Varanasi and Sarnath

We are having a great time in Varanasi. There are so many things to see and do that it is difficult to get bored here. We found our favorite restaurant with great thali’s and deserts, homemade apple pie with ice cream.

We changed hotels and our balcony is overlooking one of the burning Ghats. The hotel is in a great location if you are trying not to have a good night sleep. There is the constant beating of drums, animals making their noises and holy men singing till the wee hours in the morning. On the other hand we are a stones throw from the river and very close to the main Ghat that leads into many narrow streets filled with shops.

On the way to the hotel, Donna fell in sewage…again. She was trying to take a short cut and slipped and fell on her back. Luckily for her the backpack broke the fall. Her subconscious seems to direct her towards all the vile things one could fall into.

Two days ago, we took a sunrise boat ride down the Ganges River where you can see people starting their day: Men praying or taking a morning bath, women washing clothes and of course the constant cremations at the burning Ghats. We visited the main burning Ghat where there was a “hospice” which wasn’t more than an abandoned building with people close to death lying on the floors. For the most part, people in this building wait to die and beg for money to pay for their cremation. A cremation is rather expensive for lower caste Indians, about 50,000 Rupee or $1,250 for the wood. Five different types of wood are used for the cremation and more wood is needed for a larger body. Speaking of bodies, we noticed a woman lying on the ground close to the burning Ghat in front of our hotel. She must have passed away that day. Her body was still stiff and there was money around her that people left for her to have a proper burial. We were a little awestruck, so we walked by a few times to make sure what we encountered was true…and it was.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Sarnath, a small town about 10km away, to the site where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. Here in the Deer Park, he delivered his first sermon, or in religious language, set in motion the Wheel of Law (Maha-Dharmachakra Pravartan). The Emperor Ashoka (c 304 - 232 BC), who spread the Buddha's message of love and compassion throughout his vast empire, visited Sarnath around 234 BC, and erected a stupa here. Several Buddhist structures were raised at Sarnath between the 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD, and today it presents the most expansive ruins amongst places on the Buddhist trail. We explored all of the ruins around the temple. It’s an interesting site not only because of the history, but because visitors are allowed to walk/sit on the ruins. We’ve never been to such an ancient place without it being caged off with guards.

We are now down to our last day in India and looking forward to the beaches of Thailand. India has been a great experience, with memories that will last a lifetime. Pictures and words can’t completely describe the sights, sounds and smells here. I think for both of us, our favorite city would have to be McLeod Ganj with Varanasi a close second. We are going to miss the food; we’ve been living on dal, rice, aloo ghobi, paneer butter masala, palak paneer, papa dum with raita, chapatti, nan, paratha, etc. We’ve been on a pretty strict vegetarian diet with the exception of eggs in the morning. We’re looking forward to seafood dishes in Thailand and a change in spices. Donna is craving a Big Mac, which she can get in Krabi. We’ll miss the craziness of all of the animals everywhere: monkeys, cows, bulls, water buffalos, goats, sheep, camels, elephants, donkeys, horses, pigs and dogs, lots of dogs. We’ll also miss the people: guides with no hassle, relentless rickshaw drivers trying to take us to their brothers shop, holy men asking for donations, local children pointing us in the right direction when we were lost, sleazy beer shop owners trying to cheat us out of rupees, kamikaze drivers that somehow made us feel very safe, and the local business owners who would go out of there way to make sure we were having an enjoyable experience. All-in-all India was great and we’ll definitely be back to see more. It feels like we’ve only visited a fraction of the country in the last 2 1/2 months.

We fly to Delhi tomorrow, then to Bangkok on Wednesday with a short flight down to Krabi, where we’ll spend our first few nights. We’ll post next from Thailand.