Varan-ass-i
After spending the night on a train, we end up in Varanasi and reunite with the Ganges river. As our time in India is running out, we have to book a train to Calcutta on the same day, so we have about 6 hours to spend in this holy city, which I wasn’t happy about at first. I soon realize we don’t need much time there.
After leaving our luggage in the railway station’s cloak room, we go to the Assi Ghat (steps leading down to the holy river), where we have an awesome breakfast and sundae on a Sunday at Aum Café. There is an eccentric woman sitting there, talking to a girl, who can do nothing but listen, as this woman takes being hippie to the next level. She claims she’s never been to Goa in her seven years of coming to India. She says she only eats boiled vegetables with hummus at night, and that she avoids food during the day. Her body feels stronger when she doesn’t eat – red flag. Yet, while the girl is in the bathroom, the woman takes a bit of the girl’s cake. She claims yoga is bad for you and ruins meditation. Basically, she talks about herself and all her weird beliefs for all to hear, because the restaurant is so small, and we all chuckle a bit to ourselves. Unfortunately, the place is so small and popular (the Lonely Planet recommendation curse), that we are politely pushed out after our meal. My back has been killing me since the night before, and it is only getting worse, making me less willing to walk around just for the sake of walking. I want to stay and have more ice cream!
We take an autorickshaw to the main ghat, Dashashwarnedh, which is pretty empty when we get there. We move on to the main cremation ghat, Marnikarnika. From here, we see a few bodies covered in cloth being dipped in the Ganges, while the fire is being prepared. A priest trying to lure us into a building for a better view tells us, that they walk around the fire 5 times for every element; earth, water, fire, wind and soul. It takes about three hours to burn the body, after which they discard the remaining bones in the river. No wonder this is one of the most polluted rivers in the world! It isn’t graphic, or smelly, like I had imagined, but there is a very calm and respectful atmosphere, and I kinda like it, although there is not much to be seen. We head to a rooftop restaurant and share a beer(!!), the first one in ages, while looking out over the Ganges river, where people are bathing, washing clothes, and playing. In seriously dangerously polluted water.
We go back to the railway station for our stuff, and on our way there, we see the main ghat again, and it is quite busy and beautiful at this point. I wish we could stay! We take an autorickshaw to our next railway station, and patiently wait for our train at 20.10. 3 hours and 20 minutes later it arrives, with a guy already sleeping on my bed. I wake him up, but he tries to make me get the bed under him, which is for a guy waiting just behind me. How rude! Finally, some locals come to my rescue, and that young guy is pissed off. Whoops. I guess you can’t win no matter what.
We have a decent sleep on the train – no more fear of falling off the top bed – and wake up to being the main attraction at the circus yet again. Yes, people are already up and staring at us. Next stop: Kolkata.