Varanasi

Varanasi Travel Experience

After a 6-hour ride from Gorakhpur, I arrived at 10 PM in Varanasi, and upon exit, loads of people came toward me to direct me toward a hotel. But as I said before, these people should be totally ignored. I had already found a hotel from my Rough Guide, the Vishnu Rest House, and I took a rickshaw that was passing by (not from the ones that were calling me) and I told him the name of the hotel, haggled for price a bit, 40 INR, and hopped in.

The hotel was located just beside the Ganges, so it would be a difficult task to reach it through all the mazes of the old town. I quickly found the approximate location of the hotel on my iPhone, and checked if he was going the right direction. Sometimes the rickshaws take you to another hotel and tell you that they don’t know where what you said is. A common scam.

In the middle of the way, he was asking me to give him his money, but I obviously said no. He stopped a few times in the way, and some English-speaking touts approached me to change my mind and go to another hotel. One of them even said Vishnu Rest House is just beside Ganges, and due to water elevation, it can be dangerous!!! Obviously I ignored them and made up that I have a friend waiting for me to stop them from pestering me.

The rickshaw driver was also constantly asking me to give him his money, which I firmly said no. Should I have given him the money, he would have left me in the middle of nowhere. We were passing the shadiest and dirtiest district I’ve ever seen in my life, by the way! In the end, he parked and asked some people where the hotel exactly is, and we walked together in the narrow and winding alleys of old town to reach there.

One more point that I learned from Rough Guide was that there are so many hotels with names similar to the famous and old ones, which are obviously aimed to allure tourists. So I was making sure he was taking me to my hotel, and not one with a similar name. I got a room for 400 INR which was clean, but very old and not well equipped. But it was ok, and the hotel had a terrace with a very nice view over Ganges. The place is actually a temple for Vishnu, and around it are some accommodations. Nice crew also.

Some Quick Facts About Varanasi

Varanasi is the most sacred city for Hindus, and many come here for pilgrimage. The most sacred of all is the Ganges, where people come to do their daily ablutions, and be cremated on its bank, if they can afford to pay for the ceremony and the considerable amount of wood needed. As a result, some bodies are dropped into water half-burned or even without being burned. Despite that, the Ganges’ water is believed to have healing capabilities and it is taken by devouts as a cure for diseases. Many just come to die here, because it’s believed that whoever dies here goes straight to heaven.

Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and it functions as a main center for Hinduism since at least the 6th century BC. This is known because we know that Buddha and Mahavira (founder of the Jain faith) were regular visitors here. So the actual history of Varanasi is much older.

Exploring with Arvind

Next day, I called an Indian fellow I met on the train the day before. His name was Arvind and he told me he would be glad to show me around in Varanasi. Although the hotel guy said you should be careful, I kind of trusted him. I met him at the gate of BHU, Banaras Hindu University, where he was studying.

He showed me some Hindu temples, and in some of them I was not allowed to take my camera, so I didn’t enter. Over there I understood that in Hinduism, there is only one God, but he has different characteristics, or faces, and each of these faces are named by different gods like Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, etc. On one of the walls it was written: “The wise calls That One God by different names. He who is known as Vishnu (Preserver) is verily Rudra (Destroyer), and he who is Rudra is Brahma (Creator). One entity functions as three Gods, Vishnu, Rudra, and Brahma.” This is quite interesting and perhaps vastly unknown for non-Hindus.

Anyways, in the end, we visited some of the Ghats, the steps on the bank of Ganges. In the afternoon, I walked around by myself in the old town and the market, trying to acclimatize to the atmosphere. Varanasi is a very hectic city, with so many animals living on the street, that I haven’t seen like it before. When you walk in small alleys of old town, you should always watch where you put your step, because you can either step on a sleeping dog, or into cow’s dung. And in those crowded alleys not only people, and cows but bicycles and worst of all motorbikes pass. But between this mess, I never saw anyone getting angry with another one. The same in the streets. That’s quite remarkable!

Anyways, I gradually started to take pictures. Initially, it was difficult for me to shoot people in the street, as I was so tense and not relaxed. Then I gradually started to talk to people and ask them if I can take their photos. And to my surprise, ALL said yes! So I walked and walked, and asked ANYBODY I liked for the photo! I even shot a working dentist (!) in the street for about 10 minutes. I got back on my rhythm!

Sunrise on the Ganges

The next day early in the morning, I rented a boat with a German lady, called Marion, and went over Ganges to see the sunrise and the people doing their daily ablutions. It is a must-do experience in Varanasi. You see people, from children to elderly, bathing in water, brushing their teeth, and just in a neighboring Ghat, you see the bodies of dead are being burned. The boatman said it takes 24 hours to burn a body, and when they do, they leave the ashes to the Ganges. I took a lot of photos, though not from the burning scenes, as it is an extreme taboo. For the boat trip, it’s best to have a telephoto lens, like 70-200mm, to be able to capture single bathers as well as a group of people.

In the afternoon, I went to one of the two burning ghats. Over there, they were burning a few bodies, and you could see that. I mean THE body being burned. It was very overwhelming. There are lots of touts over there, and one should watch out. And again it is strictly forbidden to take pictures. The relatives of the deceased will get very angry about it, and they have a reason. Their loss is not a tourist attraction.

Morning Rituals

Next day early in the morning, I went to see the people bathing in Ganges for the second time, but this time on foot. It’s quite incredible, every day they come to do their ritual bathing around the sunrise. I can perfectly understand why in ancient times this ritual was created. Imagine Ganges was everything the people of Varanasi had. It was the source of water for them, their animals, and their fields. It was their means of transport. It was where they got life and where it ended. It was also the only source of getting clean from the dirt and dust.

Nowadays we say that Ganges is not clean to bathe in, but it is partly because of our recent access to treated water, and partly because it is now polluted by humans, but back several hundred years ago it was the cleanest source of water people could have. And as the bonus, the sun just rises in front of you while bathing from the other side of the Ganges. It is so beautiful! But doesn’t mean that the thought of bathing there EVER crossed my mind!

Planning the Rest of the Trip

After that, I planned the rest of my trip. October is the festival time in India and the trains are booked heavily, so better to plan ahead. So after Agra, I will be going to Jaipur, and then go around in Rajasthan for a week or so, and then come to Delhi and stay for a day or two. Then I will fly to Goa to enjoy the beach for a week or so, then visit Ellora and Ajanta caves, and finally go to Mumbai for a day or two and then fly back to Zurich. From the giants of Himalayas, to the golden Thar Desert in Rajasthan, and finally the pristine beaches of Goa! It would be fantabulous!!!

In the afternoon, I had my train to Agra. This time, I got a “second class sleeper A/C 2 Tier” kind of seat. The train takes almost 17 hours and I really wanted a good train this time. I just learned that the train that I took from Gorakhpur to Varanasi was a “General Class” which is the lowest class possible in India!!! It was a good experience for once and only for a short ride!

Final Thoughts on Varanasi

It is difficult to say that I either loved or hated Varanasi. It is certainly not a city that I can ever live in, it is so hectic, dirty, and full of overwhelming scenes that I can’t stand it for long. But on the other hand, it is so exotic and alien that the experience is completely unique. In the old town Varanasi (where I stayed), you are transported back in time, the moment you step your foot in it. Take out the motorbikes and internet cafes from the old town, and you go back to several hundred years ago. Even people look like they come from some hundred years ago. I don’t know another city in the world that is like that. The city is one of the most religious and holiest places in the world, and you can see this in every corner of it and at any time. All in all, it was a unique experience that was definitely worth it!

Side Notes

• One strange thing that one might see in India, especially for Westerners, is men holding hands. It is very common among friends to hold each other’s hands while walking in the street. In Nepal it was also the same. The American dude I met the first day noticed it very fast and asked me: Do you think those guys that are holding hands are gay?!? But why am I saying this? Because Arvind, the Indian fellow that was showing me around, very naturally tried to hold my hand while walking (though I’m sure it was because he just felt friendly), but it was really awkward, and I had to put my hands into my pockets! I later told him the story, and he was surprised!

• One of the merits of traveling is that you can meet some very nice people. But you can also encounter a few bastards! Better to watch out!

• In Varanasi, dogs tend to sleep during the day at the VERY edge of street and passageways, and there are so many careless drivers that tragic accidents happen every day.

• Here everybody thinks I’m Indian and speaks in Hindi with me! Even when I say I’m not Indian, some think that I’m joking with them! This is great, because I’m less subjected to scams, though not until I haven’t taken my camera out!

• I have yet to see a WORKING traffic light in India!

Update - See my photos of Varanasi here: