Shannon and I arrived to Varanasi after a 14 hour train ride and an hour taxi. We were fit to collapse after the journey and sadly our hostel/guest house was dead keen to have the chats with us, sell us his walking tour and trying to organise breakfast for the following day. I instantly thought he was too pushy and not my vibes and announced my tiredness as soon as I could!

Before arriving in Varanasi, I had heard from many people how spiritual and magical it is, and also that it’s pretty harsh on the senses. Varanasi is considered one of the oldest cities in the world dating back about 5000 years. It is situated along the Ganges which Hindus believe is sacred and is one of the gods personified (Ganga). At one point I said I was really excited to come visit Varanasi but I suppose that

wasn’t the correct word. I was keen to see how the whole city worked and how the cremations looked. I wanted to feel the atmosphere and soak it all up. Excited wasn’t the word, curious was I think. One of the girls I had met in the yoga course had warned me that there are a lot of really sick and dying people lined on the streets begging to try make enough money to be cremated in Varanasi. The idea really was very grim.

We decided the following day to take him up on his walking tour offer, considering the official walking tours were costing about 1600 rupees (£17) whereas our mate was doing it based on donations. In fairness, he did a great walking tour! Varanasi is a maze of streets. They are tiny, meaning there aren’t any cars of tuk tuks taking up the place and beeping which was such a welcome break to my ears. There’s still scooters and motorbikes but you can deal with them. Having the guide, meant we just followed blindly but I was glad to have him. I don’t think the streets are easy to navigate as a visitor. We made a stop for chai and breakfast. The breakfast was called uttapam and it was essentially a pancake but made with fermented lentil and rice batter. It’s savoury and cooked with tomato, onion, coriander and piles of butter! It was bloody delicious (so much so that I’ve been back again to try it, that was an adventure trying to find him again).

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We walked by the ghats, saw people bathing and worshipping. I had seen the Ganges up in Rishikesh and it was far cleaner up there. To me this river was absolutely filthy but the locals saw it as an amazing, spiritual, holy place. They dipped in and out of the water constantly. There was chanting, praying, singing and celebrations. It was simply stunning. 

As I’m in India, I keep myself well covered with loose clothing. I don’t want to draw any further attention to myself. People stare all the time, let’s not give them tight clothing or anything western to stare at. I respect the culture and I will dress as much like local women as I can (I couldn’t be coping with a saree everyday but I wear nice loose clothing). When the locals bath, women go in in their full saree or dress, whatever it is that they are wearing. Men go in in tiny underwear. It baffles me that there is such a stark contrast to how men and women are allowed to present themselves in public. This is present in younger children as well, the young boys go in in their underwear whereas young girls are in leggings and long tops.

Next our guide brought us to the old city where the council have been demolishing houses for the last year. His home was demolished last May. The council want to extend the surrounding area of the temple, assuming for tourism but there is no exact plan or communication about this. Our guide told us him and his family were given 5 days to vacate their home. There were hundreds of families affected by this with only about 5 days warning. Our guide and family are still feeling the affects. As we continued our walk we understood why it was taking so long. We witness the demolition happening, it was 5 or 6 guys with, what looked like, hammers and pic axes on top of a building taking it apart. At that rate it would be happening for years before anything was to replace it. We visited Nepali temple which has a 55kg gold ornament on top of the temple. If stolen it is said that you’ll be left blind. Next we visited the local school for Napalese students who are sent to the school from the age of 7 years old to learn sanskrit, the oldest language in the world and very complex. There is a hospice near by which houses about 20 women. To die here in Varanasi is a dream for Hindus. If their ashes can be scattered in this city, the cycle of rebirth is complete and you can ascend into heaven. 

The area where the cremations are held was visited next. We took pictures from a far but as you get closer, it is frowned upon and many locals will tell you off (not that I wanted to). What I witnessed, wasn’t what I expected at all. Everything worked like a well oiled machine (as orderly as India gets). There were small shops selling sandalwood for the fire, there were wood sellers (40 rupees for a kilogram, 50c), there were vendors selling chai and food, there were even barbers around the back of the cremations (many family members get their hair cut in preparation of the cremations of their loved ones). It is a big business here in Varanasi which is something I hadn’t thought about. We witness people carrying their loved ones to the river side, covered in blankets and shawls, bracelets and offerings tied to the stretcher they lay on (even one playing  “rock star” by Post Malone off a phone). Fifty bodies can be burned at one time in the area we were visiting. This particular cremation area is for those who died of natural causes, those who died of unnatural causes, like suicide or by accidents are cremated in another area. Some people can’t be burned here; lepers (pollution in the smoke), pregnant women (they still carry life according to Hindus), holy men, children and people bitten by a cobra.

There are no women allowed in these areas either. The only women we saw near the cremation sites were those taking part in a ceremony for families who had brought the ashes with them from a cremation in another area of India. Our guide told us women aren’t allowed in the cremation site because of their crying and wailing (again, I respect their culture and customs but it grinds my gears so much how differently women and men are treated). The tour was great but I was excited to go off and explore on my own over the following days. We had passed so many colourful markets, street food vendors, cafes and shops. Some of the highlights from Varanasi:

Sunrise on the Ganges:

One day we got up for a sunrise tour which cost us 400 rupees (between 3 as we picked up another girl in our hostel to come with us cost us £4.31). It was beautiful. I bought some offerings again (had done it the previous day) and sent them down the river for each of my grandmothers (Granny P who passed last year and Nana B who is still fighting fit) and also for my cousins granny who passed that week. Having been brought up Catholic I’ve always lit candles in churches around the world for my grandmothers. It’s a habit I’ve been in since I started travelling. Although I’m not religious, I consider myself spiritual and believe that my positive offerings will bring positivity to the people I care about. The sunrise tour was simple but lovely! As we were boated up and down the Ganges we witness people bathing, chanting, praying, worshipping, washing clothes, drinking the water and bottling it to take home.

Every morning after this we got up to go down to the steps on the Ganges to watch the world go by. We were up every morning at 5.40 and down on the steps on the Ganges for sunrise. Sitting and people watching was so good. It was a constant hub of life and always a surprise. I drank chai, observed, sometimes got my photo taken and always asked if I wanted to go out on a boat. It was simply incredible. The energy at that time of day was just beautiful.

Uttapam and Chaat and the street food experience:

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The breakfast that we had was so delicious! So delicious we became his “regulars”. He was a kind man, with little English but always welcomed us with a smile. When speaking to another customer with good English, he explained that flavours are better in Varanasi. This again is to do with the city being a holy place and the good energy that is present (this I agree with).

Shannon and I took off one night to find chaat and we were successful! The “restaurant” was a hole in the wall with a bunch of lads cooking, bagging food, taking cash and shouting orders. It was manic but orderly and the food was sensational! I think some of the best food I’ve had in India alongside the thali in Agra.

Shannon and I braved a lot of street food in these few days. Considering I’m just finished another dose of antibiotics I think I really did test the body. I’m still alive. Still standing. Let’s see how long it lasts for!

Ganga Aarti:

A Ganga Aarti is a ceremony held at dusk along the Ganges to make offerings to the river.

I had been to an Aarti in Rishikesh but never one so large and organised. There were 7 Brahmins in one Aarti and 5 in another. They were synchronised… again I’d never seen this! People gathered for almost an hour prior to it beginning to get good seats or you could even pay a bit and sit up closer to them. 

In India there is a caste system. This basically means your born into a class and that’s where you stay. You marry your own class and that’s it. The brahmins are the highest class. They’re seen as the holy men. These men were the ones leading the Aarti. They sing, chant and make offerings of fire, herbs, ghee and other items into the river and fires.

More Brahmin sit by the riverside every day giving blessings for “donations”. I did one of these, which was lovely but he was looking for 500 rupees (£5.40), which there wasn’t a hope I was giving him. I left him with 150 rupees (£1.62) and away I went. 

Music lesson:

I decided to face my fear of creativity and go do a music lesson. I asked the music school which instrument was the easiest and they said flute. So I braved a flute lesson and honestly it was so difficult! I was sitting crossed legged on the floor for an hour making noise out of a flute and holding my fingers awkwardly over the 6 holes. I know that I sometimes avoid things that make me vulnerable and musical instruments are things I’ve avoided for years. I am glad I did it but honestly I never expected it to be so difficult! I always played it safe in school and stuck to the subjects that had a right and wrong answers.

Yoga:

I did my own practise of yoga every day and sometimes 2 times a day. I know that I really want to start teaching it and having a few days in 1 place allowed me to begin a good routine which I hope carries on for the remainder of my trip and then it’ll be easy to continue at home.

So at the end of my few days in Varanasi, I feel very calm, at peace and so happy that we made the journey to Varanasi. The 14 hour train ride didn’t seem worth it to begin but I am so happy we did it. Varanasi is a magical place. People were friendly, warm, welcoming and very curious of us, just like we were curious of them.