Blogs from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia - page 8

Having been to India previously on my own 10 years ago, its a country which divides opinion, you either love it or hate it. l knew what to expect and l was looking forward to being there with someone else and sharing the experience as it is something like l have never experience before, l was also very much looking forward to eating, lots and lots of eating. We decided to ease our way in we would pre-arrange a taxi pickup with our hostel, which was great as we didn't have to deal with hundreds of taxi drivers all wanting our fare. The hostel is an hour from the airport and it was great for people watching from the safety of the cab, although we did make a couple of pit stops - one to pick ... read more

We made the long windy descent to the airport early in the morning... By the time we hit the bottom my ears were really hurting. I'd had a cold for a few days and my ears were definitively feeling the altitude difference. It got me slightly worried about our flights, especially since we had two flights to do that day to get to Varanasi. We stopped halfway for a toilet break and there was a large evil looking monkey sitting near the car. I decided to hold on until the airport. While taylor was in the toilet I got out to try snap a photo of the monkey but he quickly saw that as an invitation to come closer so I jumped back into the car. He then proceeded to jump onto the car next to ... read more

Accommodation - Radisson Hotel Weather - Hot & sunny 28C What an experience Varanasi was!! We thought we had already seen much that India had to throw at us - but no not at all. Varanasi is India on steroids - chaotic, manic, frenetic, noisy - everything we had experienced but greatly magnified - but that is what Varanasi is all about! The sunrise boat trip on the Ganges was sensational - just as we had imagined - viewing the bathing ghats, pilgrims from all over India and the world ritually cleansing themselves in the holy Ganges river. Colourful temples, bright lights and spiritual chantings reflecting across the Ganges with the sunrise casting a peaceful orange light across the water. Would you want your clothes washed at the 'dhobi ghats'? - I think not - knowing ... read more

Our path is to heal. To create the circumstances where healing can begin. A Course in Miracles One of the more delightful things about India is the random event or meeting. Again the hindi word 'kudrat' (gift from god) comes to mind to describe these occasions. I was minding my own business having a day of slow walking through the northern ghats along the Ganga. Of course, access is very limited now because the river is so high – you cannot walk along the ghats; you can only take separate little side streets to explore whether they lead to the waters edge (which is now lapping high at steps above the submerged infrastructure below). Having had a swim at Lalita Ghat, and a nap in the cool tunnel (along with some babas who didn't seem to ... read more

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious” Carl Jung Waking up to a blue sky in the midst of the monsoon season said only one thing to me: “Its time to hop on that bike and go, Paul”. I had just spent 16 days in Bhubaneswar, the place I had lived and worked for 14 months in 2010/ 2011. Most of this time was spent in the laborious task of getting Gladys the wonder bike back in tip top shape. That had pretty much been achieved now, at vast expense. As I do (I am just like that!), I packed to a pre-thought plan that had been forming over many months and weeks. Even as I thought about what it all back in Australia, in the back ... read more