Controlled Chaos

Saturday morning, we arose at 4:30 so we could go down to the Ganges River here in Varanasi and watch the ritual bathing by devout Hindus and the cremation ceremonies for the dead. This is the heart of Hinduism. Took a lot of great photos, but pictures do not and cannot communicate the essence of this place. Even video can't do it. You must be thrust into the midst of the mayhem to truly experience this place. Even with all our trips to southeast Asia, China, and Africa, this place is unique.

For a short few miles, the Ganges River flows north on its 1500 mile journey from the Himalayas to the delta in the Bay of Bengal. That is where Varanasi was founded. It is supposedly the only river in the northern hemisphere that flows opposite from its headwaters at any place in its flow. (I know you will say "what about the Nile", but its headwaters flow north.)

This city has so many people! And so many cows! You continually need to manage with the throngs of people, rickshaws, tuk tuks, bicycles, the occasional body being carried to the Ganges for cremation, while avoiding the traffic, cow pies, and potholes all in the streets 24X7.

We walked thru the narrow alleyways of the old city where families have operated the same shops in the same stalls for generations. Like the walled medinas of north Africa, every section specializes in different wares - silver street, jewelry street, wedding street, furniture street, shoe street, etc..

We never worried about our safety, but they have a sizeable population of beggars and hawkers here. You must just look forward, say "no" and keep walking.

People who live here must suffer from lots of respiratory diseases. The air quality sucks. When we got back to the hotel, we felt like we were covered with a coat of grime. And we were.

You can wash off the sweat, dust, and dirt off of your body and cow pies off your shoes, but you can not ever wash Varanasi out of your mind. A truly amazing place.