Day 556 - Wandering Varanasi

This morning we both got a touch of home with Adam talking to his family on Skype and Liv chatting to her mum on gmail - we don't know what we'd do without computers and internet. The highlight of Adam's call were finding out the details of dad's multiple arrests while travelling in South America recently!!

After an amazing lunch at a cheap, bustling street side restaurant we finally made it to the riverside to wander along the ghats that Varanasi is famous for. There was so much to absorb that even by taking granny-steps and swinging our heads from side to side, we didn't even take in a fraction of what was happening around us. The carved buildings that line the ghats appeared dull compared to the intense colours of the riverside where people washed multi-coloured saris, bathed in their bright orange sarongs, and sold a rainbow array of flowers. We maneuvered our way past cows, goats, and dogs, and jostled through the crowds of boatmen wanting us to take a trip on their old, wooden, row boats. We refrained from shaking any of the outreached hands, as our Canadian friends warned us that these seemingly friendly men just want to give you a hand massage for money and won't let go!! Along the way we passed through the cricket games of the local kids enjoying life, and eventually sat down amongst the washing to watch boats slip by on the smooth Ganges.

While we thoroughly enjoyed our time along the river, it was impossible to ignore the fact that Varanasi is one of the dirtiest and smelliest places we have been to during our 18 months of travels. The Ganges river itself is actually septic, which isn't surprising considering the local sewage spews straight into the river, and the fact that the city's dirt and scum gets hosed into the river each evening. And this is the place where people come to wash away a lifetime of sins (and do their laundry!). Perhaps one of the reasons it's hard to absorb the sights and sounds is that we were constantly watching where to place our feet to avoid piles of cow shit, pools of urine, and heaps of rubbish.

We began our transportation battles tonight, that we're sure will continue, as we tried to book a train away from Varanasi for in 2 days time. We find out tomorrow if this was successful, but it sure took a lot of time, and it left us hungry and so we returned to the same restaurant where we were treated like regulars!

Before bed we had another wander along the ghats, surprised at the lack of things going on - such a contrast to India's usual manic atmosphere. In the dark we were adventurous enough to find a new route through the maze, which successfully led us back to our hotel home.

Adlibing the ghats.