Pallavi International Hotel Varanasi

... en cualquier lugar, grupos de personas que se juntaban alrededor de su Gurú a escuchar sus enseñanzas por todas partes, poco a poco nos empezó a cautivar la energía del lugar. Es realmente una ciudad muy espiritual. Pero lo que vinimos a buscar está un poco más al norte, en los Himalayas, y hacia allí partiremos mañana a la mañana en un bus de dos días. Les vamos a seguir contando a medida que podamos. <br><br>Gracias por leernos y acordarse de nosotros. Los queremos.<br><br>Viole y Eze

... along the ganges 9so glad i wore my shoes and not jandals) and saw a prayer ceremony, it was great, aside from being hassled by little kids trying to sell us junk. after this our 'leader' showed us into the market area then ditched us basically, i dont think i can emphasise enough how **** he is! dinner was nice though when we found a restaurant. we got a cycle rickswhaw back to hotel<br><br>this morning we got up and drove for ...

... with cows, ***** and smells ranging from urine to rotten food we arrived. The rooms were clean and had a fan and with a shared bathroom (also clean) we were happy and even happier to pay the 100 rupees ( 2.50 Aus) a night. The room even had a window onto the alley- a bonus. Though at 100 rupees no top sheets or towels was to be expected. Funny thing is our washing for 2.5kg cost 200 rupees to be done (excellently washed and folded). Relieved and showered we headed to the ...

... doctor's clinic in Varanasi is basically a hole in the wall with space for six chairs, the doctor treats everyone in the same room in view of all the other patients. He uses medicines and tools that he keeps all jumbled up in a huge pile on his corner table, i was trying to avoid a blood test at all costs. If it was discovered that i had really contracted it then there was also a possibility that we would have been kicked out of town by people chasing us with pitchforks ...

... people with no money or family come to wait to die with views of the burning bodies outside their windows and the smoke from burning flesh filling the air. The boat captain told us a few stories and one was of a widowed wife who threw herself on the burning pyre as her husband's body went up in flames. <br><br>Some beings are not cremated because they are already deemed to be purified and these include pregnant women, children younger than ten, sadhus, victims of snake ...

... in life you might move up or down the chain once reincarnated. The primary goal, however, is to ultimately make your way off the treadmill of life and death known as samsara and make it into Nirvana where you can rest in peace. So it's easy to see why thousands of bodies are being burned every single day and night along the banks of the river. And in case you were wondering, people are bathing in the same areas the bodies are being burned and swept into the river. <br ...

... cremation takes hours, and the family stand by while this happens. Once the process is complete, the ashes are collected, along a small pile of remaining bones. For women the pelvis is left and for men it is the chest. These are then wrapped and thrown into the Ganges River. Five types of people are not allowed to be cremated; holy men, pregnant women, children, cobra-bite victims (cobras are holy to Shiva) and lepers. These people (apart from the lepers ...

... I have included a handful or more of my own photos here but I regret that, due to continuing fatigue from being sick, I didn't take as many as I would have liked of this visit. The link above offers more info and a much better look than what I could provide.) A short walk west is the Dhamekh Stupa, a large cylindrical structure made of stone and brick originally dating back to the 3rd century B.C. and commemorating the very place where Buddha ...

... water bottles and bags, "Yes, no no no, no problem. No you're not holding us up. We love little kids too." Sometimes when teenage boys come and want their photos with Luc I deliberately position myself so that i'm in the photo in the background menacingly ("screw you") or try and ajm myself in the middle just to spite them. "yes we want a photo with you Sir too."<br><br>Ok love to you guys<br><br>xo<br><br>P (water and bag carrier) and Pricess L

... untouchables would stalk the wards with their bamboo stretchers like the henchmen of the Grim Reaper, stooping over the emaciated and diseased patients, checking for signs of breathing. Of course, Hindu believers don't see it like that at all; it is an auspicious place to die where, upon expiry, they can look forward to entering a pain and disease free world. Nevertheless the place sent a chill down my spine.<br><br>We turned around and went back to the ghat we had embarked from ...