Varanasi - Day 2 (part 2)

This is a link from my blog about my trip to India in 2014
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david63
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Varanasi - Day 2 (part 2)

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Post by david63 »

So now we reach the evening “adventure” but before that whilst waiting for our guide we can see the guests arriving for what we thought was a wedding when in fact it is an engagement party – if that is just for the engagement that I would not like to even start to think how much the actual wedding will cost.

Just as a slight digression for a minute – from what we have seen so far the stories of poverty that we all hear about are somewhat removed from the truth. Yes we have seen people living under bridges that have no clothes and very little else. Yes we have seen people begging but this is where it becomes difficult because a lot of the beggars are “professionals” – it is the way they make their money. There are many Indians who have a salary comparable, if not better, than many in the UK.

Anyway back to the excursion in hand. Tonight we went down to the Ghats again but this time for the more organised evening ceremony. The first thing that has to be encountered is the journey down to the Ghats once we have left the car. Imagine if you can many hundreds of people walking down the main street of any town completely filling the whole road and then have dozens of motor cycles/scooter coming at you in both directions at 50 mph and also trying to avoid the cows. UK H&S would have a field day over here.

We eventually arrive down at the Ghats (more by good luck than anything else) and find “our” boat waiting for us. As we were early it was decided that we would have a trip up/down the river – however it did allow us to put some lighted candles in the river in memory of those who we have lost.

Upon returning to the main area of the Ghats there were literally dozens of boats all sat out in the river as well as hundreds sat on the steps (H&S here is another opportunity). The ceremony starts and it is quite mesmerising with chanting, waving of flaming objects (H&S required again) and the cacophony of noise. The whole ceremony lasted for almost an hour and was truly one of life’s experiences – albeit the whole thing was nothing more than a “show” – not necessarily for the “outside” visitors but also for the Indians who were on a pilgrimage.

After that it was back to the hotel for some diner (an excellent Indian meal0 and some sleep ready for our 08:00 start tomorrow followed by our flight to Delhi.

P.S. – did I mention that we have towel animals at this hotel?

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Manoverboard
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Re: Varanasi - Day 2 (part 2)

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Post by Manoverboard »

It all brings back memories of our very brief intro to India and also to how the H&S brigade have taken so much simple pleasure out of our lives.

A bit of detail / info on the food / Indian cuisine / Menus would be appreciated ... please.

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