Varanasi - The Temple City

Floating down the River Ganges on a small wooden boat, our guide pointing out temples and palaces built on the banks as we glide along in the fast approaching moonlight, our eyes struggling to make out shapes and figures on the riverbanks, people worshipping, some swimming and boats everywhere tonight due to the locals celebrating, this festival at Varanasi is dedicated to River Ganga. On the way back upstream amongst the boats and floating candles we see a holy man swimming, seemingly doing backstroke allbeit struggling a bit, one arm up in the air head bobbing away, and as we get closer and closer little do we realise we're in for our first real shock from Mother India. Well, all that i can say is despite being undoubtedly holy, the man definitely wasn't swimming, that's if the rotting grey flesh, empty eyeball sockets and rigor mortis were anything to go by anyway.......!

Well here we are in Varanasi, Indias oldest city with it apparently being over five thousand years old and largely unchanged in at least the last several hundred years. The best way i can describe it is it's how i imagine Jerusalem or Palestine was way back when like you read in the history books at school; crowded with tall, white flat topped buildings as far as the eye can see; constant background noises of either wailing holy men or bell ringing in the distance (plus the occasional tuk-tuk horn haha). A very spiritual place indeed. Wild groups of monkeys roaming the rooftops stealing peoples washing that they probably spent all morning washing in the holy river, incense at every turn. After Delhi this place is definitely (a little!) less hectic, although the craziness is as much a part and parcel of daily life as ever, well thats how it seems to outsiders anyway! After what turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable thirteen hour train journey, where we a little cabin/room all to ourselves we arrived in Varanasi looking for a little respite from the intensity we had just left. The train journey was actually a really good chance to chill out and catch up on a bit of A.C.S. (Air Conditioned Sleep!) and would definitely recommend it as the way to travel any long distance over here, i mean where else can you travel eight hundred miles for the price of a DVD and be waited on by a lovely old Indian man hand and foot bringing tea and more, on call, and breakfast in the morning!? Anyway after sorting ourselves out with the hotel and checking in (again, unsurprisingly basic but i guess you get whatcha pay for!) we headed out for a tour of the major temples, the main highlight being the monkey temple where hundreds of wild monkeys roam free and and worshipped here, it was definitely a lesson in trusting our guide when he tells us 'don't worry, act normal and they won't attack you'...er, ok! That evening we headed out on the first of our boat tours on the Ganga (Ganges), which was where we met our previously mentioned, indisposed floating friend! Next day was up at five a.m. to meet our boatman/guide again for another float down the Grimy Ganga, this time we were able to see all the locals up with the larks, happily swimming, cleaning clothes, worshipping and whatever else they do at this early hour before going about their daily business. Was really something seeing all this activity going on and their spirits aren't dampened whatsover that by the fact that they're washing their bedsheets in what essentially is dead mans water, yes we saw several more holy men that morning who were somewhat past their best float by, something that none of the guidebooks can prepare you for, believe me, but all part of the rich, sometimes shocking way of this deeply religious nation. Fantastic place but now we're starting to look ahead, brief visit to the Taj Mahal next then onto Udaipur which sounds really nice. we've got a traditional music festival of somekind lined up for tomorrow, as well as plenty of other unknown surprises i'm sure that this place has got hidden up it's ancient sleeve yet, we never quite know at the moment what tomorrow will bring, and well, i guess thats what it all about hey! So thats it till the next time folks, whenever that may be, catch you soon....

Simon&Sophie