Varanasi Feb 7th-8th

Varanasi is said to be one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities, and is one of the holiest places in India.  Hindus come here to bathe in the Ganges to wash away their sins or to cremate their loved ones.  Varanasi was the most chaotic city we visited here.  The traffic and the crowds of people were crazy and the tuck-tuck drivers could only take you so far because the streets became too narrow.  We walked along the narrow streets to the hotel we were planned on staying.  We didn’t, however, have a reservation and when we arrived we found the hotel to be completely booked.  We were back on the streets looking for a place to stay, but fortunately we had run into some other travelers that had recommended a cheap clean guesthouse.

The next morning we woke up and made our way down to Manikarnika Ghat.  This is the main cremation ghat.  The dead bodies are handles by outcastes, known as doms and are carried through the streets on bamboo stretches swathed in colorful cloth and flowers.  The corpses are washed in the Ganges prior to cremation.  Around the ghats are huge stacks of firewood and each log is weighed so that the price of the cremation can be calculated.   The cremations happen several at a time and are going on 24 hours a day.  If the fire is built right, it takes between two-three hours for the body to incinerate.  It was a powerful scene to watch.  We also learned that only the rich and middle class could afford to be cremated.  The poor were wrapped in cloth, weighed down, and slipped into the Ganges. 

That evening Jeff took a boat ride on the Ganges and got some different views of the burning ghats during sunset.  I was struck with another case of Delhi belly, so decidedit was too risky to be out in a little rowboat with no head.  I’m quiet tired of the vegetarian and traveler’s diarrhea diet! 

After his boat ride was over and I had taken enough Imodium, we walked down to the Dasaswamedh Ghat to watch the ganga aarti ceremony.  At 7pm, every night the Hindu priests bless the River Ganges with incest, chanting, bell ringing, fire, and dancing.  It was beautiful. 

The next day we caught our last train in India to Kolkata.  We plan on spending a week there and volunteer  for the Sisters of Charity which Mother Teresa founded.

The wood stacked next to the burning ghats

View of the burning ghats from Jeff's boat ride

At the blessing of Ganges

Khajuraho Feb 4th-6th

In Bhopal, we boarded the train onto the first AC class, the highest class available for travel on the Indian Railways.  What a step up from sleeper class!  Jeff and I had our own berth that had a locking door.  They also had clean sheets, pillows, and blankets for us to use.  We had a good night sleep on the train and arrived into Satna around 0730.  We then took a tuck-tuck to the bus station where we boarded a bus for Khajuraho.  We got on the bus about an hour before it left the station, so we did have seats.  The bus bumped along for almost four hours to go 110 km.  We arrived into Khajuraho and found a nice, clean, neat hotel to call home for two nights.

The first night we were there was a dance festival going on. We purchased a couple of tickets and enjoyed some traditional dance.  The next day, we wandered around the world heritage site temples that Khajuraho is famous for.  The temples have some beautiful sandstone carvings.  Some carvings were war scenes, some to the Hindu gods, and some were more erotic kama sutra positions that could make anyone blush!  Overall, the temples were amazing and we enjoyed our afternoon. 

The next morning was a very early morning.  The first bus leaving Khajuraho back to Satna where the train station was didn’t leave until 8 am.  We had a train that left to Varanasi at 1145, so we had to figure out a different way to get to Satna.  We had talked to a couple of locals and we were told to take a tuck-tuck 4 km to the next town, where the buses were much more frequent.  So at 0630, the tuck-tuck dropped us off on the street corner and the driver told a bus would be by in a few minutes.  As with any other place in India, a couple of foreigners standing on the street corner especially that early in the morning, we drew a little bit of attention.  One guy came over and started asking where we were going.  We told him and he arranged for us to catch a ride in a Jeep that was heading that way anyway for about the same price as the bus.  We had a much quicker and more pleasant ride than the bus.  We arrived at the train station with plenty of time before our train left for Varanasi.

Jeff taking notes for later

There's no way that's happening!

Outside of the temples

Main temple complex in the background

A lady parting her hair in the mirror

Bhopal Feb 1&2

Stage at the music festival

Sourbhab and I on the paddle boat

Upper Lake during sunset

Picking out bangles to go with the sari Sonita gifted to me

We arrived back into Bhopal and checked back into the same hotel we left from.  After a quick shower, we walked to the Taj-ul-Masjid, the largest mosque in Bhopal, if not India.  It had three beautiful white onion domes, a large courtyard, and two very tall minarets.   In Bhopal, there are two big lakes, Upper Lake and Lower Lake.  From the mosque, we walked to the Upper Lake area that has a beautifully landscaped walkway. We enjoyed an ice cream treat at a little café with a wonderful view.  We then decided it was time to walk back to our hotel. On our way back, we came across an open air theater with a festival going on.  We wandered around the displays of traditional masks from around the country and the world.  There were also booths selling shoes, pottery, saris, textiles, bangles, and other things.  Around seven o’clock on the main stage there was a music group that played traditional music from the region.  We stayed until the mosquitoes and the cold got to us and then hailed a tuck-tuck back to the hotel. 

When we got back to the hotel, our friend Sourabh was waiting for us.  One of his friends had spotted us on the street and let him know we were back in town.  We arranged to meet at his room the next day after he is done studying.  So the next morning we met at Sourabh’s apartment and his wonderful mom made us a delicious lunch.   We then headed off to Upper Lake and rented a paddle boat.  We enjoyed cruising around the lake for a bit.

The next day, we had a night train from Bhopal to Khajuraho.  We spent the afternoon with Sourabh, Sonita, and many of their neighbors.  We walked around the zoo area and saw some of the animals.  On our way back to gather our things, we stopped in the market.  Sonita bought me a set of purple glass bangles to go with the sari she gave me earlier in the week.  She said that it was an Indian mother’s duty to buy bangles for their daughters. 

We said teary goodbyes to Sonita as we left their apartment for the last time.  Sourabh insisted on accompanying us to the train station.  As the train pulled into the station, we said more teary goodbyes to Sourabh.  We were truly blessed to have meet such a wonderful family who not only opened their home to us, but their hearts as well.