Gautam Hotel
Travel Blogs from Varanasi
Ghats on the Ganga, Pyres and Puja
... pyres was already in the air.
Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world and thousands of Hindu's make pilgrimages here each year to have a dip in the holy Ganges. The river is absolutely filthy because upstream factories empty their industrial waste into it, not to mention the general household **** and occasional dead body. This doesn't put people off bathing in it though, believing it will wash away their sins and cure illnesses. Hindu's also ...
India - Love and hate it
... walk in the roads as the pavement does not exist. You have to watch 360 degrees for traffic and people as well as look down to avoid the litter and piles of cow ****. You are constantly hassled by Tuk Tuk or rickshaw drivers asking if you need a ride. I am constantly propositioned to buy the best super Duper brown sugar, coke, hash, mushrooms and a smorgasbord of other drugs. It doesn't matter how many times you say No they will follow you down the road for 5 minutes.
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The Holy City
... on our second day to take us around the Temples (as recommended by our silk friend Banti) which was good but there's only so many you can see before it all starts to look the same, and the constant staring started to make us a bit uncomfortable. The Monkey Temple however stood out, we weren't allowed to take cameras in which was a shame but saw lots of cute monkeys running passed our feet, pinching any food off people (and flowers!?) ...
Varanasi Part 1 - The Raw and the Ritual
... for a half hour or longer. One fellow just once in a while would point something out to me (an interesting building or cow pie to avoid) in a most pleasant way. More often than not, a purchase would be made before getting on a tuk tuk and leaving them behind.
Part 1: This post shares one side of the many faces of Varanasi ... stay tuned for the next installation and final thoughts on this one-of-a-kind place and ...
OMG!!!! Varanasi
... straight up in the fire. There are only a few people with each dead body and no-one seems terribly upset. I don't understand this religion!!
The alleyways are narrow, and filthy and because here are cows everywhere I've been up to my ankles in **** and mud and water. Everything goes into the Ganges - some people don't burn, they get thrown in the river with a rock tied to them - pregnant women, children under ...