Another crazy coupule of days. I'm in Varanasi, the holiest city in all of India, and one of the oldest cities on earth. It is really a crazy place, really narrow hectic streets, and lots and lots of people. The ghats by the Ganges river are the main draw here, and luckily I have an impeccable view right on the water. I am pretty exhausted, but have enough energy to update you all about my travels. I will start with the last bit of time I spent in Khajuraho. I have kinda been off the tourist track a bit lately, seeing things a lot of people would normally not be able to do as a tourist. Rakesh took my by motorbike to a picnic spot by a river, about 30 km maybe, driving along dirt paths in open Indian country. There was a little hut there made of sticks, and a fire pit where we cooked food for lunch. Several locals were there already, the property belonged to one of them, and they were all nice. The next day I saw the western temples by my lonesome, as I wanted to move at my own speed, which was pretty slow as I was getting tired, and the heat did not help. But the temples were amazing, and were the main temples of Khajuraho, famous for their kama sutra iconography. I had met a guy the night before at the hotel who has traveled through India many times named Shiyan. He was from England and his wife from Japan. He has studied Indian flute for 16 years with a master named Harisprasad Churasia, whom I had heard of. There was also an American girl down the hall who played sarangi, another bowed Indian instrument for those who do not know which is probably everyone. Her name is Liz, and I heard her playing from down the hall and stood outside her door listening for a bit. I met her and all of us had dinner later that night. Had some Italian pasta that was actually really good, and a nice change from Indian food. They all gave me loads of information about places I am traveling to, and also a lot of names and numbers for musicians in Varanasi. I am really lucky to have met them all, and will try to seek out some of these masters tomorrow hopefully. After dinner we went back to the hotel and Shiyan treated us to a flute performance, which also involved a lot of discussion of Indian music and a demonstration of several ragas. He is quite good and well practiced, and I learned a lot just by sitting with him for an hour. After this we exchanged emails and me and Liz shared a rickshaw to the train station.
Got on the train, me and Liz were in two separate compartments so we parted then, and I found my seat next to an Indian family. Everyone on the train was from a different country which was kind of interesting. Only one Indian family, which I had the pleasure of getting to know throughout the 12 hour journey. They spoke great English luckily and are from Kolkata. Train was comfortable and had AC, although I did not sleep great. My adoptive family fed me all kinds of sweets so I was not hungry, and even gave me their number and email and urged me to call them when I was in Kolkata to join them for dinner. Awesome people. They had one son whom they joked about saying I had probably seen lots of monkeys but he was one that would bother me the most. I did not mind it, but he sort of did resemble a monkey as he was swinging around the train climbing on everything. Met a guy from Tiawan as well and a guy from Portugal. So the train ride was eventful. Got to Varanasi and was tired and hungry by that time, so I finally ate something after showering. Best shower I have taken in India so far I might add. Water was really hot. I forced myself to get out and explore a bit even though I was not feeling quite up for it, but I am glad I did. I took a boat ride on the Ganges, and the boatman took me to the burning ghats where bodies were being cremated. About 5 of them at the time. I could see the bodies although they were covered in cloth. The boatmen got closer than I would have liked, so I got a really great view of everything, and it was not as repulsive as I had feared. I was kind of in awe of what I was witnessing. Felt like I was confronting my own mortality in a way, looking right at death, and it is kind of a trip to see it right out in the open, smoke rising up in the air, piles of wood around these bodies, just burning, never again to be seen. It really hits you in a deep place, and I have resolved to go back and see more. This is really the only place in the world to see anything like this, on the Ganges river, and it is what makes this place famous, apart from it's age. The Ganges is really dirty and I would not even put my hands in it, not to mention the charred body parts floating around in it, which I did not see, but have heard all about it. Sorry is this is too graphic for anyone.
So after this, I walked to the main ghat and up into the streets where chaos reigns. I wondered around a bit making sure I could retrace my steps. This place is really interesting I can already see, shops crammed everywhere in narrow alleys, but it is a cool atmosphere. I got back to the main ghat to watch the evening ceremony, which was pretty cool. Hundreds of people were around, and lots of them piled on boats viewing from the river. It is my understanding that they were giving in offering to Mother Ganga, which consisted of a few brahmans standing on platforms and conducting elaborate rituals in unison, with lots of candles. But you really had to be there, I can't really explain what went down. With all that being said, I will leave some pictures for you, and get to bed very soon. I have loads to do in this city.
Got on the train, me and Liz were in two separate compartments so we parted then, and I found my seat next to an Indian family. Everyone on the train was from a different country which was kind of interesting. Only one Indian family, which I had the pleasure of getting to know throughout the 12 hour journey. They spoke great English luckily and are from Kolkata. Train was comfortable and had AC, although I did not sleep great. My adoptive family fed me all kinds of sweets so I was not hungry, and even gave me their number and email and urged me to call them when I was in Kolkata to join them for dinner. Awesome people. They had one son whom they joked about saying I had probably seen lots of monkeys but he was one that would bother me the most. I did not mind it, but he sort of did resemble a monkey as he was swinging around the train climbing on everything. Met a guy from Tiawan as well and a guy from Portugal. So the train ride was eventful. Got to Varanasi and was tired and hungry by that time, so I finally ate something after showering. Best shower I have taken in India so far I might add. Water was really hot. I forced myself to get out and explore a bit even though I was not feeling quite up for it, but I am glad I did. I took a boat ride on the Ganges, and the boatman took me to the burning ghats where bodies were being cremated. About 5 of them at the time. I could see the bodies although they were covered in cloth. The boatmen got closer than I would have liked, so I got a really great view of everything, and it was not as repulsive as I had feared. I was kind of in awe of what I was witnessing. Felt like I was confronting my own mortality in a way, looking right at death, and it is kind of a trip to see it right out in the open, smoke rising up in the air, piles of wood around these bodies, just burning, never again to be seen. It really hits you in a deep place, and I have resolved to go back and see more. This is really the only place in the world to see anything like this, on the Ganges river, and it is what makes this place famous, apart from it's age. The Ganges is really dirty and I would not even put my hands in it, not to mention the charred body parts floating around in it, which I did not see, but have heard all about it. Sorry is this is too graphic for anyone.
So after this, I walked to the main ghat and up into the streets where chaos reigns. I wondered around a bit making sure I could retrace my steps. This place is really interesting I can already see, shops crammed everywhere in narrow alleys, but it is a cool atmosphere. I got back to the main ghat to watch the evening ceremony, which was pretty cool. Hundreds of people were around, and lots of them piled on boats viewing from the river. It is my understanding that they were giving in offering to Mother Ganga, which consisted of a few brahmans standing on platforms and conducting elaborate rituals in unison, with lots of candles. But you really had to be there, I can't really explain what went down. With all that being said, I will leave some pictures for you, and get to bed very soon. I have loads to do in this city.
Kama sutra...huh?
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