Hoover tours

Trip Start Feb 27, 2006
1
9
85
Trip End ??? ??, 2009


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Where I stayed
Hotel Buddha
(Varanasi hotels)

Flag of India  ,
Monday, April 3, 2006

The day after the Faridabad ODI myself, Hoover and Hussey set off eastward to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh - one of Indias most important states. Varanasi is amongst the holiest places in India, aside the River Ganges, and a morning boat tour of the ghats that line the Ganges was on the agenda. We arrived in Varanasi late in the evening after the early departure from New Delhi. After a taxi ride from the train station at Mughal Sarai we landed at the Hotel Buddha, expensive but spacious rooms with a TV...although no ESPN/Star Sports coverage which was a minor inconvenience being a Saturday night.
After an early night, we rose early the following morning for a sunrise trip down the Ganges. Myself and Hussey being slow to rise, but eventually after heavy prompting and clapping from Hoover we were on our way. We arrived at Harishchandra ghat after a leisurely morning cycle-rickshaw ride to the river side to be confronted by boat touts everywhere. After some heavy negotiating, and liberal use of what was becoming the most effective word for negotiating with transport touts in India - pagal, we settled on a price and set off downstream towards Asi ghat...the River being particularly filthy 01 - Sunrise on the Ganges
01 - Sunrise on the Ganges
 . This didnt seem to dissuade the locals and pilgrims from drinking, bathing and wading in the waters.
We sailed down the river, past burning ghats, laundry-dhobis, and hundreds of pilgrims immersing themselves in the filthy water towards Asi ghat; some amazing sights, amazingly colourful at sunrise with temples and pilgrims adorned in all colours of the rainbows. We arrived back on the dockside after around an hour on the water.
After a brief stop off for chai and some breakfast, we had a stroll around town heading away from Harischandra ghat, visiting Vishwanath temple, before heading further out to the sprawling University grounds; as it was a Sunday it was very quiet, but very spacious and nice for a stroll before the midday heat became unbearable, at which point we headed back to the hotel by cycle-rickshaw, passing through Varanasi's Muslim quarter, narrow lanes, packed with shops of all descriptions, and again a reminder of Indias huge Muslim minority.
The following day was mostly spent watching the cricket on TV, with a brief trip out into the sweltering heat to grab some lunch, and interrupted by the frequent power-cuts that are a feature of hotelling in India; the solution being diesel-churning generators that create horrible noise pollution.
In the evening we headed out to Panchganga ghat, a large muslim area of Varanasi adjoining the river side, with some amazingly narrow lanes, and alleyways; we invariably got lost, but the sights along the way - small chai stalls, eateries and trading going on, battling for the right to pass with cattle of all shapes and sizes - made the trip well worth it.
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