Blogs from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia - page 14

Before ever deciding to go to India, our friend Kendra said this city, Varanasi, was life changing and a must do if we ever traveled to India. Once we decided to go to India we knew we had to see this city. So what is it about this city that is so crazy? A few facts first: a holy city for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains (3 major religions in India), one of the oldest continously inhabited cities in the world and probably the oldest in India (per Wikipedia). The Hindus believe if they have their funeral here it is a direct road to Heaven and all followers must make a pilgrimage once in their life to dip in the Ganges River. We witnessed multiple funerals while we stopped at 1 of the 2 burning ghats. What ... read more

Today we visited Sarnath. This is a deer park just north of Varanasi and is where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon after receiving enlightenment. There's a beautiful Buddhist temple here, but the most dramatic sight here has to be Dharmakh stupa (a "stupa" is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics) which marks the very spot from where He gave the sermon. For Buddhists, this is one of the most important Buddhist sites and people come on pilgrimages from all over the world. Practicing Buddhists will walk round the stupa clockwise 108 times (the number 108 comes up a few times in Buddhism, one of them being the number of defilements, or torments, Buddha had to overcome to attain enlightment). Not being fully fledged Buddhists, we only walked round 8 times, so we've still got another ... read more

Blimey - Varansi, holy city of Shiva, oldest city in India, banks of the Ganges, where all drivers have a death wish. Starting to get a taste of the real India now - the journey from the airport was an experience in itself, you have to have the blessings of the Gods to arrive in one piece. Lots of poverty. Feel a bit wierd sitting in our Radisson suite somewhat insulated from it all. Big fat bloaty English blobs dripping in opulence. Shall we have the lard or the dripping for dinner dear ? ( Actually, we're disguised as vegetarians in India - but you take my point!) Arrived mid-afternoon (flight delayed again, not due to screaming boys this time, but Air Force practicing for Republic celebrations on the 26th Jan) then spent the rest of ... read more

Leaving Nepal we cross the border into India. We stop at the side of the road for lunch and after a short walk down a muddy street I opt for a samosa and some dhal from a little man making them on his stall...After past "Delhi Belly" experiences I am a bit reluctant but too hungry to care right now!...They are actually delicious and cost just 5 rupees (about 6 pence!) and no bouts of illness (yet!) After a 2 hour hold up at customs and a very long bumpy truck drive we arrive in the holy city of Varanasi. Myself & Cassie decide to break away from the group for dinner and go to a restaurant down the road - there's a few westerners in there so we figure it must be ok. We get ... read more

Day two in India - En Route to Varanasi 07/01/12 Another bad nights sleep with people talking until late and then again early this morning. My back was in pieces from the taxi ride home from Colaba yesterday so I couldn't get comfortable and I'm panicking a little that I might not be able to carry on. It has gotten better through the day. I woke early to the sound of birds squawking and dogs howling below. It seems that the streets belong to the animals at this early hour. Breakfast at the Anjali Inn was omelette and toast with beautifully spiced Chai. It was good. My taxi arrived on Indian time about 30mins late but I made it to Lokmanya Tilak Terminal well in time for my train. I checked the list for my name ... read more