Varanasi - a spiritual journey

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2 Jan - it's late afternoon by the time we arrive in Varanasi so there's no time for the planned orientation walk round the city. Instead we explore this ancient, religious city by rickshaw en route to the Ganges River for 'sunset'. During our few days here we never did manage a successful sunrise or sunset...due to the lack of sun 😊

Varanasi is considered the holiest place for Hindus and millions travel here for pilgrimage, worship, to mourn or to die. We take a small rowboat down the Ganges and participate in a candle flower ceremony (releasing lots of prayers) and are joined by two musicians playing the haunting sitar and tabla. It's a magical experience with the Ganges looking mystical as it's shrouded in fog. We then 'park up' to watch and listen to the saddhus taking puja.

3 Jan - 'sunrise' boat trip down the Ganges exploring the many ghats which line the river. Again, this amazing experience is enhanced by the mist. It's fascinating watching daily life based round the ghats including people bathing and washing clothes in the river as well as praying and doing yoga (which can include laughing heartily and loudly as one man was doing, hilarious sight!). It was then extremely moving floating passed the cremation ghat. As the Ganges are considered so holy, for many, this is the ultimate pilgrimage and believed to be the best opportunity to obtain mokkha (release from the birth and death cycle). Therefore, it is here where dead bodies are brought from all over India to be dipped in the Ganges and then cremated at the ghat.

We have breakfast at a rooftop terrace looking over the river then meander through the maze of narrow alleyways dodging the goats. It reminds me of Fez in Morocco, only there we were dodging donkeys! In the afternoon, Bhup, Paul and I take a tuktuk to Sarnath. This is one of four key Buddhism related sites in India and Nepal. It was here that Gautama - Lord Buddha preached for the first time in the deer park. Buddhist followers from around the world make pilgrimages to the site at Sarnath. I buy a few books and start to learn more about Bhuddism...

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Photos

Flower ceremony
My prayers go floating down the Ganges...