Varanasi

Today I'm spending the day in Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in the world (it has been a fully functioning city for over 2500 years). It's split in two by the Ganges, which is the main attraction here. Hindu pilgrims come from around the world to wash away all the bad, and begin anew. They also come to die here and bodies are floated in the river or cremated at the ghats (steps down into the river for bathing, washing clothes, etc). Hindus believe this releases them from the cycle of rebirth.

So last night I took a cycle rickshaw down to the river and looked around and then this morning I came down and took a boat ride on the river ($3 for an hour ride). It was pretty cool, but the current is so strong that we couldn't go very far down the river before turning around and working our way back.

I saw my first dead bodies, which was a weird experience. There was one floating down the river, caught on a boat line, then another being cremated (in the picture). It's odd to be so close to death yet most of the people are overjoyed pilgrims having the time of their lives bathing in the river (even though it's full of heavy metals from the factories upstream, dead bodies, ashes, and who knows how much sewage. Hence me not swimming in the river).

This afternoon I plan to see some more of the city and possibly take a little trip out to an old Buddhist site nearby (although I'm still unsure if it's worth the trip or if I should see more here).

Varanasi has a whole different feel than any other place I've been. It's so old and sacred it just feels different. I don't know how else to describe it. Sometime places just have that surreal feel to them and this is one of those places. Even though the actual sites are really not that spectacular it's one of my favorite places in India so far.

Well as I said last time I'll be taking the bus to Pokhara, Nepal, a city on the lake near trekking (hiking) and whitewater rafting. So I'll be on the bus the next couple of days, with nothing much to report (hopefully) besides "that was a long boring bus ride". So, I'm thinking I'll have a little mailbag. So please email me questions at jfbloom@gmail.com or just post them in the comments section, then I'll answer them in my next blog post. I'm going to need some high participation seeing as how I can't imagine that many people are actually reading this every day. So, send in your questions now! Farewell from India, I'll be reporting soon from Nepal.