Varanasi
Chloe Writes: Varanasi is a very spiritual place, Hindu’s (around 60,000 a day) come here to wash away their sins in the Ganges. They also use it to wash their clothes, bury their dead and sacred cows (yes we saw one floating in the water), pump sewage into it, dump rubbish, spit, oh.. and drink it. A culmination of all this has made the water septic. Pete and I decided to hang on to our sins for a bit.
We took a boat along the river for both sunrise and sunset. The Ganges has an eerie mist hovering over it and it’s a unique feeling actually being on the water and you can kind of appreciate why Hindu’s believe it to be so sacred. We also sailed up to the burning ghats which felt quite intrusive as this is where Hindu’s cremate their loved ones, Jen (whom we met in Agra and were on the boat with) requested that the boatman take us a bit further away.
On our first night we went to a festival on the river which involved some wonderful music and interesting ceremony with colorful dress and candles. Varanasi is also a good place to listen to some traditional Indian music with the tabla and the flute as there are small concerts (usually involving 2 musicians) each night. The narrow streets also make for some interesting shopping and wandering, although they don’t leave you much room to pass the many cows which also like ambling along.
Pete Writes: At the station in Agra we met Will, Alice and Kirsty (who had all studied in Bristol) which was really cool. We were all in the same carriage, so Chloe and I decided that we would give the 2nd class sleeper another go. In the morning we all sat around chatting about our travels and preparing ourselves for what the bible (Lonely Planet) had built us to believe Varanasi to be like.
We stepped off the train and were instantly hawked from every direction (5 white faces and big rucksacks attracts a lot of attention!) We decided to split up and meet at the guesthouse, shame it was a real shit pit! We decided to book into the hotel across the road, where Rob and Jen (2 Americans from New York) were both staying. The others had gone to another guest house, but luckily I spotted Will about an hour later so we hooked up.
I‘ve had a really nice time here, which is good as we had to kill 5 days before our flight. All the guys that we have met over the last few days have made our visit fun, but I guess that is part of the charm of traveling. Had my first massage today, and felt completely like jelly when the guy had finished. It will definitely not be the last 
So on the 4th we are going to be hitting our 2nd country (exciting), however we don’t feel too sad to leave India, as we know we will come back to her in 3 weeks
Page Gallery
Swimming in the Ganges
Morning on the Ghats
Reflection on the water after sunset
The Burning Ghats
TV on the Ganges
Washing in the Ganges
Boat Shop
Pete was more than happy when we found real coffee and cake
Narrow streets
Tags: India
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Hi Babes,nrI love the pics I think they are just wonderful!!nrnrThe one of Pete looks like you have lost weight? It’s a really good picture and you look very happy with your coffee and cake.nrnrCan’t wait for the next episode and thanks for the moby number.nrnrLove you both M
October 7th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Hi Mum,
Unfortunatley the food is so good in Kathmandu that were porking out a bit again.
Forget the mobile no. as we have no network coverage and seeing as we are only here for 3 weeks there is no point.
Lots of love x