Good morning, say, the rattle of the train almost not let me write, is 11:20 and we must take a 3 hour delay on arrival at Varanasi, was foggy on the way looooong and 7:30 when we We caught the train has been standing for 40 minutes, imagine that during sleep will have been the most and decided to sleep until someone says something. We have re-awakened at 10:30, the time that in theory we'd be at Varanasi and clear and really good body, the thing the night before the jump on the bandwagon painted much worse. Passing the time, little by little, playing cards and throwing the occasional nap, not knowing how high the way we were, it seemed that we would not ever coming to Varanasi. Asked a reviewer and yes, at 13:30 we were due to arrive.
Not a minute later we came to Varanasi Jn, we went in search of a rickshaw, we told the hotel name Scindhia, and there we go, from a fear of traffic, honking like crazy, leads to nowhere but say it is the Sandhi or something put on the door. By chance two Swiss girls had the same problem, and decided to look for life to get where we had thought. After walking through the dirty streets of Varanasi, up and down several stairs, appears to us the expected Scindhia, we stayed in a single room overlooking the Ganges. Reserve two boat trips on the river for a week at 17 and another to see the sunrise at 6:15, we stick a well deserved shower and going to eat something before leaving by boat.
Our first real contact with Varanasi and cremation ghats have on the way to the restaurant. In Varanasi, there are two cremation ghats, the most important Manikamika is only 150 meters from our hotel, is in operation for 24 hours a day and at the end of the day was made up to 400 cremations. On our way we passed the top of each ghat where fire burned the remains of deceased persons, we are very striking to see body parts out the flames, but normal in the environment makes us to see it that way also After the stunning first vision. Almost more shocking is when the alleys you can hear the songs of the people who bring a body to the cremation ghat, run past a group of relatives with the body above the shoulders a kind of wooden bed with the corpse covered with brightly colored fabrics, for us they are startling moments, but lack the typical character who wants to sell you some gum while passing the deceased. These are moments where you feel something out of place, as it gives the feeling that you are a curious in their celebrations in this sacred place for Hindus still showing total respect. Everything is worth seeing, its way of thinking about death and his eternal rest.
At about 17h we got in a rowing boat with a boy of 17 who is going to take a walk for almost 3 hours, the view from the river with the boy's explanations are full of feelings and make you feel more if it is the sacredness of this place and what is breathed in the atmosphere. Some of the bodies as those of children under 12, pregnant women, lepers, people killed by snakebite or Brahmins do not burn your soul that is now purified and deposited in the river wrapped in cloth. We had the chance to see one of these bodies in our walk along the Ganges, really awesome.
In the long walk along the river, we stopped to see a Puja ceremony, carried by more than 20 years, a sort of Indian Mass with singing, fire, incense and a variety of music with bells and drums. After so many emotions experienced going to rest, because tomorrow is supposed to load as well and start them early with a walk along the river to see the sunrise at 6:15.
*** Goodnight
29/01/10
Are at 6:15 am in Varanasi, our boatman is still yawning and the day starts with a fog that makes the Ganges more mystical if possible. Drums, bells and singing by people every hour brought to the crematorium Manikamika have not stopped all night, and from the window of our room which is a short 150m, although cremation see if we hear all the noise. We climbed aboard and started seeing a lot of people who bathe in the river, make your prayers and walk to see a new day begins. We see the sunrise that also becomes a momentazo by fog and people doing all sorts of things on the river, washing clothes, throwing a kind of white powder, washing teeth, typical for a river we go. Cremations are continuing without stopping, and we see a character in a boat to catch a floating body of the head and tie your boat and pull it, do not know why. Almost 3 hours later we return to the hotel to rest a bit because the hotel checkout is at 12pm and we have every day ahead to permeate the smells of Varanasi to 20h that comes our train to Delhi.
After the nap, we went to permeate the smells of the city, its traffic chaos, its hot, we get tired at the same time that gives us life to see how people look for meaning, it is difficult to explain how in a city as chaotic breathe so many different things.
Anyway, we stopped to eat and relax for some time in the restaurant for a bit then get on with the internet.
Before baggage enjoy the last moments, sitting across the river, watching the sun set, which gave way to a stunning full moon with all the sounds and the smoke of the cremations, let us mark this moment as the last in Varanasi.
We take an autorickshaw to the station after a long walk along the river with our luggage in tow, and llegaomos another of those places that no one can find meaning. Because there is a person who helps tourists to know which is the platform of train departure, we know that our number 7 out of 10 minutes before departure, that if the car is already a list out where know your bed and if successful the wagon number, so if this well-organized.
Once inside we had a family of Varanasi who was going to Delhi to celebrate the commitment of a child, they treated us like they say is the custom in India, as the guests, gave us dinner and dessert, with talks on life and customs of India, people are increasingly more surprising, they make you feel good.
The train leaves in half an hour late, as we shall see in Delhi.
In trying to sleep we go.
