Ganga View Guesthouse Varanasi

Today we set off for a place called Sarnath, which is a Budhist site on the outskirts of Varanasi. We have to say that it was a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. <br>Sarnath is a green area, allmost parkland. Lots of Indian couples courting and having picknics. Situated within the grounds are many ruins dating back before Jesus was a twinkle in his dads eye. With half the day spent roaming around the ...

... pollution is that the water is septic- no dissolved Oxygen exists. Samples from the river show the water level has 1.5 million fecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml of water.<br>In water that is safe for bathing the levels should be less than 500! 400 million people live along the basin of the Ganges River. The levels above mean that water borne disease is rampant among many villages that use water from the river."<br><br>There are some efforts to improve the ...

... the body. <br><br>Each caste has a different section of the ghats where they are cremated, specifically Brahmans are burned in a holy area away from everyone else, and it is Brahman priests who tend to the cremation. And then there are some people who are exempt from the funeral pyre completely. Sadus and babies are instead tied to large rocks and pushed into the water by a boat. Those killed by cobras are tied to banana trees ...

... who come from all over the country to experience this oldest and most holy of Indian cities.<br><br>In walking down to the Ganges, Liz struck up a conversation with a youngish bloke who attached himself to our family. He was very pleasant and adamant that he was tired of hearing from foreigners about how they were ripped off by the local scams and he could show us the real Varanasi for no charge. Humm I thought, you are sooo right Liz said. Needless to say he had a ...

The last two days in Varanasi have been a whirlwind. To sum up: <br><br>* once-in-a-lifetime boat ride on the Ganges River (aka Mother Ganga). We rode past all the ghats (steps) leading to the water and witnessed droves of people enjoying the water in many ways sacred and profane. We saw the complex that houses the "holy flame" where all bodies are cremated (it's ultimate salvation in the Hindu religion to be cremated and have one ...

... and exhilarating. Up in the sky, a soft white halo formed around the black ball of the lunar disc. This was the Sun&#8217;s atmosphere, called corona (meaning a crown), that&#8217;s visible from Earth only during a total eclipse. The sight is often called God&#8217;s eye. We all took turns on the ribcage X-ray sunglasses. The total eclipse stage lasted for 3 minutes and 48 seconds. In the darkness, Venus and Jupiter could be seen and birds overhead flew around in ...

... were jumping into the water from high podiums, holy men covered in ash were flicking their cow dung caked dreadlocks around and even the pigeons, cows, goats and dogs were loving the ghat vibe. Children were throwing string lines with heavy magnets tied onto the ends of them and catching coins from the water surrounding the bathers, it looked to be lucrative work because we could see them plucking coins off their lines and tucking them into their underwear. Silk ...

... rich Indians over many centuries, they stretch as far as the eye can see and are a focal point of this vast city. Behind the ghats are a maze of alleyways and it's here that the locals conduct their daily business and here that we have escaped the harsh daytime temperatures, scurrying around like rats hiding from a prowling cat. We have, in fact, become nocturnal, creatures of the night. It's only at dusk and dawn that we have been able to truly enjoy ourselves without ...

... to send an Indian physician. After a brief exam he determined that the wound would need cauterizing (a very painful process) in his 'hospital' which was really more like a small clinic that by western standards didn't look exactly like the most sterile environment. But I was rest assured that everything would be fine. He also gave me anti-biotic treatment and dressed the wound. I had fear that perhaps I had contracted a parasite from the water ...

... and the alleys were full of the sounds of shuffling feet as the devoted made their way down to the river to perform their morning puja. For a few enchanting minutes a strange pink light illuminated the air and lent credence to the idea of this being a holy place at a holy hour. Unfortunately we didn't experience this strange phenomenum whilst on the water, as had been recommended, but instead from the cramped doorway of our guesthouse as we awaited our fellow passengers, an ...