Varanasi

The week after we went to Kashid we traveled to Varanasi. Varanasi is a city located in the northern part of India on the banks of the Ganges river. According to legend, the city was founded by the Hindu deity, Shiva, around 5,000 years ago, thus making it one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the country. It is one of the seven sacred cities of Hindus. Because of this many people travel there to be blessed by the river or even to die on its banks. If people are unable to make it there while they are alive they can even send their body their to be cremated close to the water and then have their ashes spread in the river.

The night we got there we took a cycle rickshaw to the river. A cycle rickshaw is basically a cart that fits two people that is pulled by a bike. We paid a guy less than a $1 to pull us over a mile from the hotel to the river. Once we got there we paid a guy less than $10 to take us out on a row boat and go up and down the river for over an hour. Here is a view of the city from the boat at night.



The next day Apoorva had to work so I wandered the city on my own. I checked my e-mail, ate lunch, and took a rickshaw on my own. Here's a picture of the driver pulling me.
After lunch I spent some time in our hotel reading and people watching out the window. While the hotel was kinda seedy the view was great. It gives you a good idea of what the city looked like.
Then on Thursday we got up at 5:30 to be on the river at sunrise. It was beautiful.


There were thousands of people bathing in the river because it's thought to be good luck and sacred.


After the sunrise boat tour we ate a traditional breakfast on the street (my immunity has really gotten stronger) and then visited a silk shop where we saw amazing works of what I can only call art. They had handmade saris, scarfs, & linens that take months to make. We picked up a few things for us and family members.

We stopped at the hotel to rest a little then check out and then caught a plane back to Mumbai.

About a week later I flew to the US to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. It was great being home, but I missed Apoorva a lot. I was there in the US when the shootings in Mumbai happened, which put a damper on a normally festive holiday. But Apoorva was greatful that I wasn't in Mumbai when the terrorists attacks happened.