Varanasi - interesting and horrible at the same time

Well, next was Varanasi – the town, I got to hate so much 16 years ago. Varanasi is the most important and holiest town of the whole world for Hindus. Who dies here, is burnt here at the Ghats and whose ashes is put into the Ganges, is released from the circulation of rebirths. So, this is actually logical, what is going on here: in Varanasi, you can find the clenched misery on the streets, waiting to die. Sick people, disabled persons, old people, and of course a lot of others come here and just wait. As long as they are not dead yet, they must live anyhow – this explains all the beggars. 16 years ago, Varanasi was the absolute horror for me. Now, after four days here, I have to say – it is a love hate for this place. It is super interesting, but so crazy and so tiring.  All of that at the same time.

Manikarnika Ghat

Pilgrim, Varanasi

Pilgrim, Varanasi

There are several reasons, why I feel different now:
16 years ago, I was here in April, so it was extremely hot. December is a lot colder. Then, people need less electricity, so there were less power cuts. There is more wind, so the smell from the burning Ghats with all the burning bodies is not as bad as in Indian summer. Just imagine – on the main burning Ghats, there are 200 bodies burned daily.
I am staying at the same hotel as 16 years ago, but the rooms are upgraded.

Moreover, a couple of years ago, I was upgraded from Miss to Madame, which is a lot better. Respect towards older people. And this is not coming from younger ones, you can demand it. (Do you treat your mother the same as me now…?)
So, as I said, Varanasi is crazy and tiring, but it is a very exciting town in which one can experience a lot. Today however not – it rains like crazy. Not really typically for this season which is cold though, but usually dry.
I spent New Year at another hotel, as the manager has invited me there. There was traditional Indian music with sitar and tabla and then a traditional dance. At midnight, there were also some fireworks going on.

after taking a bath

Strange enough, this time I am so touched by Varanasi that I was there for 10 days. I never expected that to happen. Well, when planning this trip, I decided to put in only a handful of places to give me the chance to stay in one place a lot longer, when I want to. Varanasi has a lot of different faces depending on the area. As I split my stay in two different locations 4 kilometers apart from each other, there was no problem to spend here more time. It is not a place to get bored soon.
There is the old town with the golden temple, the most important temple in whole Varanasi. Here, on some days, which are maybe more auspicious than others, people queue for several hundred meters or a couple of hours. Around the temple, there are a lot of soldiers. People here are afraid of terrorists from Pakistan.

Pilgrim, Varanasi

Then, there are many stores with offerings, mainly flowers, posters of gods, statues of gods and jewelry. Everywhere in between, you find tea stalls. In the small lanes, there are many nervous cows and high on the buildings, there are quite some monkeys. There are no rickshaws in the old part of town. For them the lanes are too narrow. If a cow meets you in one of these lanes, or a motorcycle, there is often no other choice than jumping into a small store…

Sadhu, Varanasi

Then, there are the Ghats, the bathing places. These Ghats stretch more than about 4 kilometers. 
 In the north, adjoining to the old town is the most important burning ghat, called Marnikarninka Ghats. Here, 200 bodies are burnt every day. The bodies are carried on stretchers through the narrow streets, accompanied by Ram calls. As these people walk very fast with a burden on the shoulders of 4 men, tourists and other people try to get out of the way as well.
My first hotel was just about 200 meters from the big burning ghat, nevertheless, thanks to the wind; there was no smell, even not from the balcony.
Further south is the main Ghat. Here, people hold each evening an Aarti, a ceremony to the river Ganga. 5 men stand on stages, swing fire, and throw flowers in the river and blow mussels. People watch it from the Ghats and by boats from the riverside, which are both very enjoyable.
Most interesting is Varanasi at its Ghats. Here, people take a bath and clean their teeth just next to the burning bodies. Every now and then a dead cow swims past. Laundry is washed, cows trot between the burning piles of wood, dogs sit there and wait (I do not want to know, what they are waiting for).
Of course Varanasi, the holiest town of the Hindus, attracts many sadhus. These are holy men, who travel without any belongings through India. Often very wise people, but holy are definitely not all of them…. Then, there are of course all the pilgrims from all over India. They come here once a lifetime to wash their sins away in the holy river. Well, in our eyes, the Ganga is as dirty as a river in India can be – in the eyes of Hindus, this river can clean everything.

Flower Seller, Varanasi

In the meantime, I have moved to a quieter area, in the southern part. Here, it is rather quiet at the Ghats. Water buffaloes take a bath, people rest or meditate by the holy river.
For sure, there are now quite some facilities for foreign travelers (not so 16 years ago). There are hotels for each price range. The most inexpensive rooms start with 3 euros, the most expensive one lies with approx. 400 euros, at least, for a room, not per person. Everywhere, there are small restaurants with food of dubious quality (it already begins with the question where the water comes from, which is in your cup of tea…). Then, there are restaurants, which cater mainly for western taste, which often belong to hostels for budget travelers. There, you get the usual travelers fare – spaghetti, pancake or Korean and Japanese dishes.
Well, and then there is Blue Lassi – the ultimate shop for the yoghurt drink of India. I thought, actually, that I will experience no more big surprises after 7 times in India, when it comes to Lassi. Well, it happened – in Blue Lassi, they have definitely the best Lassis of whole India.
Banana-chokolade, papaya, apple, coffee, mango, orange or cocos-choko – all of them just great! Each day I came here and each day I tried another one.