We can't resist one last photo of the stunning Annapurna mountain range. This one of Manasa on the left and Peak 29 on the right was taken from the window of the plane on our flight from Pokhara, Nepal back to Kathmandu.
As we arrive in Varansi, India, the highway gives way to the narrow streets of the city until our car can go no further. We go on foot, dodging cow pats, the last few streets which are no wider than a motorcycle. Then we emerge on the Man Mandir Ghat at our hotel located 50 feet from the Ganges River—now reputed to be the world's most polluted river. The air quality isn't much better.
Rules of the Road: here's how it works. Keep driving at a constant speed; never slow down but never accelerate; always go with determination; puja (pray) to Shiva. Tata trucks take precedence, then 4x4s, smaller cars followed by bigger cars, auto rickshaws, pedal rickshaws then pedestrians. Somewhere in the middle is the new means of transport for the upwardly mobile in India—the motorcycle. Drivers use their dexterity to move with the traffic and dominate where they can. Then comes the sacred cow, confused and always moving slowly BUT never hit or kill one or you're in big trouble. Incredibly the system works most of the time but it's a constant stream of near misses and game of chicken. The horn is more important then the brake.
The brilliant colours of the women's elegant saris are in stark contrast to the dusty, dirty colours of other locals on the streets.
On our first evening we attend the Ganga Fire Arti where young Brahmin priests perform age-old prayer rituals with conch shells and burning braziers accompanied by drummers while children hawk candles for tourists to light and set adrift on the river. It's a surreal experience with tourists co-mingling with pilgrims from all over India.
We rise at 5:30 a.m. to hire a rowboat along the ghats of the Ganges in the magical early morning light. It's a strange mix of pilgrims bathing in the river while tourists gawk and take photos. The hour-long ride takes us from Asi Ghat in the south to Manikarnika Ghat, the cremation ghat.
In all the colourful confusion some still manage to sit quietly and meditate in front of the Holy River.
Our boat guide explains that hotel laundry is washed in the Ganges. Sandi panics and asks him to hurry back to the hotel as she had dropped her laundry off to be done that very morning and wants to save her expensive Italian undies... but alas, it's too late. She is HUGELY relieved and pleasantly surprised as later that day she spots a washing machine in the hotel and the laundry is returned looking fresh and fragrant.
It's hard to believe during the monsoon season the Ganges River level rises 25 feet up to the level of the bottom windows of these buildings in the photo above.
Relaxed, away from the bedlam on the riverbank along the Ganges ghats.
The cremation ghat operates 24 hours a day with approximately 150 bodies burned daily. There are many types of wood used, some more expensive than others, depending on the wealth of the family. Sometimes families cannot afford to purchase enough wood and the body in not entirely consumed by the fire—not good as body parts are often spotted floating by on the river! The smell of burning flesh fills the air day and night. Our hotel, the Rashmi Guest House, is just 200 meters upwind which led us to this...
Not our best look but the best $4. we ever spent! Our masks cause much amusement for the locals as we pass by in our auto rickshaw.
Early morning boatloads of tourists replay our experience from the day before. We're now heading to Khajuraho, Orchha and finally Agra where we will meet our driver guide for a 15-day tour of Rajasthan.
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