...is a stressful place! I got here, eventually after a 15 hour train ride, on Sunday evening. The hotel is good as it's full of other travellers which is a good sign. I got up super early (for the 3rd morning in a row...) yesterday to watch the sunrise over the Ganges from one of the ghats. It was a really clear morning so it was beautiful, and great for people watching. The water of the Ganges is considered super super holy so people come on pilgrimages here to bathe in it, which is said to cleanse you of your sins. I took one look at it and decided I was going nowhere near the water...At the moment, it is 'Kanwar Yatra' which is a Hindu pilgramage in which people (known as kawarias) walk from their villages for hundreds of kilometres (often in bare feet) to collect holy water from the Ganges. They all dress in orange and carry decorated sticks on their shoulders with containers at each end for collecting the water. They sing and chant as they go along and there are camps set up for them along the way to provide food and rest. Many of them don't carry anything with them so rely on these camps and the generosity of people along the way for food, drink and a place to rest. I went to see two temples in Varanasi yesterday and then went back to the Ganges to watch a ceremony that was taking place on one of the Ghats, although I couldn't really see it properly to get an idea of what it was about!
As it's so hot here (I read in the paper today that Varanasi is pleased to have some respite from the humidity as it has gone down to 92%....) it's really tiring to do anything and I've been getting loads of hassle from street vendors and beggars. So I decided to have a relaxing day today. Well it was supposed to be relaxing before I tried to do the simple task of topping up my phone... 2 hours, 1 Airtel shop visited, 4 phone calls, 1 try on the internet and about 10 different Airtel employees spoken to and I've finally managed it..... through a guy who happened to be standing in the internet cafe as I was breaking down through sheer frustration and who just did it on his phone! I tend to go through several changes a day of 'I love India, I hate India, I love India, I hate India' and today has been particularly like that! So, I'm looking forward to heading up to Amritsar tomorrow as it's supposed to be a bit calmer and less hassly than here I think, although I have got a 24 hour train ride to get there, it's a good job they have men who walk through selling chai every half hour, the man on the train on Sunday actually started stopping to ask if I wanted another one....
As it's so hot here (I read in the paper today that Varanasi is pleased to have some respite from the humidity as it has gone down to 92%....) it's really tiring to do anything and I've been getting loads of hassle from street vendors and beggars. So I decided to have a relaxing day today. Well it was supposed to be relaxing before I tried to do the simple task of topping up my phone... 2 hours, 1 Airtel shop visited, 4 phone calls, 1 try on the internet and about 10 different Airtel employees spoken to and I've finally managed it..... through a guy who happened to be standing in the internet cafe as I was breaking down through sheer frustration and who just did it on his phone! I tend to go through several changes a day of 'I love India, I hate India, I love India, I hate India' and today has been particularly like that! So, I'm looking forward to heading up to Amritsar tomorrow as it's supposed to be a bit calmer and less hassly than here I think, although I have got a 24 hour train ride to get there, it's a good job they have men who walk through selling chai every half hour, the man on the train on Sunday actually started stopping to ask if I wanted another one....
mind the gap......
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