36 Amazing Hours- Khajuraho and Varanasi

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I had an hour free yesterday afternoon and wrote a detailed description of activities from Thursday morning to Friday afternoon. I clicked Save just as the Internet shut down and my entire blog disappeared! VERY FRUSTRATING! The Internet then didn't work last night so I'll have to do an abbreviated version while waiting in the lobby for breakfast to open.

Thursday morning we began the day at the temples of Khajuraho, built by the Chandelas in the 10th century. Many temples were destroyed when the Mughais invaded (and ruled much of India until the British), but these apparently were missed because of their relatively remote location. They were discovered by British archeologists in the 1800's who were likely rather shocked by the erotic sculptures. There are thousands of scenes depicted on just the 9 temples we saw. Our guide says there are 84 positions depicted....and I'm not talking about yoga, though many positions in these scenes have are yoga positions and Khujaraho is a center for yoga practice.

In the afternoon we had a short flight to Varanasi from the very small airport in Khujaraho. Security was just as tight there as it was in Delhi and Jaipur. My backpack was pulled and the guy kept insisting I had scissors. After taking everything out and running things through separately he still kept asking for scissor. Finally he opened my shower bag and sure enough, he found some tiny scissors that come with the free sewing kits you get in hotels. I sure was embarassed! I also feel very safe flying in India!

We spent the evening in Varanasi on a boat on the River Ganga (Ganges to us), a sacred river to Hindus known as Mother Ganga. Coming to Varanasi to bathe is a pilgrimage for Hindus comparable to going to Mecca for Muslims. it is the ultimate wish for Hindus to be cremated in Varanasi and have their ashes put in river. We saw many cremations going on in the ghats that line the banks of the river. Each night priests to a ceremoney j own as Aarti, where thousands of lights are sent floating down the river. It was an inspiring and amazing evening.

The next morning we arrived at the river before dawn where we watched the priests greet the sun and the thousands of pilgrims bathing in the River. We went down the river in a rowboat and ended with a priest performing a Hindu ritual on the boat where we honored departed lover ones.

We had a yoga class in the afternoon, a music demonstration and a fascinating discussion with our guide of the history of the India/Pakistan conflicts .

Off to Delhi today and will begin the very long trek home at 3:30 a.m. Tomorrow!

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