We’ve had our fair share of struggles in relation to cancelled Ubers and getting ripped off by taxi drivers at the airport, so we think we’ve sussed the system by now and arrive at Varanasi airport with a plan to do better in Varanasi. Success… what has often been an ordeal in other cities, was actually a breeze in Varanasi and we’ve retained some of our Rishikesh-inspired peace on arrival to our hotel.
Pro tip for anyone reading this hoping for advice; we found Ubers always cancelled or went to a different meeting point, and you get accosted by taxi drivers wanting to take you themselves, for the Uber price + 30% until you are worn down and relent… so we started checking the price in Uber, telling the preying taxi drivers we had an Uber on the way and we’d only cancel if they matched the price… bingo.
Driving through this sacred city as a couple of empaths who feel everything and had been warned by basically everyone how full on this city is, we took in the views and tried to not let the screeching horns and jostling traffic penetrate our bubble too much. It feels poignant that we arrive to the city where people come to farewell their loved ones, on the anniversary of my dad’s death… I know he’d be proud to see me continuing the love of travel he instilled in me from a young age and I feel his energy with me especially on this day.
Our hotel is great, we hit another home run with scorching showers and are both relieved to find the weather here is very comfortable, and we can finally ditch some of the bulky layers we had to wear in the north. Verity has taken the lead in finding a kickass dinner spot after we fasted on our drive from Rishikesh to Delhi airport, and flight here.. as soon as she says, “this place has 10,000 reviews and everyone says is a foodies heaven… “, I’m sold. I definitely get my love of food from my Dad so if this is his day, then hell yeah we’re gonna break our fast with a big ol’ Indian feast.
What we got, far exceeded my expectations. Not only did we meet a wonderfully kind, fair and patient tuk tuk driver in Mr Nando (a blessing in itself) to drive us to dinner, he confirmed the reviews are accurate: “if you don’t like Baati Chokha, your ride tonight is free” and we were nearly salivating waiting for the food to arrive.
Despite both of our extensive knowledge and passion for Indian food, we had to google so many items on the menu but eventually just went for the house special, at the insistence of the staff. Good move… first came the homemade sauces and chutneys, then two balls of hot, fire-roasted dough were put on our leafy plate. We slowly tore them open… tendrils of steam pour from them, and we crack them open to find pieces of paneer (Indian cheese), garlic and spices filling the inside. It’s like a stuffed dinner roll on steroids. Our server shows us the ropes… first you pour the ghee (butter) over the delicious hot bread ball, then you dip in the chutney, and pop it in your mouth. Pause, and let your tastebuds moan in ecstasy.
My first thought, is how the hell did I not know about these delicious things?! I am obsessed with Indian food! 3 trips here, and in the final week I get my hands on what I know will be my new obsession. Turns out they’re special to this part of India, and although I’ll now be keeping a very close eye on any menus for the rest of the trip, there’s a good chance I won’t get them again before we go (or back in Australia either), so neither of us hesitate in ordering another round of baati balls asap.
The combo special for 260 rupees (about $4) includes Dahl, veg curry, butter paneer curry, papdums, raita, salad and a buttermilk dessert for a sweet… and its easily the best $4 I’ve spent all trip. We’re completely stuffed, but there’s always a dessert pocket so Nando drops us by his favourite local sweet shop, where we get a sampling of about 10 different Indian sweets to take back to our room to eat in bed. Varanasi, you’re not so bad after all.
We’re up early for our first organised tour of the trip; a private driver and guide from sunrise to 8pm. Our first stop is a sunrise boat trip on the Ganges river, and as we wait for the boat to be prepared, we watch as hoards of locals arrive to bath in the holy river and start their day with elaborate rituals of worship.
I’m always amazed at the level of dedication, commitment and passion of Indian people to their religion… every day is started and ended in thanks and gratitude to their chosen god. They perform the ceremony in the morning to ask for the health and protection of their loved ones for the day ahead; and return to the rivers’ ghats each evening at sunset to thank their gods for keeping their loved ones safe, ask for protection for the night ahead, and return the next day to do it all over again.
And it’s no chore, there’s no dragging their feet like a teenager being dragged to church on Sunday by their parents… they love to join their community to give thanks, and it makes me realise what’s missing in western culture. Most of us waste far too much time with our heads stuck in the phone, or Netflix, and don’t even pause to think about the food we’re shovelling into our mouth, let alone who or what we’re grateful for, for the life we live. And these people have nothing compared to all the luxuries we take for granted.. yet you wouldn’t know it judging by their smiles. It’s one of the biggest lessons I learnt from Mother India all those years ago on my first visit, and the lessons have remained part of my daily life ever since… and I’m adding a few more tools into my daily practice from this trip, to encourage myself to live a more grateful, and present life like these beautiful people do.
Of course, it’s never always all rainbows and butterflies in this complex, chaotic and charismatic country. Despite there being a higher number of foreigners in Varanasi due to its huge spiritual presence which draws tourists from all over the world, we are stared at, swarmed and smiled at constantly (sometimes all at once). We’re grateful we chose the private tour, as we look at large groups crammed onto boats all fighting to get the perfect shot… we peacefully cruise along the river on a small wooden boat, just the two of us, our guide and captain, taking it all in from a distance. Our guide points out important monuments and ghats (stairs leading to the river) and we gain deeper insight into the rituals performed in this special place.
Then of course, thanks to V… we get the most epic photos.
I’ve seen the Instagram photos of people on the Ganges river with birds flying overhead, and thought wow what a moment to be able to capture… well I’m here to spoil the illusion of perfection guys, there are boat people cruising around selling bags of ‘bird food’ (looks like crispy fried noodles, but the birds go ape shit for it), calling them over and we take turns throwing fistfuls of it in the air to get the shot.
So candid, right?
We’d hung onto our colourful skirts from the similarly holy and equally hectic Pushkar, knowing Varanasi is the spot we’d like to get some pretty pictures and then donate them to the poor, along with the warm clothes we’d purchased in North India. Damn, the locals really loved our skirts! After the boat ride and some local Varanasi specialities for breakfast, we walked the streets and were accosted for photos on every block, which of course we obliged as much as possible despite the crazy traffic and feeling Iike we were going to get run over every 3 seconds (sidewalks? What sidewalks…) walking as close to the side of the road as we could. We eventually made it out to our waiting driver, and reminded ourselves that this level of traffic was actually quiet by normal standards. It’s 8am on a Sunday, this is the quietest part of the day and the week in Varanasi, in the low tourist season. We thanked Lord Shiva that we’d elected for a guide, as trying to bargain with a tuk tuk driver in this environment is not evenly slightly relaxing or fun.
Being such a holy place, temples are big on the tourist agenda in Varanasi so we started the tour with the red Shiva temple, Kaal Bhairav, Mahamrityunjay, and a couple others I can’t recall the name of. We were stopped to take photos at every turn, and since I love to see their beaming faces when I say yes, we obliged. Again, and again, and again… eventually our guide had to drag us out of there before we got mobbed, or we’d never made it through the rest of the tour.
At the red temple, our guide was trying to explain the meaning behind the offerings to this particular temple but a small crowd had started to gather, until finally a man plucked the courage to ask us to have a photo with his wife… that one man’s courage resulted in about 15 minutes of us being passed around to pose for photos with a crowd of curious onlookers, more focus on us in that moment than the actual temple! Little old ladies with no English looked deep into my eyes, holding my hands in theirs, smiling widely and bowing to us. There’s no point resisting… we had to surrender to India.
After the temple tour, we visited Sarnath, where it’s told that Buddha delivered his first sermon and set the ‘wheel of dharma’ in motion in the 5th century. The teenage and early 20s boys seemed to be our fans here, and despite us wandering off to the grassy surrounds to try to find some peace to meditate in this sacred place, we were soon interrupted to pose for a photo and Verity was convinced to subscribe to his YouTube channel (LOL).
Finally, it was lunchtime and we were starving. We’d been talking all day about these baati chokras and did not even hesitate to decide we’d return for dinner the very next day (hey, when you find something you love, go hard right), but when lunchtime hunger kicked in we rationalised that we’d be at a evening ceremony until late and the restaurant would likely pack out, so fuck it, lets go back for lunch. You only live once, and we weren’t taking any chances of not getting a second taste.
Good move, as even at 2pm there were no tables left and we were seated at the end of another larger groups’ table (pretty standard in a country with so many people). We didn’t care: just get those delicious balls of dough back in our mouth please!
Round two didn’t disappoint, the meal was just as delicious and we sat in awed contendness at the end of our feast for how goddam good they were.
The tour picked back up with a walking tour, which entailed fighting the endless stream of traffic in every direction, with every manner of transport pushing and jostling to be first – car, motorbike, scooter, push bike, horse & cart, tricycle, on foot and of course you can’t forget the cows standing calmly in the centre of traffic as if they had no idea of the chaos around them (oh to come back in your next life as an Indian cow, honestly). Our guide charged ahead with all the confidence of a local, while we anxiously tried to keep up, not get run over, and ignore the pleads of children, mothers and holy men with hands cupped begging for money.
Finally we made it to the ghats, where we got to take in the mornings boat ride view from the very banks we cruised past. We’d ditched the skirts by now, as it drew too much attention and as it was we couldn’t make it 5 metres without being stopped for a photo. We dodged flying balls from kids playing street cricket, and the chaos around us was just another day of the week for these guys.
Varanasi is an assault on the senses. Loud, chaotic, relentless and dirty, you’re pressured for a photo, a purchase, or a donation at every turn. I knew all this before arriving, yet I still felt a deep pull to come here, to the place people travel from all over the world to burn their loved ones bodies in open public viewing, for less than the cost of a massage or a meal. Yet it doesn’t feel pitiful, or even obtrusive – Indian culture deals with death in a manner so unlike the West, and I felt a peaceful calm yesterday while quietly watching a carcass loaded onto carefully prepared stack of logs by this man’s family. Watched him burn to ash, with so many other strangers doing the same, to be sacrificed to the holy river who’s banks we stood at.
The evening’s main event is the Ganga Aarti, which we’d witnessed in Rishikesh and knew was a bit more elaborate in Varanasi thanks to all the tourists. It was crazy busy; even with our guide reserving us special seats in a high viewing spot away from the main crowds, it was still bustling even an hour before anything started, and we were strictly instructed to get to our seats early or we’d lose them.
It’s hard to believe they go to this much trouble every single day, but they do. Stages are set up, shrines are constructed with rose petals spread over multiple platforms all up and down the Ganges’ ghats in all directions. Approximately 3000 people come here every day, as part of their normal day… we couldn’t think of anything worse as Australians who are used to their space. Its like going to a big music festival or concert and being jam packed headed for the exits after the headline act finishes, and you’re all herded out like cattle… except, you do that every day, for your entire life. And you don’t know anything different, so it’s normal and all part of life. It’s so different to what we know.
We jumped ship a little early, knowing it would be absolute chaos…and even though we left earlier than most, it was still a complete clusterfuck trying to get out of there and we breathed a big sigh when we finally made it to the taxi after a 30 minute pushing and shoving contest… and then there was the drive back to the hotel. We thanked ourselves for the foresight of a big lunch, as we had no desire for dinner or any more crowds of people… back to the hotel for an early night for us thanks.
The following morning, we returned to the ghats at sunrise to take some time to ourselves to have a little ceremony for our own deceased loved ones, and to watch the day unfold down there before things got too hectic… then followed it up with some yoga. He was no Rakesh (our new favourite yoga teacher from Rishikesh)… but doing yoga from a building overlooking the ghats and the holy river, was something pretty special and as usual, I feel pretty fucking grateful that I got to have this experience.
Mumbai, my favourite Indian city of all, is up next!
belletakesontheworld 