Hello! We have arrived in Nepal!
We spent our last days in India in Varanasi, a holy city on the banks of the Ganges River. Varanasi is most famous as the site that Hindus go to die, or next best, where their ashes are sent after cremation for scattering in the most holy river in India. It was among the dirtiest cities that we have seen, however there is something almost magical about it. Spirituality is everywhere. On any of the tiny alley ways of the old city you will find several small shrines built into the walls or added on to the walls. The shrines are for several different gods, but the main ones seem to be Shiva and Ganesha. All are scattered with flowers or small offerings of sweets or incense. Everywhere you walk, like other cities we visited, your nose is full of both good and bad smells, sometimes at the same time.
In Varanasi we visited the burning ghats. As I mentioned, many Hindus go to Varanasi toward the end of their lives. The city has many “dharamsalas” or rest houses, as well as hospices where many will live until they die. Others come to the city and sleep on the streets. The burning ghats were very close to our hotel and the fires burn 24X7. At night you can see the light of the fires reflecting on the rising smoke, and with the Ganges alight with hundreds of floating candles (”puja” or offerings) it is a pretty amazing sight. We were told that depending on the day between 160 and 200 people are cremated at the ghats. Once a person dies, their family (males only allowed) attend their cremation. Small pyres are built from 200 kg of wood taken from enormous piles, the wood used is dependent on caste. The body, wrapped in a shroud is placed on the pyre and the wood lighted by a family member. People cremated at one of Varanasi’s ghats have “immediate liberation into the next life”. In a country where you see everything happening in front of your eyes, it seems to fit that the exit from life is a part of the mix. The sight of the fires (at one point we saw 14 burning) is something neither of us will soon forget.
From Varanasi we took a train to Gorakphur where we slept for a night. I ended up getting about 40 mozzie bites on my legs, which wasn’t a highlight. From Gorakphur we took a crazy bus across to the India/Nepal border. It was the perfect last trip from India. Packed, cramped bus that was delayed until one annoyed passenger got out of his seat and slugged the driver. The whole bus was standing and yelling (not sure which side they were taking) in about 5 seconds. About two minutes later the enraged passenger was seated and the bus departed.
We made it across the border and took a car to Lumbini where we stayed for two nights. Lumbini is the birthplace of Buddha, and is therefore another holy city. We rented bikes and toured the town, most of which is a large reserve with many monasteries erected by different countries. Really nice place, but outside of the monasteries, the town pretty well shut down at 6 pm.
Today we arrived to a town near Chitwan National Park where we hope to do an elephant back safari tomorrow and some other fun stuff. More later.
Hope all is well at home
xoxox
Paula
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