This morning came very early as our flight to Varanasi, via Delhi was at 750am. So, this meant we needed to be ready at 6am for our pickup. None of us had slept great, and Paige was still not feeling normal. So, we were all with very low energy. At the airport we were sad to say goodbye to Rennu, as he had been with us since arriving on Friday night. He had kept us safe, gave us good guidance on various cultural and safety issues, only hit one motorcyclist (she was on her headphones and not paying attention and seemed ok), didn't hit any animals and avoided crashing into a tractor. Quite a good track record for 5 days!

The airport process was quite easy and soon we were on the bus to the plane. As we pulled up to the plane we were surprised to see a small prop with about 80 seats. No choice, on we went and it was an uneventful 40 minutes to Delhi. We had 2 hours in Delhi, which is a really nice airport. Lots of shops, food choices and power outlets (my opinion goes way up for airports with power oulets!). We had a light breakfast and found our gate. This plane was bigger, the landing after the 1 hour flight, was one of the roughest i have experienced. It was more like a crash than a landing, but all seemed to be intact and we were now in Varanasi.

Before I write about Varanasi, I have to share some of the interesting encounters we have had this week. Mallika, our Travel Agent had advised that there may be locals that want their picture with us. We were free to say no (politely) or smile and do the photo op. Sure enough, we have had that happen several times. I was sitting on a ledge at the Amber palace yesterday and a family came up with some little kids. They put the kids next to me, then the mom sat down...I thought they were just resting. But no, it was a photo op. So their entire family got into the picture with me and they clicked away. Katelyn happened to walk up a that point, so they put her in too! When we arrived at our hotel in Varanasi, we were waiting for our key and a man brought his little boy over for a picture with me. The little boy was very shy, so he smiled at me and then ran behind a column. His dad tried to get him over, but no luck. Hard to know how many pics we have been in this week!

Our new driver picked us up and dropped us at the hotel. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I was not able to get any of the major chains, which made me nervous. We ended up at the Gateway, which is owned by the Taj hotels, so figured that would be ok. In fact it was just fine, albeit a bit old and worn, but clean and had good AC. Internet was spotty, but it worked most of the time!

We had several hours to relax before our guide, DJ met us at 530 to take us to the Ganges River. Varanasi is considered the Holy City for Hindus, and the Ganges is the holy river. Because of this, it is where the Hindus want to leave their life (or die). So, it is an honor to be cremated here, as well as pilgrims participating in the prayer rituals and dipping into the Ganges.  

We made our way through the insane streets to the River. While every place we have been has been a bit crazy, Varanasi takes it to a new level. DJ calls it "energetic", I call it chaos. I don't think I have ever seen so many people, motorbikes, rickshaws, tuktuks cows and dogs in one area. It was slow going in our SUV, but finally made it to our drop off point. DJ herded us through alleys and streets and finally made it to the Ganges, where there were people all over the steps.   

We dodged the pilgrims and beggars to get on our row boat. We went out on the river which gave a very different view of the banks. Colors, visuals, sounds....all combined into a crazy experience. We rowed down the river to where we could see fires on the banks. This is where the bodies are brought to be burned.  We could see them wrapped in in a shroud, then carried down to the river where the body is dunked before going to the bonfire. It takes about 3 hours for the body to be burned, and at this point it is more of a celebration of life than sadness.  

We were close enough to the banks to see the fires, but as much as I was dreading this part of the trip, it really wasn't bad. We weren't that close, and I wasn't sure what to expect, but seeing the bonfires and what was the remains of a body seemed more of a passage than creepy. Hard to explain. We headed back to the main "ghat" (areas along the river are divided into sections called ghats), which is where the nightly prayer ceremony is held. DJ found us a balcony that for a tip to the owner ($1 dollar each) we could have a birds eye view.  

The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes and was a combination of chants, fire, bells, drums and the singing of the prayers. We were all taking videos as I really can't describe the overall effect. It was quite a spectacle and had a very festive atmosphere. At the end, we dodged our way back to the car, which seemed like miles away, but was at least 3/4 mile. It was sensory overload for all four of us...honking, dodging cars/rickshaws/cows/tuktuks, being in the middle of swarms of people and shops on both sides with every type of goods imaginable. 

it was time to head back to the hotel, which now seemed like an oasis. As we reflected on the evening, we agreed that on one had you couldn't wait to get out of it, on the other it was an experience that can't be recreated any place else in the world.