Varanasi

The last few days in Darjeeling were fun. We wanted to visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute which was located (believe it or not) inside the zoo. The HMI was great, with a superb museum charting the history of mountaineering in the Himalayas and containing some extraordinary artifacts, such as the actual flag raised by Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay on the first ever conquest of Everest. The zoo, however, was less inspiring. I've never really understood conservation, and witnessing a large group of Indian tourists stood in front of a “Silence Please” sign, clapping to attract a Himalayan Snow Leopard from one side of its tiny cage to the other, hasn't helped. We also went to see a band play at a bar called Buzz. Whilst we enjoyed ourselves the music was reminiscent of being stuck in a lift! For anyone considering a trip to Darjeeling I cannot recommend more highly the Aliment Guesthouse. The owner is a Nepali Indian and former Gurkha in the British Army who has lived all over the world. We enjoyed many fascinating conversations with him and some great breakfasts cooked by his friendly family. We got the Toy Train down the mountain as far as Kuresong and then got a taxi for the last part of the journey to Siliguri. The night train to Varanasi was only delayed by an hour or so and we chatted to a lady from Rajasthan for some time before hitting the hay.

Varanasi is considered by many Hindus as the holiest place in India, and subsequently one of the holiest places in the world. It is situated on the river Ganga and many people come here to bath in the water and even to die (dieing here brings release from the cycle of death and re-birth). The water is described by our guide book as “septic” and contains over 1.5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 100ml (in water that is safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500!). The irony of the holiest river in India also being the filthiest is not lost on me ;o) Whilst Varanasi is certainly the dirtiest, smelliest place I have ever visited, it is also probably the most fascinating. The river is lined with Ghats, some of which are used for public cremations and others for evening ceremonies. Wondering along the riverside and through the narrow alley ways of the surrounding area is just the most fantastic experience, with all sorts of crazy things happening such as boys washing herds of cows, men deep in prayer repeatedly dunking themselves violently in the river, people selling anything from head massages to drugs and, of course, the sights and smells one might associate with burning corpses. There are lots of “travelers” here, although they seem to spend much of their time sitting in cafes in groups, adorned in ridiculous orange, baggy trousers, waiting around for their afternoon sitar/yoga/hindi/tabalah lesson. I really don’t understand what it is about travelling in India that makes people dress up in ridiculous fancy dress? No Indian people wear these clothes; they clearly make them based on demand from tourists….most strange.

We took an early morning boat ride along the Ganga on our first day to see the sunrise and the early morning bathing. The funeral ghats are burning bodies 24 hours a day, but photography is strictly forbidden (I managed a few cheeky shots from distance though). We have also been silk shopping and bought a few bits and bobs. We took our first cycle rickshaw ride yesterday. We chose the oldest, slowest man of all (seriously, we could have walked faster) and we were concerned that he might not make it. I think he was happy with our generous tip. We have had a couple of Yoga lessons with a friendly old Calcuttan man called Bubla. Whilst we have enjoyed them and are keen to learn more about the physical advantages, we are less interested in the religious/spiritual side to it (he is also an Astrologer). We are also a little skeptical of his claims that he’d rather have our love than our money as these are almost always backed up by stories of grand sums of money given to him by his previous “loving” students.

Steve left us yesterday evening, on a train bound for Calcutta to catch his flight back to the UK tomorrow. It has been fun having friends from home to travel with over the last month and I can’t believe we are now half way through our time in India and will be back in the UK in just seven weeks! We’ve booked a train to Jhansi on Sunday and from there we will go to Orchha. We hope to stay in the Maharajah’s Retreat for my birthday. Afterwards we plan to tour around Rajasthan before heading up to Delhi to fly home for Christmas.

Whilst we have many more photos to upload, the computer and internet connection are pathetic so it's not going to happen today.