The One in Varanasi: A beautiful culture shock!

We're in India!

We arrived after a gruelling 24hr journey over here- 7am bus journey from Pokhara in Nepal, to the border where we were hurried off the bus by rickshaw drivers all wanting to take us to the border, and an elderly couple from Czech who wanted advice on 'what to do'.... Anna and I have learnt to just count to ten, block them all out and just talk to each other! We then managed to lower the fare and were driven to and across the border.... the border was quite underwhelming, a concrete arch and a couple of men sat on either side checking visa's whilst chewing paan. We'd been experiencing the festivities of Diwali in Pokhara the last weekend we were there which involved alot of children dancing in the street to traditional music and a a fair few tea lights lining the streets and doors of shops as offerings, but across the border into India we were met with tractors carrying trailors full of speakers and boys/men covered in birghtly coloured dust and dancing to the 21st century versions of the 'traditional' songs, fire crackers were going in the road and general chaos! We were hurried onto the bus that was leaving for Ghorakpur, so we grabbed some crisps for lunch and quickly took our seats.... the bus didn't leave for another hour! Giving our Czech friends to get on board along with another western couple. Two hours later we made it to the town where we needed to board a train to Varanasi, where we had to walk 1km away from the station to get our tickets! We entered the ticket reservation office and literally turned every head there... a room full of male stares gazing in curiosity, something we need to get use to pretty quickly! Thankfully one helpful guy, who spoke english, told us what train we needed, what form to fill in and what queue to wait in! Another 45mins later we had our tickets and made our way back to the station where we had dinner at a thali opposite as our train wasn't until 11pm. In the little cafe we got speaking to the Danish couple who were on the same bus and they gave us some helpful hints about Varanasi, as it was their 2nd time in the last few months. We also went and had a drink with an english and german lad in a nearby bar... thankfully we had them with us and didn't decide to go in on our own... the two basic square rooms were filled with men, the only women were the western images blown up on the walls- naughty nurse, santa and Jordon!! It makes you appreciated why they find western women so fascinating! Finally it was time for our first train of India!!!

We found our way to the cabins and locked ourselves into a two berth, unfortunately it was the only cabin with a window and so we had to tie our scarves up against the glass pane as we seemed to attract the men walking past who took it in turns to stand and stare in at us like we were an attraction at the zoo... very bizarre! But sleep soon set in and our nervousness of the journey vanished! We awoke around 6am giving us time to watch the sun rise over the indian landscape outside, the small villages we passed and finally our station! Again we were greeted by a dozen glares and rickshaw drivers outside the station, and again the Czech couple asking advice on where to go and how... we obviously looked like we knew what we were doing! We picked the friendliest/cheapest driver and loaded his little rickshaw up with our 4 bags and us.... how he managed to get us to the old city I don't know, but he not only did that but walked us to the hotel! We were very lucky I think, as have heard many stories of over-charging or wrong destinations! We've been staying at the Shanti Guest house, one of the oldest and most popular guest houses.... quite basic, but cheap and has a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city and river, which always seems bustling with travellers exchanging stories! Our tuesday reflected our tiredness, and we seemed to stay put in the rooftop haven for the day/evening.... refuelling and chatting to a lovely bunch of people, including the Danes who we ate with in Ghoraktpur. It was so lovely to speak to a large group of people from all over, exhanging their stories and advice.

Wednesday was our first taste of Varanasi! What a city! We spent the day wandering around the small little streets of trinkets, saris, pantaloons and sweets. Squeezing past the various cows that hog the path, stepping over the rubbish and cow pats, along the Ghats of the river Ganges.... the river is something else completely! The Ganges river is incredibly Holy, people come to dunk themselves and be blessed, offer the river with their own blessings, chant to the water and chant in the water. Others use the river to wash their clothes and themselves, to clean their teeth in and to have a quick drink. Others use it to throw away their rubbish- garlands, bags, food, flip flops all of which gather along the side. Then there are the cremations, which I will talk about more in abit, but to be cremated at the Ganges is very spiritual and means that you will reach Nirvana and not continue in the cycle of reincarnation.... so ashes are emptied into the river hundreds of times a day, then there are the bodies that aren't cremated, which are anchored down with stones in the middle of the river..... And then to top it all off, the various factories and sewers that pour all their waste upstream into the same river..... now if you read back over what people do in the river you will get some image of the craziness of witnessing it all happening within feet of one another! The river is incredibly septic due to all of this waste and rubbish, no dissolving oxygen exists in the water/ Samples of the river actually show that the river has 1.5million faecal coliform bacteria in every 100ml.... in water safe to BATHE in (not drink) it should be LESS than 500! I still can't quite get my head around it! So wednesday when we walked along the Ghats and saw everything happening in the murky water we were a little shocked by it all. The river rises and falls, and leaves behind a thick muddy clay on the lower walkways of the ghats which is washed down everyday. Anna and I decided to try and pass anyway... Anna taking the lead (thankfully for me) and getting her white trainers covered in Ganges mud!!! The lad hosing it down kindly hosed her down too with water brought up straight from the river.... the knowledge of the state of water was a bit much so we hurried back to the hotel to wash her feet and shoes down once more! Yuck! We ventured back out again, to see more crazy and often upsetting sights- poverty, animal conditions, hygiene conditions.... Your social conscience tested. I consider myself a very caring and giving person, so when you're told to turn a blind eye, not to encourage beggibg (etc) it really is a test of character, that has left me questioning myself on a few occasions. We ducked into a restaurant which acted as a quiet haven from it all, in order to collect our thoughts for the day... although feeling somewhat guilty that we could just escape the chaos so quickly and which allowed us to eat yummy food... the guilt made easier by the restaurant giving proceeds to a disadvantaged school nearby. Not quite the charity we would like to participate in, but it was something.
We spent the afternoon wandering the small streets again, getting slightly lost and worming our way back to the river before nightfall where we happened to pass two young local lads who offered to show us around the burning ghat and give us information. Unfortuanately for us two to just wander around by ourselves would mean being hassled and made to pay money towards the wood used in the cremations... when in actual fact it just gets pocketed. So to be with a couple of locals we were able to walk through unnoticed. It was surreal to see people being carried down on wooden stretchers covered in colourful cloth and flowers, to then be submerged in the river a few times to clense the body and then lifted up and placed ontop of a wood pile, which was then set alight. We watched with eyes wide open as the material melted within minutes giving a clear view of the person beneath, which was soon nothing more that a blackened doll like figure. Other fires only had the remains to signify the person that was laying on their final resting place. After the fires the ashes are then collected and placed into the river, so that the soul of the person reaches nirvana. The colourful shrouds the bodies are wrapped in all signify the sex of the person underneath - elderly man/female, young male/female. For young people the body is simply carried through the streets of the old city to the ghat in silence and respect, the bodies of the eldery are carried along with chanting and drums... a musical ceremony to celebrate their ripe age and long life. Women are not allowed to attend the cremations, due to them crying over the death of their relative, their tears (apparently) taint the soul and stop it from reaching nirvana, Men's tears go unnoticed it would seem... I can not express how unequal the life between sexes is here. India is deifnitely a man's world!
Not all bodies are cremated - the bodies of young children, pregnant women and holy men are simply tied to a large rock and dropped in the middle of the river... so seeing the bodies a week or so later is not uncommon. Thankfully we didn't witness such a thing... only that of a bloated goat! The lads then took us to a small local thali restaurant where we filled our bellies for a few pence before they walked us home! It was so nice to speak with locals who wanted to help literally to be helpful, and not in exchange for money!

Thursday we awoke super early to board a small row boat and watch the sunrise over the ghats! The sunrise was, as always, magnificent; setting the sky on fire with an array of reds, oranges and yellows, bringing the ghats to life and ironically bringing the river to life, a river to me that is so full of death. Our 'guide' was little more than a rower and didn't speak a word to us, so everyone on board exhanged the nuggets of information that they had picked up to give a greater knowledge of the area. We didn't even stop along the way to get a good view of the going-ons on the ghats, the only time we did stop was for our rower to cup up a few mouthfuls of water to quench his thirst. My stomach churned, but I guess he has been brought up on it and is somewhat hardened to the bacteria... still, my stomach churned. We sailed past people enjoying their morning wash, larthering up the soap and rinsing it off with the Ganges water, others starting the blessings early, all incredibly fascinating. After the boat trip we ventured back to our haven of a restaurant with a few others from the boat to chat over breakfast and exhange thoughts and tales. Anna and I stayed behind to ask if we could help out at all at the school that the restaurant funded, they seemed quite keen and so took us along to the school, which was hidden away amongst the old city buildings. We were led into a small classroom where we were met with a dozen eager smiles and wide eyes.... a few introduced themselves in their politest english before a lady came and explained to us what the school was about. Unfortunately as we weren't around for long we were of no real use to the school other than 15mins of playtime.... so we moved on a little disapointed we couldn't give this amazing city something back. Instead we continued with our wandering around the streets, taking in the trinket shops, the colourful material that covered the walls and filled our bellies with yummy masala dosa's from a small side stall and generally enjoyed 'being' in Varanasi. That evening we rejoined the two local lads who had offered to show us the Puja ceremonies that took place twice a day on two of the ghats.... every morning at 6.30am and every evening at 7.30 a.m. They met us by our hotel and took us first to Blue Lassi, where we drank the most beautiful lassi's I've ever had (granted I've not had many as I thought they were pretty rank) But THIS lassi was amazing... you sat on the small benches watching a man churn the curd with his hands and a rolling pin type tool, then pour in the fresh bananas and ice and churn some more until he poured out four helpings of banana lassi into pottery pottles. Yummy, although I could of done without the skin of the curd layered ontop for decoration... bleurgh. After filling our bellies with goodness we went down to the small Puja ghat where we sat and watched the small ceremony take place. Two men dressed in their orange robes chanting alongside a rhythm kept by a few drums, which they danced too (I say dance, more like a routine of stances), where they made offerings to the God Shiva, the river Ganges and to world peace with inscense, light (candles) and what looked like fans made of peacock feathers. It was beautiful and enchanting, a peaceful atmosphere encased us as we watched. We were then taken further down the river to the main ghat where we saw the same ceremony but 10x bigger, more grand and more popular. several hundred people had gathered to see the five men perform the Puja on stages, the chanting and music on loud speaker for all to hear. A complete change, the peacefulness gone and replaced with a more commerical feel. We left to go somewhere more quiet and calm, a small cafe on top of a roof that overlooked the city... a lovely way to end a wonderfully crazy day!

Friday was our 'doing' day... post office in the morning, which proved hectic to get too.... every few steps we were harrassed by rickshaw drivers wanting to take us somewhere, none of them excepting no for an answer! Anna and I decided to have some fun with it which led to me turning around to one and shouting out a load of jibberish in a sort of German accent... we didn't get any hassle from him again, he in fact vanished very quickly! The post opffice was a new experience, getting our items wrapped in cloth, stitched and then waxed closed... a lovely man giving us all the information we needed, unfortunatley in return for his kindness he wanted us to 'see' his silk shop, he didn't seem to understand 'No'. Then the very kind man inside the post office, giving us the right forms, the costs, moving us out of sight from the prying eyes of the men.... 'How lovely and kind' we thought, turns out he wanted a hefty tip! Then on to the train station to get tickets for our journey to Darjeeling.... thankfully the information there was free, although we had to wait a gruelling hour and a half to get the tickets! We returned to the old city tired and brain dead from the morning and so gobbled up a yummy thali to re-energise for the afternoon, we even treated ourselves to some indian sweets - small balls of joy as I like to call them... a gooey syrup centre surrounded by soft dough and then covered in coconut. YUM! We spent the evening chilling on our hotel rooftop restaurant chatting to other travellers, one being a fellow brit who we had a good giggle with.

Saturday we ventured out of Varanasi, to Sarnath - a buddhist site that has been rebuilt. We took an autorickshaw there which was pleasant enough until we stopped at a train crossing... the barrier went down, but didn;t seem to stop most people - if you could bend underneath, lower you push bike/motor bike underneath you could make it across.... infact the only thing that stopped people crossing the the train passing itself! Fortunately for us the rickshaw couldn't pass, so we waited patiently.... but a local man saw our skin and decided to come chat to us... in Hindi! We had no idea what he was saying and were a little respulsed by his mouth full of Paan (a sort of chewing tobacco) that had stained his teeth a dark bloody red, his lips dripping with the juices that he delightfully sprayed out over anna's arm.... not a great sight, thankfully the barrier went up in time as he began to try his luck in 'touching' anna... he did not succeed! This unfortunatley is common behaviour of indian men towards western women and something we are very cautious of, it seems the media- TV, films, music videos have given the men here the idea that western women are promiscous and fair game, it would appear the task of travellers to put them straight! We finally made it to Sarnath, looked around one temple and then the rest closed for prayers (lunch). Rubbish! Very bad timing, so we wandered around the areas we could, before returning back to Varanasi alongside a Spanish lad... who been taken to Sarnath (25mins outside of the city) when he'd only wanted to go a few km's to his hotel IN the city! We returned to a bustling city all gearing up for another festival... which one we're still not sure, but women fast for the day and give to their sons the following day. The streets were filled with people, flowers, garlands, people playing drums... all sorts, the noise deafening! Thankfully we had booked ourselves onto a sunset boat trip that evening and so got to view the festival from the river itself! The ghats were bursting with people, women stood in the river offering blessings that they held in a basket, being dipped in themselves, flowers floated past constantly! I have never seen so many people in one place in my life... the main ghat was rammed, not an inch of space spare! Our guide this time, actually a guide and gave us information on what was happening, the ghats themselves and the gruesome facts of the river (even after telling us the nasty side to the water, he took great delight in drinking it infront of us... his party trick). The puja was the highlight of the evening for all, the ghat was packed full of people, the stages decorated more glamourously than before... we docked our little boat infront, alongside 30 other boats that had all been hired out especially to see the Puja from the water. Families crammed into the row boats, families that had travelled from all over the country to be there at that moment. The ceremony itself didn't differ from other nights, but the atmosphere was electric and filled with a spiritual hope and respect. The river glistened against the lights of the ghats, and ontop of it twinkled hundreds of little tea lights that had been placed on it in little banana leaf boats filled with flowers- offerings to the river in return for karma. Anna and I made our very own little offerings.... although the boat swung round and drowned mine within seconds, i'm hoping thats a good sign! We returned after the Puja had finished to much quieter streets, where we ventured off to find a small restaurant for dinner which was accompanied by live traditional music. Slowly we made our way back to the hotel where we fell asleep smiling after a perfect evening to end our time in Varanasi!

And that was our brief, yet overwhelming stay in Varanasi! Both of us wishing perhaps we'd spent a little more time there to soak it all in! A place that I think will differ and stand out from any other I visit.

Wow I have rambled on, this has taken me two sittings to write so i shall finish there.... I don;t even feel like I've done my experience justice in my writings, but I'm sure you can appreciate what a remarkable place it was.

I'm in Darjeeling now, sipping on tea and wrapping up warm... the change in temperature is silly, but I shall leave the details for my next installment!

Love to all, hope everyone is well and happy!

Congratulations to my amazing running relatives for the Great south run- Dad, Amy and Graham!
And more get well wishes and love being sent to mother duck and papa bear... take it easy! Don't over do it!

Lessons learnt:
Where do I start.... so many lessons learnt in varanasi, from religion and spiritual beliefs. to the shocking details of health, hygeine and poverty.
The lessons learnt on life and death in such a place.
Two men have said the following saying to me, and one that is very fitting for people here...
I have five fingers on one hand- the same as everyone else, yet not one fi of them is the same

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Part of trip: New Zealand...

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