April 3: Varanasi - 1st Full Day

Up at 5:15 AM to meet my guide at 5:45 AM. We board our boat and cruise the Ganges....Yoga, meditation, spiritual washing of sins, doms searching human ashes for jewelry...its all here.

Early Morning Boaters

Ganges' Sunrise

Woman Bathe Along the River's Edge

River Activity at Sunrise

Laundry Drying

Washing Away of Sins

Hindu Meditation

Yoga

Doms Search for Jewelry

Group Bathing

After the boat trip we walk along the gnats and back alleys of Varanasi. There are1000s of small Hindu Temples in each nook and cranny....the clash of colors and smells are overpowering....Hindu religious activities challenge a westerner's senses....women shaving their hair as a form of penance, Brahman priests offering advice to worshippers, a woman making dung paddies for fuel..... entering the back streets that are in reality back alleys that move in indeterminate directions.....the crowds move as one carrying you along as amember, colorful mystics/gurus posing for pictures, a man getting his beard trimmed, food being prepared...this is Varanasi at its finest...

Colorful Celebrants

Shaving of Woman's Hair

Brahman Offering Spiritual Advice 

Pilgrims Gather

Remove Shoes - Enter Temple

Clip Job



Crowded Back Streets

Shopping

Woman Making Cow-Patty Fuel

Hindi Spiritual Reader

Corn Fritters???

Spiritualist

The temperature continues to rise and during the day it approaches 120 F....summer in Northern Virginia will be a piece of cake. Since I stayed up late last night and got up early this morning, I decided to take a short nap. About mid-afternoon, I went back into the back alley streets to look for Lonely Planet's highly recommended "Blue Lassi" emporium...what a find. The lassi offerings are mango, banana, pineapple, apple, nut, etc, etc....they are served cold in mid-size clay pots with fresh fruits decorating the top. They are super delicious...best I had in India by far. Met two New Zealand cops from the north island's wine center, Napier....talked to them about my New Zealand travels back in 2004 and how much I enjoyed their country...they informed me that South Island's Christchurch is still experiencing aftershocks and the destruction is quite bad....

Best Lassi...Ever

Preparing a Mango Lasi

Feeling good after my refreshing lassis...oooohhh, I had two,.I located an Internet cafe and worked on the BLOG since it was so blooming hot and the Internet cafe was cool...had an overhead fan. About 6 PM, I headed for the Assi Gnat which is the beginning of Varanasi's Ganges Gnat vast expanse that must extend north for about 4 miles. The Ganges flows south to north which I found surprising.... Varanasi sits on the western bank of the river.

I had dinner at a Hafia restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. I met a University of Wisconsin senior who was completing a 10 month overseas study program in Varanasi. We compared India travel experiences since she had visited many of the places that I did. In order to study in India, she had to learn Hindi which she said was difficult and took her about 12 months to master. I walked back to my hotel, about 2 miles, in the dark....I didn't realize that Gnat lights are turned off once the river festivities are completed....careful that I didn't miss a step and roll down the stone stairs or step in cow dung...I successfully arrived at my hotel after a 45 minute walk...not bad.

I was sopping wet...washed my clothes, took a shower, read briefly and went to bed.....tomorrow is another day...goodnight.