Viranasi

Varanasi is a largish town on the banks of the Ganges and is considered to be one of the most holy places in the Hindu Religion. The town in located only on side of the river and is said to be one of the oldest cities in the world. We landed on the Ghats which are the stepped banks of the Ganges and waked about 500 yds up in to the town to the Hotel. Here we showered and changed before going for a walk down the Ghats to see life at the waters edge. People come here to bathe and wash in the waters and also to die. In the Hindu faith if you are cremated on the banks of the Ganges you are released to Nirvana, so there are two areas known as 'the burning ghats' where people are cremated on wooden pyres 24 hours a day. the ashes are then washed into the River. A fire has been burning here for thousands of years and never goes out as it is used as the source for lighting each of the pyres. It was rather strange to stand and watch the cremations which are constantly being started one after the other and never stop. Later we left and took cyclo-rickshaws up to the heart of the old city where tiny ginnels and alleys intersect and cross full of shops and stalls selling every thing from cheeses to bangles to bike parts to bricks . In a small shop hidden away from the noise we were given a long introduction to the production of cloths linens and silks. This was all too much for me (clothes shopping arg!). Two hours went by whist the ladies of the group tried on various garments and arranged to have them sent on by post to the last hotel for collection (60GBP for a silk scarf – no thank you!). By this time we were well and truly goosed and need of food so we headed to a small restaurant hidden away down a small archway which served amazing Falafel olives and hummus with hot pitta breads all for about 2GBP with a drink!
The next morning we arose early 5am!! to go and see the morning rituals being performed at dawn on the river. To do this we took a small boat out and onto the river and sailed down to watch the people doing the dawn ritual of bathing in the river. As we set out in the dawn mist is resembled a scene from Harry Potter – hundreds of small rowing boats gliding along flat calm water into the mist with the huge temples and stone Ghats rising out the mist. Very eerie, however when we got to the the bathing areas it seemed there were more boats of onlookers than people bathing and I felt it was all a little voyeuristic. We left the boats and headed up into the town to find The Bread of Life Bakery – renowned in Varanasi as the bes breakfast in town and it was! We split up then as the rest of the day was free until later Greg and I headed out to find a Bar and had to take a rickshaw out to the far end of the town to one of the 5* hotels to get a drink. Very nice, very smart but so clinical and removed from the real city.
In the evening we took a boat ride down the river again to watch the evening ceremony which was much more interesting that the morning. On the way down we lit small candles and floated them down the river. at the ceremony priest performed a ritual that has not changed for over 2000 years and involves vadic chants and symbolism of the 5 elements; earth, wind, water, fire, and soil. The ceremony lasts for over 1 hour and is well worth seeing. On there return we were acompanied by a sitar and tabla duo who played traditional music as we sailed back up the ganges.