Varanasi
Trip Start
Mar 22, 2008
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8
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Trip End
Oct 05, 2009
Varanasi,
India
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
From Pokhara I took a 10 hour bus to the Indian border at Sunauli. Once formalities were completed at the border crossing I took a local bus and jeep to the Indian town of Gorakhpur. Already I can feel the difference between here and Nepal. There is a lot more people for starters and they are more direct and in your face. From Gorakhpur I took an overnight train to Varanasi.
I arrived in varanasi just in time to see the sun rise over the Ganges river. Varanasi is the holiest Hindu city in India and the Ganges is their sacred river. Dead bodies are cremated on the river banks and the charred remains are dumped into the river along with plenty of sewage and rubbish. The stench on the river ghats is foul. This does not stop the locals and Hindu visitors from washing, bathing and even brushing their teeth in the river. For my part I did not even dip my toe in the river during the duration of my stay.
The buring ghats are a sight to behold
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. I witnessed a man with shaved head and wearing a white robe conducting a final ritual around his dead mothers body as it lay clothed in white cloths like a mumy on top of planks of wood on the river bank. When the ritual was completed he lit the planks of wood with a torch and watched as the body was cremated before his eyes. Bodies are burned on the ghats of Varanasi 24 hours a day.That evening myself, Dave and Jason (English lads from Annapurna trek) and Jordan (USA) took a boat trip on the Ganges as the sun set. We came across a Hindu ceremony on the banks of the river where a few hundred people had gathered to watch the monks and join in with their chanting.
