Nov and have been looking for good posts. Three gals…first visit…should be a heck of an adventure! Thanks for sharing and happy travels! I’ll be readin’ now…..