We spent 3 days and 2 nights in the wonderful city of Varanasi. We ended up staying at the same hotel as Mark and Monica, a couple we've been running into since our first day in India, so we ended up spending some time with them. Varanasi is a very old city. I've never been to Italy but I've heard some of the old cities are made of narrow passages - Varanasi was just that way. This makes for an interesting layout but it poses two problems: it's easy to get lost (but you can always pay a boy 10 rupees to take you to your hotel), and sometimes it's difficult to bypass the larger holy cows. Yes indeed, even Varanasi has free-roaming cows - maybe more so than the other cities we've visited.
The real magic of Varanasi is the spirituality. Varanasi is one of the holiest spots in the world for Hindus. As a result there are priests and worshippers throughout the ghats along the Ganges. In the morning many people come down to the Ghats to bath. The first day I was there I let Kat sleep in and I wandered down to the main Ghat myself. It really was an amazing place. It also helped that the 'Chai Wallahs' were out that early in the morning - Kat and I have found that few people rise early in India!
We also visited the 'burning-man' ghat. Basically it's a cremation process where the bodies ashes are put into the Ganges. Hindus pay huge amounts of money for this rite. The wood is carried downriver to the ghat, and the flames used to ignite the pyre are from an eternal flame that is said to have been continuously burning for 3,000 years. After the fire the 'little body' that is left (basically the charred remains of the chest cavity) is thrown into the river along with the ashes. There is a LOT more to the ceremony but it is very fascinating. I'm sure there's better descriptions on the internet.
From Varanasi we took the train to Agra for the day. We only wanted one day because our only destination was the Taj Mahal. As I'm sure everyone's heard, the Taj Mahal is supposed to be the most wonderful architectural achievement of mankind. And I really have to say that is doesn't disappoint! It's large, but not huge, but it's position makes you have to constantly look up to it. And especially after having been in India for a while the perfect green gardens contrasted with the white marble and the blue sky is beautiful. Inside the mausoleum is the sarcophagus' of the rulers. Surrounding them on the white marble walls are inlays from floor to ceiling. The detail of the marble work is astounding. The Taj is the must see sight in India and Kat and I were both very impressed.
Right now, as I said previously, we're in Jaipur. It's really just a between point on the train for Jaisalmer, but it's been a blessing in disguise. We thought it would be a boring town, and it is, but that's just what we needed! Since we left we're been constantly on the go, around the clock, and it's nice to be somewhere that we don't have an agenda of sights to see or touts to barter with. And after the worst train ride yet - I'll have to tell about this later - we found a great hotel to catch up on sleep in. So far the highlight of this town for us has been the McDonalds. I don't normally eat at McD's at home, but this was the first one we've seen in India so we had to try! I knew something was wrong with the menu but it took me a minute to figure out why I couldn't find the Big Mac - there's no beef! This should have been obvious to be sooner. So I had the Chicken Maharaja Mac. It's not really the same thing at all. For starters it's thin chicken patties and second the sauce is curry flavored! So I didn't really get a taste of home but at least it was entertaining.
Next up.....Jaisalmer and camel rides!!!
PS - pictures are still difficult to load on most computers but I'll keep trying!
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