WELCOME TO VARANASI

Dave, this is a pic of the many boats on the Ganges in Varanasi. It is hard to describe this place in words. There is something otherworldy about this Holy site. The air is thick with incense and the smoke from the burning Ghats. The Ghat promenade teems with children selling offerings for the river, Sadhus[holy men] bathing in the water, that contains some of the most harmful bacteria in the world. Tourists drink Chai in glasses rinsed with the water. Cremations at the two burning Ghat's continue 24/7. Indians from all over the country, bring their dead here to say farewell. The children are not allowed to be cremated, so are wrapped in cloth and sent gently down the river. On our early morning boat trip, we saw two small children floating in the water. There was an emotionless response to something so pimal. Peace springs to mind, which at times wavers to the unsettling realization that the end is only a few heart beats away for all of us. The dirt, filth, prayers and death that punctuates this place is another reminder of the beautiful truth that makes this country so extraordinary.

Kai and I are staying at a good hotel, where the food is clean and the room comfortable. Unfortunately Kai spent a day being sick. We think it was due to a hastily eaten chicken burger here in Varanasi. No meat for 4 weeks, can cause irrational behaviour!!! We took an early morning boat trip to catch the sunrise and the awakening of the Ghats. Just beautiful. Half way through the boat trip, I took over from our skipper and began the tough task of rowing our heavy boat. No one blinked an eye, as the people here, have more important things on their minds. The sun began to shine and the women and men began their ritual washing and defecating. Teeth were brushed in the sewage filled water, litle girls, guided by their mothers submerged themselves in the river, giggling. The tiring washing of clothes began again, and the prayers from the temples and burning Ghats, softened the hardships that these people have to endure every single day of their lives. Are we the lucky ones? Perhaps. Yet, there is something here so known, so raw about the rituals of these people, that a part of me feels that to whitness this is to whitness something of the essence of life.....