Blogs from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia - page 7

Waar rook is zijn lijken Toen Agastya de oceaan had leeg gedronken, konden de Goden eindelijk de Tormentors doden. De Tormentors verstopten zich namelijk overdag in de oceaan om ‘s avonds mensen af te slachten. De Ganges zou de oceaan weer vullen, maar dat was nogal een eigenwijze meid. Dus had Shiva de Ganges in zijn haren gevangen zodat ze eens normaal zou doen. Vanaf toen was de Ganges (volgens de Hindu's) een heilige rivier. Wij flaneren graag langs de rivier. En als het 35 graden is en die motoren, auto's en rickshaws toeteren constant in je oren, is het fijn om een briesje mee te paken van de heilige rivier. "Heilig" in India betekent de plek om alles wat vies is erin te gooien, inclusief jezelf om je zonden weg te wassen. Ons flaneergangetje bestond ... read more

Day 18 - Sunrise on The Ganges and Sarnath We started with another early start. We set off at 4.45 for another boat trip on The Ganges, this time to experience the sunset. Again we were not disappointed; it was cloudy, but Emily and I managed to catch a few great photos just over a few minutes whilst it burst through a break in the clouds. The emotion was different for me today; I felt completely calm, and at piece with myself. After the boat journey, some people went back to the hotel; Tom, Emily, Abi, Kyla, Ankur and I went to a local cafe for breakfast. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Yes, it is all about the food! On returning to the hotel, Tom, Kyla, Ankur and I had a lazy beer morning on the rooftop. ... read more

My foot after months of wandering about. I could definitely use a pedicure. "Saw a man sleeping on the sidewalk of an alley today. My initial reaction was pity. The pity that I felt, was partly my ignorance, for I'm sure he's a lot happier and more content with his life than some of us are with ours.. The people of India are passionate about politics. Its a possible reflection of how desperately they are seeking and hoping for positive changes in their lives. On this night, the night before the election for Prime Minister of India, there are fireworks as if there had been a victory from war." Journal Entry: 05.10.2014 "Today is mother's day and I don't feel sad at all. I guess the heart finally accepts things as they are. I'm happy ... read more

Now many of you may be wondering where is the Ganga river, well that is actually the correct name for the river we know as the Ganges, so,imam reliably informed by our guide Dushyant. Discussing this topic amongst the group we don't know who when where or why the name was changed but in India it is known as the Ganga river, so that is what I will call it from now on. We were up very early on the day ready for a 4am start! We took the usual crazy tuk tuk ride to a place near the river and got off and walked the rest of the way. The streets were much quieter at that time of the morning, but it was still very warm. There were street vendors still selling there wares, cigarettes, ... read more

Afternoon readers it's 13.26 here in a hot and sweaty Varanasi but I'm in a cool AC room Time for another thrilling instalment of my blog lol. So picking up from my last entry we arrived in Varanasi hot, tired and hungry. It was a short, but verynhot and sweaty walk from the train station to the hotel. As usual we had to dodge to maic traffic and avoid an early death on the roads lol but we managed it and all arrived at the air conditioned hotel all in one piece. We headed to our rooms for a quick shower and then meet for lunch in the restaurant. I am sharing with Mary. In most hotel rooms on this trip we have had to insert the key fob in to a slot behind the door ... read more