Varanasi is one of those places that you only have to visit once and will remember it in such vivid detail because Varanasi is such an extraordinarily fascinating place.
First impressions are relatively good at the airport. It is clean and well kept even though it is small and only has one runway. Once you get outside it becomes a bit hectic. We had ordered a taxi from some company which turned out to be a group of taxi drivers that started a business where every driver got a share of the money from every passenger ride. Everyone wants to drive the taxi for someone so it takes about fifteen minutes just to get a driver, put your luggage in the trunk and get on the road.
Once you get going there is so much to see that its hard to process all the information. Chances are that if someone was to say "look over here!" you would probably miss something equally interesting in the opposite direction. The roads are incredibly dirty. Nothing like America, and nobody bothers to sweep anything up because within a day it will get just as dirty all over again. The streets are covered in cans, bottles, animal dung, dirt, dust, and sewage. Most people are walking around carrying or pulling something so that they can get enough money to feed themselves. If you have a cart to use you would be very lucky. Many people ride bikes and pull small seated carts which two people can ride in - a rickshaw. But the majority of people do other work instead.
Since cows are considered sacred and you can't eat, kill, or hurt them they casually lie around the streets, eat trash and food scraps. Most people wear sparse clothing that is very dirty and does not necessarily fit themselves. Many children, even at a very young age like 7 or 8, are forced to work for there family by carrying sacks of just about anything. Many people either old and weak or very young (often on their own, without any parents) hold out tins to you gesturing that they need to eat which means that they want money so that they can eat. DON'T give money away in big crowds because if anyone sees that you are giving away money you will promptly be swarmed by everyone begging.
Many people live on the back alleyways in dirty little houses or shacks that you wouldn't even notice if you didn't look for them. Varanasi is right on the river Ganges which is INCREDIBLY DIRTY you can barely see an inch into the water! When we were there the river was at one of its highest points and tourist boats were not allowed to navigate the water. Police were constantly patrolling the river and making sure no one was in there boats.
Along the river is a famous burning ghat where dead peoples' bodies are burnt. Apparently, in Hindi culture if you are burnt and your body is deposited in the Ganges (at this very spot, in Varanasi) you will not have to go through many other lives and you will be able to go straight to the afterlife. About 5-6 bodies are being burnt at any given time on varying amounts of wood. The amount of wood you are burned on and the amount of time you are burnt depends on how much money you set aside before your death.
Some people have minuscule amounts of wood, while others have an absolute mountain. When one body burns up completely another body and more wood is put and any remaining unburnt body parts are thrown into the Ganges and so the process continues all day, all night, all year. Above the pyre there is a worn down stone where there is a fire which they use to light the wood. Supposedly, this fire has been burning for two thousands years, constantly attended, and it is called the "eternal fire".
First impressions are relatively good at the airport. It is clean and well kept even though it is small and only has one runway. Once you get outside it becomes a bit hectic. We had ordered a taxi from some company which turned out to be a group of taxi drivers that started a business where every driver got a share of the money from every passenger ride. Everyone wants to drive the taxi for someone so it takes about fifteen minutes just to get a driver, put your luggage in the trunk and get on the road.
Once you get going there is so much to see that its hard to process all the information. Chances are that if someone was to say "look over here!" you would probably miss something equally interesting in the opposite direction. The roads are incredibly dirty. Nothing like America, and nobody bothers to sweep anything up because within a day it will get just as dirty all over again. The streets are covered in cans, bottles, animal dung, dirt, dust, and sewage. Most people are walking around carrying or pulling something so that they can get enough money to feed themselves. If you have a cart to use you would be very lucky. Many people ride bikes and pull small seated carts which two people can ride in - a rickshaw. But the majority of people do other work instead.
Since cows are considered sacred and you can't eat, kill, or hurt them they casually lie around the streets, eat trash and food scraps. Most people wear sparse clothing that is very dirty and does not necessarily fit themselves. Many children, even at a very young age like 7 or 8, are forced to work for there family by carrying sacks of just about anything. Many people either old and weak or very young (often on their own, without any parents) hold out tins to you gesturing that they need to eat which means that they want money so that they can eat. DON'T give money away in big crowds because if anyone sees that you are giving away money you will promptly be swarmed by everyone begging.
Many people live on the back alleyways in dirty little houses or shacks that you wouldn't even notice if you didn't look for them. Varanasi is right on the river Ganges which is INCREDIBLY DIRTY you can barely see an inch into the water! When we were there the river was at one of its highest points and tourist boats were not allowed to navigate the water. Police were constantly patrolling the river and making sure no one was in there boats.
Along the river is a famous burning ghat where dead peoples' bodies are burnt. Apparently, in Hindi culture if you are burnt and your body is deposited in the Ganges (at this very spot, in Varanasi) you will not have to go through many other lives and you will be able to go straight to the afterlife. About 5-6 bodies are being burnt at any given time on varying amounts of wood. The amount of wood you are burned on and the amount of time you are burnt depends on how much money you set aside before your death.
Some people have minuscule amounts of wood, while others have an absolute mountain. When one body burns up completely another body and more wood is put and any remaining unburnt body parts are thrown into the Ganges and so the process continues all day, all night, all year. Above the pyre there is a worn down stone where there is a fire which they use to light the wood. Supposedly, this fire has been burning for two thousands years, constantly attended, and it is called the "eternal fire".
The following pictures show more of the animals, the wood for the funeral pyres and the river Ganges.
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