Varanasi- the holy Ganga

Varanasi is claimed by Indians to be the oldest city in the world. For 5000 years people have been coming to the steps of the Ganges river (ghats of the Ganga) to pray at this holy site. This is where the practice of Hinduism lives, breathes, and in a sense dies. Each day hundreds of bodies are cremated at the burning ghats and the remains are set to float in the holy ganga. It is the greatest honor a Hindu can earn to have the ganga be the final resting place and start of the new cycle. Next to the burning ghats people also worship the holy site by bathing, drinking, washing clothes, praying in the river, while it is not uncommon to see bodies floating by.

Originally it was our plan to spend about three days there. We ended up spending 2 weeks. The place has a certain feel to it, a certain magic. It truly is holy. Every day at sunrise and sunset people in the hundreds gather to pray on the ghats and is quite a site. We spent our days waking at sunrise and doing yoga classes on our roof overlooking the ganga. Then we would explore the cities bustling narrow corridors and endless shops, stopping to eat at some restaurants we came to love. Walking down the streets is hectic madness! Cows, motorbikes, rickshaws, snake charmers, people trying to get you to come to their shops. Every 20 feet you walk you hear "change money, taxi, silk scarf, saris, some food sir, massage, sitars, music lessons, come look my shop" then "marijuana, hashish, opium, brown, white, - you try you buy- you want to get high before you die?" But out of the corridors and onto the ghats it is pure peace and harmony.

The people in India are great everyone you meet is a character. Even the travellers, everyone is interesting. Either there taking music lessons, or yoga/meditation, spending months in an ashram, trekking Nepal, or just mental expansion. In most place you go everyone is just there to party and drink beers and live spring break life style. In India even the travellers are enlightened.

I guess being that it is the most holy city in India and only miles away from where Siddhartha first reached enlightenment, it is easy for a little to rub off on you. We made some great friends and had beautiful times in a place where most people would consider to be ugly. I guess it is the inner beauty that counts in Varanasi.