542 roads diverged in a yellow Varanassi

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And I, I took the one less traveled by...

I ended up spending 9 days in Varanassi (when I arrived I decided I'd leave in two days... yeah right). Partially because it was almost impossible to leave (every train I checked was full). There are many paths leaving Varanassi, in many different directions. And it seemed there were people traveling in every one of them. Except for mine. You might recall that I traveled in a long, strange way from Nepal to Dharamsala. Well, once wasn't enough - I decided to take more or less the same route yet again, and to go from Varanassi straight to Dharamsala. And finally, with a little bakshish, I managed to get a ticket. So there I was, once again on a train to Chakki Bank. I settled in and then, lo and behold - another tourist! in the opposite berth! I couldn't believe it. So I ended up having company all the way to McLeod Ganj. It was quite nice, though I'm not afraid of traveling alone anymore. I even felt so relaxed that at some station on the way I got off to throw out garbage and didn't notice the train started leaving without me.

Varanassi turned out to be much better than I was expecting. It is a hard city, very very hectic (especially when you combine the hindu new year with a solar eclipse), but I was well prepared. My main impression is that it is the city of small happenings. You can walk around the alleys or along the Ganga and simply observe and every day you'll see new things. There weren't any dramatic experiences, just alot of very indian experiences. And it's a great place to collect cow stories. So far I've collected four (and still counting):
1. A cow rammed it's head into me
2. I was walking in the street and turned my head to say 'no thank you' (quite a common phrase in Varanassi) and when I turned it back I suddenly found myself nearly colliding with a cow.
3. I walked in a narrow alley and there were some buffalos coming my way. The buffalo owner whipped the one closest to me and he started running straight towards me (luckily I found a step to jump on, but it was a bit of a close call).
4. My personal favorite - a riksha driver stopped next to me and tried to convince me to take the riksha. He wouldn't leave and he was almost blocking my way - in order to continue on my way I had to cross the narrow gap between the riksha and a cow. Some fly annoyed the cow just at that moment so she shook her head and slobbered a huge amount of saliva (and I don't even want to think what else) on my pants.
So all in all it was a nice experience. It's interesting to be in such a holy place, where you can't put your foot down without stepping on a temple (literally - I put my foot on a wall to try on an anklet and it turned out to be a temple... oops). But I'm glad to be back in Dharamsala, where I feel I can breathe again.

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