First steps in Varanasi: between ghats, encounters and cows

After a night on the train from Gaya station, we continued this little Indian journey, heading for the sacred city of Varanasi, on the banks of the mythical river: the Ganges.

The sun was just rising when we arrived at Varanasi station. The tuk tuks were already there, ready to serve and take us to our hotel, once the price was negotiated, we got on board. Benares here we come!

The Ganges, a sacred river… and ultra-polluted

The city is considered the most sacred among the 9 that India has for the Hindu religion. Located on the left bank of the Ganges, it is this river that gives its sacredness to the place. Indeed for Hindus, the Ganges has virtues such as being able to wash away one's sins by immersing oneself and helping to elevate oneself, spiritually speaking.

It is also a purifier for the body and allows the souls of the deceased to be released, which is why a large number of pilgrims come to die in Varanasi to be cremated according to the Hindu ritual, their ashes then being scattered in the river.

But the Ganges is also known as the most polluted river in the world... In addition to all the waste water and various waste, it is estimated that nearly 500 human corpses are thrown into these waters every day and more than 10 animal carcasses! The corpses are thrown away due to lack of financial means, cremation being quite expensive (you have to see the quantity of wood needed...), the poorest are content to put the bodies directly into the river...

Knowing this, it is a completely mind-blowing sight to see all these people taking their bath every day in complete peace... For comparison, clean water for a bath should not contain more than 500 faecal coliforms (a bacteria coming from... Well, as the name suggests, faecal matter) per 100 ml.

Needless to say, the Ganges exceeds this figure with a variation between 60 and 000 million, with sometimes even concentration peaks of 1,5 million per 100 ml!

With its more than 3 million inhabitants, Varanasi, which is also one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world (its foundation is estimated to date back to the 100th century BC and it is in any case the oldest in India!), has more than XNUMX Ghats (these famous stairs providing access to the river) including the Assi Ghat, in the far south of the city, this is where we will stay.

Cows and goats roaming the streets with dogs share the waste as a snack.

Where to sleep in Varanasi

Our hotel was the Rahul Guest House, located less than 10 minutes walk from the Assi Ghat, in a quiet little street near the Ganges. The view from the balcony is superb, we will take the time to admire it when arriving from the station, before going to see the Ghat itself more closely, which we can also see from the terrace.

Facade of our guesthouse.

Our room.

The view from the terrace.

Short break before going to explore the city.

View of the city from the roof of our guesthouse.

Varanasi, the shock

The first impression when walking through the streets of Varanasi is that it is very dirty. Cows and goats that hang around in the streets with dogs share the waste as a snack. Although it is expected, it is still a shock.

Hide this misery that I cannot see

Here, this adage is not applicable and on the contrary, poverty is there. Said like that, one might wonder what a tourist comes to do there. And yet, it is in this city that one will meet the most of them. Some are clearly there with the aim of opening up spiritual perspectives, others, like us, are simply seeking to soak up an atmosphere, as strange and unique, almost disturbing as it may be.

Water supply placed right there on the street.

The barber is already taking care of his first customers.

It was delicious! We will eat all our meals there.

On the way to the ghat, we were approached for photos, it's crazy how fond the Indians are of them!

Arrived at the ghat, it is already lunch time, few people take bath at this time (most take it classically in the morning or evening)

We followed the advice of our paper guide and went to the restaurant Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe. So yes, it is indeed a pizzeria (among others) and quite frankly, it was delicious! We will take all our meals at this very place during our 2 days in Varanasi.

Tested and approved !

Each temple and its stairs = different ghat, the Assi Ghat being just on the left.

The river level is very low at this time of year, normally reaching the foot of the stairs.

As the Assi Ghat is a tourist spot, many boats are parked there during the day for trips (one in the morning and also possible in the evening).

After lunch, we approached the banks of the Ganges to observe the interaction of the inhabitants with the famous sacred river.

It is then that we see a group of Indian women with a Hindu priest (a Brahmin), all dressed in colors in full ceremony. A wedding.

Impromptu invitation to a wedding on the banks of the Ganges

It so happened that seeing us taking photos, they invited us to board their boat with them, while they were preparing to cross to the sandbank in the middle of the river, visible because of its low level.

It's a special moment. When they come down to the sandbank, we are also invited to join them, but as for that, we have to put our feet in the water... Even if we are far from the bank on the city side, which I think is dirtier, we will abstain for fear of picking up something nasty... (according to what I said above, a few million bacteria are hanging around there as a reminder!).

Surprise guest!

Women do their laundry here, normal, right?

Welcome aboard !

The Brahmin accompanying the newlyweds that day.

Back on dry land.

Meet up for a stroll and some shopping

Obviously it would have been great if at the end, they hadn't asked us for money (as for the origin, they seemed to invite us for the simple pleasure of sharing a moment...) Without holding a grudge, we gave them our agreement to use their boat the next morning (the groom's uncle offered trips) while we only gave them 200 Rs for this improvised excursion.

After that, we thought we would go back to the hotel to rest a bit, but as we passed a souvenir shop, the items on display in front caught Jitima's (expert!) eye. It turns out that we were thinking of buying souvenirs anyway.

There, for the moment, Jitima visited the store from top to bottom (which is divided into several rooms with literally an impressive collection of objects where everything is on sale). We stayed there for 1 hour, the time to choose the different purchases (well, especially the lady), Jitima flashing a little on everything, in the end, we came out with 2800 Rs of purchases "only".

Bike and cow garage…

In the streets of Varanasi, a spectacle at every moment

We are already starting to get to know Nagwa Street well, the main street leading to our hotel (before turning off after the bridge spanning the Assi stream towards an unnamed street, where we will meet someone).

But each time we pass through, the atmosphere is different. For that, India is a real live show at all times, the cow passing by here, one day, will no longer be in the scenery later, the people in the street change, even if almost all of them give us the same curious look.

Added to this a delicious mixture of colours and smells (not always pleasant…), sounds from everywhere, India appeals to your 5 senses.

But as tiring as it can be at times, we want more.

On the way to our hotel, near the stream that gives its name to the Ghat from which we came, a whole row of houses made of odds and ends are crowded together. There, some little girls invite us into their shack.

In this family, there is this kid who knows how to speak correct English, learned at school he says. And there we get Bodhgaya fatalism in the face, the family asking for money, certainly without insistence but all the same, there is a kind of embarrassment so we decide to go out after a few photos.

This is when we talk a little with the boy. We tell him that if he wants to get by he should try to find a job, especially with his English we encourage him to go around the guest houses where we think he could be useful or even improvise as a guide etc…

Begging, a job?

But no, that's where we could see the fatalism, for him being poor must be summed up as "begging", we feel really powerless and almost angry inside in the face of this observation and this boy potentially full of promise who clearly doesn't want to do anything else to take his destiny into his own hands. Every suggestion we make to him he answers no, no and no, like the doll...

You could go far, little one.

Yet he seems intelligent, once again his English is correct but he says, he must "help his family", this is obviously understandable and we can explain to him precisely that if first he thought of himself and changed his situation, was interested in HIS future, he could then be able to help his family afterwards.

He will remain stubborn in his vision that is too "immediate" without thinking about the long term, clearly the family has put too much into his head what his "role" should be... too bad, we feel quite sorry for his situation but end up going back to the hotel, a little jaded.

I quickly introduced the kid to photography, which immortalizes us dripping with sweat...

Hey I'm here!

After a good nap we will return to our (already) favorite restaurant to see the evening atmosphere at the Ghat, we will then go to bed quite early because tomorrow, our boat trip starts at 7am sharp.

Jitima sipping her smoothie at the restaurant (Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe).