Blogs from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia - page 5

Geo: 25.282, 82.9563The incredible India, unbelievable India, everything is possible India : All advertising slogans that attempt to describe this continent of infinite variety.With a brief visit to the evocative temples of Kujaraho we then flew to our last adventure which was very appropriately in Varanassi, the holy town with a long history on the Ganges to which Hindu, Jain and Buddhist pilgrims travel to bathe in the waters, take water away in elegant bowls and plastic buckets and when sick come here to die and be cremated on its banks, where their Ashes then travel down the river to the sea.Fortunately our hotel looked out onto the Ghats, the Western shore where all the action happened. Unfortunately there were heavy downpours both mornings we were there so we missed the sunrise, but we heard the ... read more

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 ... read more

These blogs are going to be out of order, but while I was traveling in India the internet was so unreliable, I couldn't do much blogging. After my travel writing/photography group returned to Delhi at the end of the workshop, I went with two companions, to Varanasi to partake of the Dev Deepawali Candle Light festival. This is held on the full moon night of November with much preparation and celebration the two days before the full moon. Hindu legend holds that on this night, this year the 25th of November, the gods are believed to descend to Earth to bathe in the Ganges, Ma Ganga, the mother goddess. The steps of all the ghats (the banks of the river) on the riverfront of the Ganges River, from Ravidas Ghat at the southern end to Rajghat, ... read more

When we woke up in Varanasi, we arranged a tour with one of the men who worked at the hotel as his cousin owned a boat. This was ideal as we had been warned of the touts in Varanasi who have the reputation as the worst in India. We set off from the hotel expecting to jump in a tuk-tuk however we ended up walking along the road which was crowded with cars, bikes, scooters, tuk-tuks and cows, even being led into the middle of a busy roundabout! Then we reached the narrow and winding roads near the Ghats. The Ghats in Varanasi are steps that lead to the River Ganges. There are 87 in total, and they are used as places for religious gatherings, bathing and cremation. The Ganges are seen to be the spiritual ... read more

Day 36 - Varanasi - The Ganges I was up and about at 7am this morning, I guess that's because I was in bed by 11pm! I am making the effort to look after my self, allowing my body what it needs to recover! In order to do this, I chose to miss another group social night! It's hard, not being a part of the social group, but I just can't do anything about that right now, as I have other priorities! But I do feel it changes the balance of the group for me. I get on with everyone really well, but when the rest of the group spend time drinking and talking, on a few occasions, it is only natural that they become acquainted on a different level. The topics and things that are ... read more