Varanasi

After approximately another 3 hours of sleep, we were up at 4:15 am to make our way to the River Ganges to see the holy pilgrimage at sunrise. We boarded small wooden boats and slowly paddled down the river. Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world , and the Hindus have celebrated the River Ganges for over 2000 years. We watched as men, women, and children cleansed themselves on the banks of the river and performed their morning prayer.












You would have to pay me a million zillion dollars before I went swimming in this river:


As I said before, the Hindus travel great distances to die in Varanasi. We passed a cremation facility during our stretch down the river. You could see the smoke rising from the burning bodies. Once the ashes have been collected, they are distributed into the river.



You only have to pay for the wood to be cremated at the River Ganges, which costs around $100 US dollars. Stacks of wood lined the streets leading into the cremation site.


After we got off the boat we took a winding walk through the back alleys of Varanasi. This walk was probably the most memorable experience I had in India. We swung through twists and turns, coming upon random shrines, holy men, and of course cows. Child beggars flooded us. Just like in the movies, five-year-old girls with babies on their hip would tug at your shirt motioning to the child’s mouth in a plea for money. We were told before arriving in India not to give the children money because it never ended up in their pockets. Instead, they suggested giving them pencils, water, or something else they really needed. I had one girl tail at my side for fifteen minutes, not saying a word, but just looking up at me with huge, desperate eyes. I had nothing on me to give and finally after experiencing much grief from staring at her sunken face we came upon a food stand and had her pick out whatever she wanted. She looked helpless with the food, obviously disappointed. It slowly became clear to me why she was distressed when I saw an adult man trailing and watching accusingly in the near distance. Soon after her, another girl with a silent baby on her hip became my next follower. Something we had been told before, and something I definitely noticed while in India, was the silence of the babies. The babies are giving sedatives to appear sleepy so as to look unhealthy. Some of the babies didn’t even look alive, and I constantly feared that they actually weren’t. The one duo that followed us stayed with us until we got back on the bus, and luckily there was a clothing shop right next door so we took her in and had her pick out a dress. The girl’s face broke into a tiny grin as she chose a very pretty purple ensemble. Although I wanted to feel happy for what we were able to give the kids, it was very hard. The poverty is so vast and so deep in India. No contribution, no matter how large that I could give, would even put a dent into the destitution. I came away very speechless and numb. The sights, the smells, and the feelings I had are something that I won’t ever forget and I wish everyone could experience them. I have never felt more blessed for how lucky I am to be born in the United States. I wondered why I was so fortunate, and why those little girls weren’t. India really invokes a sense of depression and inspiration in you. Depression in the immensity of the poverty all around, but inspiration in that it really triggers a strong emotion that makes you want to find a way to make a difference in the lives of people in such dire need.

Alley:


If you can't tell, I was a little freaked out.


Little girl and baby:


A happy part of my walk through Varanasi was seeing these adorable dogs:


After collecting all of our belongings from the hotel, we did some last minute sight seeing before we left Varanasi. Our first stop was a Buddhist temple located in the park where Sakyamuni Buddha (THE Buddha) preached his first sermon. We also went to a beautiful sculpture museum, as well as walked through the ruins of an ancient monastery.

Buddhist temple:






We were back on airplane that afternoon bound for New Delhi (the capital of India). After being delayed a few hours, we had little time for a tour, but we did see some famous government buildings during a short night tour on the bus. We arrived at our hotel (which was the biggest structure I had ever seen), and got settled in. The hotel had tons of shops, restaurants, and clubs in it. Although we were running purely on fumes, we went to one of the clubs, celebrated for being the best club in Delhi. It was pretty cool, but I was most impressed by the dancing. Indians can dance so well! From salsa music to rap, I was blown away by their moves.