Varanasi
We arrived in Varanasi and from the train station headed to the old city, where we checked into the budget Alka Hotel with view of the Ganges river and the best veg thali I’ve ever had.
Probably the holiest city to Hindus and (supposedly) the oldest living city in the world, Varanasi is famous for its many ‘ghats’ (or steps) lining the Ganges river. At these ghats you see locals praying, bathing, washing clothes, washing buffaloes, kids playing cricket and other daily rituals that have probably been taking place here forever. Hindus believe that if you die in Varanasi you receive instant ‘moksha’ (or freedom from the cycle of rebirth), so you see a lot of older people that came to Varanasi to live out their final days.
The ghat that gets the most interest from foreigners is the infamous ‘burning ghat’, where up to 2000 bodies are cremated every day and their ashes placed in the Ganges. Photography is (understandably) strictly forbidden at this ghat, so I didn’t take any shots. But to be honest I didn’t really see the big deal (among foreigners that is). I mean, I haven’t seen a lot of dead bodies in my day or anything, but it didn’t seem all that interesting to me and I felt a bit like a voyeur watching somebody’s funeral take place while a bunch of backpackers sat around gawking.
The ‘old city’ is a labyrinth of really narrow pathways too small for vehicles (motorbikes still worm their way through though). It’s easy to get lost in this area at first, but even that is interesting as the alleys are bustling with chai stands, silk shops selling colourful saris and smells of incense, fried food, spices, and urine. There are some pretty big (and sometimes angry) cows and bulls wandering through here though, so it pays to be careful. I think a good rule of thumb is that if the locals look worried about a certain bovine, proceed with caution!
Unfortunately, Varanasi is also notorious for being one of the worst touting and scam cities in all of India. Until the touts get to know your face and associate it with “no”, expect about a hundred propositions a day for boat trips, several friendly strangers wanting to shake your hand so they can turn it into an instant palm reading or massage, and virtually every conversation you have with anyone who approaches you will lead to them wanting to take you to their silk or handicrafts shop to ‘just have a look’. There are also a ton of pretty determined dudes selling hash and weed too; when I used my foolproof line of “thanks, but I don’t smoke” one guy called me a liar and said “I can see it in your eyes!”