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Published: December 13th 2008
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Satisfied
Thats the look after another good meal (from one of the only TWO good restaurants in Pokhara) Leaving Nepal. It was sad because we had an incredible time there. But it was TIME to leave and we were MORE than ready to get to India already!
The trip from Pokhara to Varanasi actually took more out of me than I thought it would. The first leg of the journey: Pokhara to Sunali (Border crossing). The bus took about 9 hours (instead of the 6,7 or 8 hours that we were told) and it was a PRETTY twisty, bumpy ride. I was REEEEALLY glad when it was over. From there it was a 20 minute bicycle rickshaw ride to the border crossing, breezed through that, on both sides and JUST LIKE THAT...we were in INDIA.
In an INSTANT everything changes. Just walking over that invisible line that divides the two countries. The people change, the shops change, the AIR even changes and the intensity level is cranked up about tenfold.
We were quickly approached and were offered a lift to Gorkhpur in a jeep as opposed to another long bus ride. We went for it, piled into the back of the jeep and JUUUST when we thought that we were actually comfortable and had excess room, the back door
Vienna Lodge
Great place to chill out and relax after our annapurna adventure. opened and a young man dove in, head first, just as the jeep was pulling away.
FINALLY we arrived in Gorkhpur in the evening and went to the train station to buy our VERY FIRST train tickets in India. Its a bit of a difficult task made even MORE difficult by the fact that Indians, as with ALL Asians, have NO CLUE about queing or waiting in line (or forming lines or WHY to form a line). So, it took a while before Guillaumes hand and mind were quick enough to slip the reservation slip through the teeny tiny window before any of the other sneaky little hands lurking about.
The hotel we stayed in that night was....oh boy....something else. Just what you would expect from a hotel across the street from an Indian train station. Flithy, noisy, smelly, cheap and SWARMING with blood thirsty mosquitoes!
Hum, ya...didnt sleep much that night.
We had to be up early the next morning for a 6am train, anyhow.
That was extremely exciting for us...our FIRST train ride in India. We opted for the sleeper class, which cost us 134 Rupees (around $4) each for the 6 hour trip. We got to share
COW eating time
Guillaume wanted to get a nice, fat steak in him before heading to Hindu non-beefy India. our berth with 2 smart, young university students who were alot of fun to chat with.
The trip was great, even with the surprise visit from a small mouse who came around looking for food. First looking around Jasmines rear-end, then looking around my fingers and finally making a BOLD move....flying through the air, ears flapping in the breeze and landing right into Guillaumes crotch! (that made him jump, alright!)
ALAS!!
Our arrival, our long awaited arrival in Varanasi.
Sigh.
I just dont know what I can say. Its amazing. Truly, ultimately amazing.
We have been utterly blown away.
I just dont know where to start or if i can even put it into words, how I feel or how to describe it here.
The old city, where our hotel is located, near the Ganges river, is SO fascinating. Just a TOTAL mess of narrow walkways, old crumbling buildings, staricases, cows (along with their gigantic scats), miniature shops selling Paan (a sort of chewing tobacco but totally different) and sweets, huge heaps of garbage and the occassional dead body being paraded through on a bamboo stretcher, dressed in glittery fabrics and accompanied by a group of men all chanting as
Glorious Gorkhpur hotel
Oh wait, no, it wasnt glorious at all. Infact it was the complete opposite of glorious and we slept with the lights on that night. they carry the body down to the Ganges to be burnt.
Sigh.
I just cannot begin to convey the gallons upon gallons of atmosphere that this city is drenched with.
Then we come to the ghats, the river front openings with staircases that lead right into the river.
As toxic as it is, that DOES NOT stop the devout Hindus from bathing, washing and even...drinking the water.
As holy as it is meant to be, there are still dead bodies and raw sewage being pumped into the river, continuously, and I just cannot understand how religion can make some people completely turn off any sense of reason or concern for their own health.
There is, again, continuous action revolving around the ghats. So much life thrives from the river. Boatmen, salesmen, massagers, hairdressers, sadhus and many, many people just hanging out.
The there is the famous burning ghat. Where bodies are brought to be purified and cremated, in open air, at the riverside.
Its a total experience in itself to visit. I felt okay about being surrounded by the dead bodies in open flames around me, it was more the actual scene there that grabbed me.
It looks like death
Train reading
Flipping through a henna design magazine that i bought on the train (for 25 cents!) there. It actually screams out death.
The buildings are old and crumbling, open fires are scattered here and there and there is not a single woman to be seen...anywhere.
And...a visit to Varanasi cannot be complete without a boat ride or two on the Ganges river. We took a boat twice to take it all in, once for sunrise and once for sunset. It's great to see the ghats from another perspective. It was incredible, though I do admit that I felt instantly nauseous when we paddled past a goat corpse (wearing a knit vest) (?!).
The days spent in Varanasi are days of wandering and getting utterly lost in the maze of the old city or strolling down the river, checking out the action on the ghats and gazing our into the mystical waters of the near-toxic Ganga.
The food has also been a great treat for us. Every meal has been a gigantic pleasure, no matter where we eat. And we have delved into the wonderful world of Indian SWEETS!
Varanasi is truly unlike any other place we have been before, like being on a totally other planet. Where life and death are an in-your-face matter.
Sigh.
Varanasi.
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Vivienne
non-member comment
beautiful...
Beautiful words, amazing pictures. We're going in January and I can't wait. You sound like a lovely couple! Have fun!