Varanasi

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Remember when I said we'd talk more about security? Well, let's do that now. Airports in India are even more security conscious than NYC ones. You can't get into the terminal without showing ID to friendly Indian Army dudes. Then your luggage is X-rayed and tagged. THEN you finally get to check in to get your boarding pass and seat assignment. And don't forget to put a tag on your carry-on luggage. You don't have to write anything on it, but you'll need it later. Oh, and regarding carry-on.... Don't put your extra camera batteries in your carry-on, apparently they don't like them here. Once you're checked in, it's off to security. Gents on one line, ladies on another. Why? Because everybody gets wanded and frisked, but us ladies get to be groped in private. At least we get groped by female officers. Remember the tag on your carry-on? Once it gets x-rayed, it gets stamped. And don't lose the tag, because before you get on the plane, the bag will be checked again for that stamped tag....

But once all the airport stuff was done, the flight itself was uneventful and I had a really yummy chicken roti for lunch. About an hour drive from the airport to the hotel, which was very pretty, but had tiny elevators. Our first stop was Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first talks. The temple is huge outside, but relatively small inside. And relatively simple. Murals of Buddha's life on the walls and Buddhist altar at one end of the temple with a monk in attendance. Outside the temple is a larger than life-size group of statues of Buddha addressing his first 5 disciples. The statues were quite colorful, and a bit garish looking to my eyes.

Our evening excursion was another optional. A rickshaw ride through Varanasi to the Ganges and then a "river cruise" on the Ganges.

[Before continuing, I need to discuss the timing of this trip. Unbeknownst to me (I did NO research before booking the trip), we arrived in India during a festival. For nine days, Hindus fast and make offerings to the effigies of various gods. On the ninth evening (or 10th in some places), the effigies are paraded through the streets and immersed in the Ganges. And guess what night our night in Varansi was. Yup, it was the night of the parade/immersing. Imagine being caught up in a combination of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, New Year's Eve in Time's Square, Rose Bowl Parade, Mardi Gras and the NYC San Gennaro festival. All at the same time. With everyone heading to the Ganges for ceremonies and nobody being very polite about getting there.]

Back to our excursion. Bus to the rickshaw line. Unlike in Delhi, where Haviva and I shared a rickshaw, this time we were separated. This meant less fun for me, since I didn't have anyone to talk to as we went. But it did have some interesting moments. Crossing into the lane of on-coming traffic to avoid the floats with the gods on them (Haviva says that was the moment she realized she wasn't in the US anymore). Dodging through revelers who seem to have no concern that a rickshaw is coming at them. Trying to take pictures of a Buddhist temple while dodging revelers and trying to hold on for dear life. Checking out the lights strung overhead and wondering what they'll look like come nightfall. The rickshaws can't go all the way to the river (unsure if that was because of the festival or is the norm), so we had a bit of a walk to the Ganges. A nerve-wracking walk through crowded streets, attempting to keep up with our fairly short guide. I'm pretty good at doing the bob and weave through crowds, but this tested my limits. My courage was tested even more when I saw how we had to get down to the river itself. There are steps that go down to the river. If things had been normal, this would have been no big deal. However, India had a bad monsoon season this year, and the steps were covered with mud. Three feet deep in places and very uneven. Seriously, if it had been an option, I would have said "I'm staying here, have fun on the river, see you later." I have an extreme fear of falling, and while Haviva and other members of our group tried to help, nothing really makes it better for me.

Eventually I made it down to our boat, an oversized rowboat. We were rowed down river to the cremation area, but fortunately, we didn't get close enough for me to actually see burning bodies. Or maybe we were and I just looked the other way. I have mixed feelings about this. While I found the scenery around the river interesting, I feel there is something wrong about turning cremation pyres into a tourist attraction. I don't really want people wandering into my funeral. At least our group was respectful and did not take pictures. Unlike others who we saw on the water. We sat there a long time, partially because a whole crowd of people came down to the river carrying a body of a holy man. We watched as they poured water on the body and then unwrapped all the garlands he had been draped in. Finally, a whole bunch of them (a WHOLE bunch) of them got into another boat with the body and rowed out to the middle of the river, where they let the body slide into the river.

After a while we went back up river to watch another ceremony, a thanksgiving one performed every night at sunset by a set of priests. Unfortunately, there were a lot of boats there at this point and we were pretty far away, so I got kind of bored. I was also dreading the fact that I was going to have to navigate those muddy steps back UP to the street. Because of the festival, the pier area around the thanksgiving ceremony was packed, reminding me of 4th of July fireworks on the Hudson.

The walk back up the stairs was just as bad as I had dreaded. Worse actually. This was where our tour guide failed, in my opinion. He almost lost me and Haviva. I was way far back behind the group, trying to inch my way along the mud. Haviva went ahead of me, up the clearer steps to try and catch him to get him to wait for me. However, he didn't stop in the first clear area that there was, but rather went back through the market stalls almost back to the main street. I caught up with Haviva on the steps (thanks to a very kind Israeli gentleman) to find that she'd pulled something in her foot. We hobbled up the stairs together and luckily managed to wend our way the same way our group had gone. Gotta tell you, I was definitely panicking at this point. But it was worse for Haviva, she had to deal with the pain in her foot for the rest of the trip.

Our rickshaw drivers were waiting for us in a little "parking lot". Since we hadn't tipped them on the way to the river, they made sure that the same passenger ended up with the driver they had on the way to in. About 1/2 of the group made it out no problem, but then the rest of us got caught in another god effigy float traffic jam. We have to have sat in the alley for at least 10 minutes. Once we got out, the trip out was even more hair-raising then the trip in had been. Even more people on the streets, most going opposite us and not caring where anyone else was going. I did enjoy riding along the streets that had the colored lights overhead, but riding through the unlit streets was a bit scary. But eventually we reconnected with the rest of our group at our bus and made our way back to the hotel. Where we got to listen to the festivities going on all night.

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Comments

[Millie]

Great Pictures-Makes me want to go to India Keith & Millie Bracht