Varanasi, or Banares, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the holiest of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism. It is the spiritual capital of a very spiritual country and I'm ashamed to say that I hadn't really been looking forward to our visit to the city. As well as being spiritual, I had heard that Varanasi is extremely intense (read utterly bonkers) and I knew that a trip there would not be a relaxing experience. Phil anticipated my apprehension and sensibly arranged for us to stay for one day and night only; enough to experience the city but probably quite enough for me.
We arrived in Varanasi (on a flight from Khajuraho) and hopped into a taxi to travel to within a short walk of our hotel in the heart of the old city. Varanasi is situated along a wide section of the Ganges river, and the old city and therefore most of the action is on the bank of the river, so Phil had booked a hotel overlooking the Ganges to maximise our Varanasi experience. The taxi ride was going well until our driver stopped a couple of miles from our hotel and declared that the road was shut for a festival so he couldn't go any further. This was not good news. It was dark, hot and crazily busy and noisy, with people, cars and assorted animals everywhere. To our driver's credit, he dragged over a cycle rickshaw and helped to negotiate a fare for us. A cycle rickshaw was the only way we could move through the streets and people closer to our hotel.
Being driven on a cycle rickshaw is something I will never get used to or feel comfortable about. Our driver (rider?) was a very skinny old man with legs that looked like they could snap at any moment. This man propelling Phil and me through the streets for a pittance felt wrong. The streets were teeming with people and blocked with other vehicles and festival floats so we spent most of the journey with him pulling us along rather than cycling whilst we clung on to the rickshaw and to our bags. Ordinarily, I would have got off and walked but that seemed more dangerous and we stayed put for a long crawl up to the river. By this stage, it was clear that Varanasi is India on steroids - hot, crowded, smelly but throbbing with energy and life, and more so than anywhere I had experienced in India before.
After being turfed off the cycle rickshaw and weaving through crowds of chanting Hindus, we found our hotel through a maze of tiny streets much to my relief. I have never been more thankful for a clean bed and air conditioning, and had dinner on the roof terrace overlooking the Ganges and lights of the city, a magical sight (from a distance). It was clear from the clientele at the restaurant that Varanasi is firmly on the western tourist trail as nearly everyone else was white - there were more foreigners than we sometimes see in a week in Mumbai!
Varanasi is all about the Ganges and people do everything in it; bathe, wash clothes, drink, swim, subsume the dead and generally dispose of anything and everything (all this happens concurrently and in close proximity to each other). The Ganges in Varanasi is undoubtedly the filthiest stretch of water I have ever seen and yet drinking the water from the river is considered to be holy - we saw hundreds of people bottling river water to take away. The best time to see the Ganges is at dawn and on one of the small rowing boats that can be hired by tourists. We were up before 6am and negotiating with the boatmen by our hotel (quoting unbelievable prices - some tourists must pay crazy money) and before long (and after some hard bargaining) we were moving very slowly up the river observing the morning activity on the river bank.
This was incredible and there were hundreds of people up and bathing along the banks, all chanting morning prayers and splashing a lot. People were washing clothes on the banks and the city was already up and busy at the early hour. All sorts of rubbish floated past, including a particularly unpleasant bloated dead dog, but the locals seemed unperturbed. Despite the craziness, I have to admit that the setting of the old city on the river is spectacular and the morning mist over the river created an other-worldy atmosphere which felt very special.
The banks of the river are lined with ghats which are embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. Some of these ghats are used as cremation sites where the dead are carried to the river and burned on a wood pyre before the remains are put in the river. We saw one of these sites, including very large piles of wood, though avoided seeing a cremation. I would have felt disrespectful watching this so I'm glad we missed it whilst on the river.
Aside from the boat ride, we spent our time in Varanasi wandering around the warren of tiny streets in the old city (wide enough for one or two people to walk, but no more) soaking up the atmosphere (literally, it was hot and humid), including a walk along the ghats lining the river. I'll admit that I found Varanasi challenging and the crowds of people left me feeling bereft of personal space. It is also exceptionally filthy, with piles of litter and flies everywhere. There are lots of cows roaming on the streets and, as much as I like cows, this adds to the aroma and it being somewhat muddy underfoot.
Saying that, Varanasi is a unique experience and we saw lots of travelers happy to spend lots of time in the city absorbing the culture and intense spirituality. I do recommend visiting Varanasi to see an extreme example of human existence but watch out for the tourist touts because they are a pain - Varanasi is not unspoilt in this respect. I also admired the fervour and passion of the pilgrims and other devotees that we saw - seeing others living a life so different to ours is an eye-opening experience.
The highlight of my day in Varanasi was an unexpected one; a visit to a local lassi shop (the "Blue Lassi Shop"). This establishment was recommended in our guide book and we stumbled upon it so popped in for a drink. The shop is a small room with a couple of benches and walls covered with pictures and notes from previous (mainly western) customers. The shop is run by a man who took it over from his grandfather and offers a vast choice of fruity lassi flavours. I went for banana and pineapple and Phil tried an apple one. These were brilliant. The shop owner spent ages painstakingly mixing fruit, yogurt and ice before presenting two delicious creations in big clay cups. No one was sick afterwards and the taste was heaven in a clay cup. The only sad point was having to break the clay cup afterwards (as is normal in India) but I would highly recommend these lassis to anyone visiting the city.
The bizarre part of our lassi experience was during our wait for the drinking when we heard a commotion outside (chanting, bells ringing) before watching a dead body being marched past on a stretcher, covered in a colouful shroud. The lassi shop is apparently on a main route to a burning ghat...
Honestly, I am pleased to have been but was also pleased to leave Varanasi. Phil loved it though and found the energy of the city to be an incredible experience though it was a little bit too incredible for me. I would encourage others to go, but go with your eyes open, and for as long as you can manage.
We arrived in Varanasi (on a flight from Khajuraho) and hopped into a taxi to travel to within a short walk of our hotel in the heart of the old city. Varanasi is situated along a wide section of the Ganges river, and the old city and therefore most of the action is on the bank of the river, so Phil had booked a hotel overlooking the Ganges to maximise our Varanasi experience. The taxi ride was going well until our driver stopped a couple of miles from our hotel and declared that the road was shut for a festival so he couldn't go any further. This was not good news. It was dark, hot and crazily busy and noisy, with people, cars and assorted animals everywhere. To our driver's credit, he dragged over a cycle rickshaw and helped to negotiate a fare for us. A cycle rickshaw was the only way we could move through the streets and people closer to our hotel.
Being driven on a cycle rickshaw is something I will never get used to or feel comfortable about. Our driver (rider?) was a very skinny old man with legs that looked like they could snap at any moment. This man propelling Phil and me through the streets for a pittance felt wrong. The streets were teeming with people and blocked with other vehicles and festival floats so we spent most of the journey with him pulling us along rather than cycling whilst we clung on to the rickshaw and to our bags. Ordinarily, I would have got off and walked but that seemed more dangerous and we stayed put for a long crawl up to the river. By this stage, it was clear that Varanasi is India on steroids - hot, crowded, smelly but throbbing with energy and life, and more so than anywhere I had experienced in India before.
The view from our seat on the cycle rickshaw
The large Ganesh festival float blocking the street ahead of us
The final stretch of our walk to the hotel
After being turfed off the cycle rickshaw and weaving through crowds of chanting Hindus, we found our hotel through a maze of tiny streets much to my relief. I have never been more thankful for a clean bed and air conditioning, and had dinner on the roof terrace overlooking the Ganges and lights of the city, a magical sight (from a distance). It was clear from the clientele at the restaurant that Varanasi is firmly on the western tourist trail as nearly everyone else was white - there were more foreigners than we sometimes see in a week in Mumbai!
Varanasi is all about the Ganges and people do everything in it; bathe, wash clothes, drink, swim, subsume the dead and generally dispose of anything and everything (all this happens concurrently and in close proximity to each other). The Ganges in Varanasi is undoubtedly the filthiest stretch of water I have ever seen and yet drinking the water from the river is considered to be holy - we saw hundreds of people bottling river water to take away. The best time to see the Ganges is at dawn and on one of the small rowing boats that can be hired by tourists. We were up before 6am and negotiating with the boatmen by our hotel (quoting unbelievable prices - some tourists must pay crazy money) and before long (and after some hard bargaining) we were moving very slowly up the river observing the morning activity on the river bank.
This was incredible and there were hundreds of people up and bathing along the banks, all chanting morning prayers and splashing a lot. People were washing clothes on the banks and the city was already up and busy at the early hour. All sorts of rubbish floated past, including a particularly unpleasant bloated dead dog, but the locals seemed unperturbed. Despite the craziness, I have to admit that the setting of the old city on the river is spectacular and the morning mist over the river created an other-worldy atmosphere which felt very special.
Sunrise over the Ganges
Our oarsman. He was rather sluggish!
There were lots of boats on the river at the early hour
Having a morning wash
More morning cleansing
Morning exercise
One of the more impressive buildings overlooking the ghats
Pilgrims washing their clothes in the river
Looking back up the river
Clothes drying in the sun
Cremation ghat with extra wood at the ready
The banks of the river are lined with ghats which are embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. Some of these ghats are used as cremation sites where the dead are carried to the river and burned on a wood pyre before the remains are put in the river. We saw one of these sites, including very large piles of wood, though avoided seeing a cremation. I would have felt disrespectful watching this so I'm glad we missed it whilst on the river.
Aside from the boat ride, we spent our time in Varanasi wandering around the warren of tiny streets in the old city (wide enough for one or two people to walk, but no more) soaking up the atmosphere (literally, it was hot and humid), including a walk along the ghats lining the river. I'll admit that I found Varanasi challenging and the crowds of people left me feeling bereft of personal space. It is also exceptionally filthy, with piles of litter and flies everywhere. There are lots of cows roaming on the streets and, as much as I like cows, this adds to the aroma and it being somewhat muddy underfoot.
Saying that, Varanasi is a unique experience and we saw lots of travelers happy to spend lots of time in the city absorbing the culture and intense spirituality. I do recommend visiting Varanasi to see an extreme example of human existence but watch out for the tourist touts because they are a pain - Varanasi is not unspoilt in this respect. I also admired the fervour and passion of the pilgrims and other devotees that we saw - seeing others living a life so different to ours is an eye-opening experience.
The highlight of my day in Varanasi was an unexpected one; a visit to a local lassi shop (the "Blue Lassi Shop"). This establishment was recommended in our guide book and we stumbled upon it so popped in for a drink. The shop is a small room with a couple of benches and walls covered with pictures and notes from previous (mainly western) customers. The shop is run by a man who took it over from his grandfather and offers a vast choice of fruity lassi flavours. I went for banana and pineapple and Phil tried an apple one. These were brilliant. The shop owner spent ages painstakingly mixing fruit, yogurt and ice before presenting two delicious creations in big clay cups. No one was sick afterwards and the taste was heaven in a clay cup. The only sad point was having to break the clay cup afterwards (as is normal in India) but I would highly recommend these lassis to anyone visiting the city.
Top quality lassi
An inquisitive cow
A rare example of a very public toilet
The bizarre part of our lassi experience was during our wait for the drinking when we heard a commotion outside (chanting, bells ringing) before watching a dead body being marched past on a stretcher, covered in a colouful shroud. The lassi shop is apparently on a main route to a burning ghat...
Honestly, I am pleased to have been but was also pleased to leave Varanasi. Phil loved it though and found the energy of the city to be an incredible experience though it was a little bit too incredible for me. I would encourage others to go, but go with your eyes open, and for as long as you can manage.
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