Planes, Trains and Automobiles to India

Well, we made it. After two buses, three taxis, four subways, two planes and a train, all spread over more than 48 hours, we are here in Varanasi, India. We survived despite exhaustion and intermittent delirium, confused and uncertain travel plans, and of course, language barriers. The first thing that struck us upon arriving in Delhi International Airport (where we landed in India) was the poverty. It’s not so much its prevalence as it is obviousness and ubiquity. From the airport, we took a taxi to the train station. We had decided on our second flight that the best choice was to head to Varanasi and from there go to Nepal. We arrived at the train station early in the morning and had to wait for close to two hours before the tourist ticket office opened. The station its self is nothing like what you’d expect to see in the U.S. not that that’s surprising. What was somewhat surprising, at least for us, was the number of people who appear to live at the train station. There must have been more than 75 men, women and children sleeping in various places throughout the building, and everyone simply went about their business without paying them any mind. We had of course heard of the rampant poverty, but nothing really adequately prepares you.

Anyway, our train didn’t leave until 6:30pm so we had a considerable amount of time to use up before hand. We ventured through the throng of people that surrounded the train station, waving off offers of all kinds – I think I could’ve purchased a child or a kidney for a below market price, if I had wanted either, but it would’ve been too much of a hassle and our bags were full enough already. Straight across the street was a somewhat touristy area, though it was also a bit seedy. We spent the day walking around and eating at a rooftop restaurant where we almost surely wore out our welcome, but so it goes on the road.

Finally, departure time came and we boarded the train for Varanasi. The ride was simple and easy. We had purchased middle class sleeper tickets and the bunks were adequate. We shared with a pair of Japanese travelers and a pair of Indians. We got to Varanasi around 8am and got into a taxi. The taxis probably deserve a mention. They are beautiful little round-ish vehicles that look circa 1950s New York City, but they are either bright white or green and yellow. I love them. I want to buy one and ship it home. We took a nice white one to our hotel, the Yogi Lodge. We had thought we were going to the Yogi Lodge down by the Ganges River, but as we found out after checking in, the taxi driver had taken us to a different one. The one we’re at turned out to be better than the one we wanted to go to anyway. We made our way to the other one and found it cramped with shared bathrooms.

Varanasi is packed, same as Delhi. Again, like the poverty, nothing can adequately prepare you. The streets are absolutely clogged with cars, motorcycles, mopeds, bikes, rickshaws, carts full of fruits and veggies, cows and people. It is utter madness, especially at intersections. We spent most of our first day here getting acclimated to the chaos and traffic, and exploring the city. Varanasi is billed as one of the most holy cities in India because of its number of Ghats and its proximity to the Ganges River. There must be 30 or more Ghats all along the banks of the river and several temples within the city. Along the shoreline of the river runs a pathway with steps down into the water and there are people bathing (literally soaping up and rinsing off) and washing their clothes. Behind the path are the Ghats that range in style and use from prayer centers, to yogi centers to burning Ghats. There are two burning Ghats and you are forbidden to take photos at either one, so don’t expect any here, though we have visited both. At the first one, we witnessed the wonderful circle of life. A stack of wood with a shrouded body burned on the steps shortly before the water and directly next to it a pair of dogs were copulating. Now, I wish I could say the dogs were making wild and passionate love, however, that is not their way. It was more a quicky. A wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am (pardon the cliché). It did illustrate the cycle beautifully though.

The Ghats are somewhat better viewed from the water and to that end we arranged to take an early morning boat ride along the shore. So, at 6am we set out for the river where our guide, hired from our lodge, rented us a row boat and a guide and we set off into the great Ganges to pear at the Ghats and the people bathing in the holiest river. The sun was rising, red and cloaked, and the air was thick with smoke from morning fires. We scooted lazily along surrounded by hundreds of other tourists and travelers doing precisely the same. About an hour in, we saw something in the distance that resembled a dead body and as we approached we become more certain until the fact was undeniable. We asked our boat captain and he explained that there are five kinds of people that do net have their bodies cremated: Brahman, pregnant women, children, people killed by a bite from a cobra and lepers. This was one of those five. I have only seen one other dead body in my life and it was much more serene. This one was white and pickled, covered in a shroud except where the cloth had been washed away like around its tight, narrow toes and pail, thin scalp. It was ghostly and dead. Really dead. Not like the body I’d seen before at a funeral. That one was all rouged up and dressed to look like it was napping on the couch after Thanksgiving dinner. This one was not.

We moved on from there to a monkey temple – a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the Hindu god that resembles a monkey (I would call him the monkey god, but I don’t think monkeys are particularly concerned with religion being too busy with cleaning their mates and jumping from things to other things). It was alright. The monkeys that were everywhere were more interesting than the temple its self, if you ask me. That’s really about it thus far.

From here, we will head to Nepal. We should be in Katmandu by Sunday. Wish us luck. We’re having a great time and eating all the Indian food we can handle. I ate a vegetable thali and a half today alone. Go Ducks!

I will include more photos next time.