Our journey in India started in Varanasi, the holiest city in Hindu religion and certainly one of the most intense, atmospheric places we have been to. After Nepal, we thought we were prepared for what was waiting for us... but we realized very soon, that it was impossible to stay unaffected by the extreme sights, smells and religious flavor of this place!
What makes Varanasi so special?
First of all, it is the oldest continuously occupied city on Earth, and it shows... the streets conditions here are just as “3rd world” and chaotic as in Kathmandu...
Then, being the most important holy city in the Hindu religion as well as the birthplace of Buddhism, Varanasi is full of spirituality and ritual. On our first evening, we watched the evening riverside Aarti ceremony at the ghats, a ritual on the bank of the Ganges, which is hard to imagine!
An amazing combination of light and sound, while thousands of locals and pilgrims make their offerings to the river goddess Lady Ganga.
It is said that the Ganges must be seen at two different times of the day. In the early morning fog, the Ganges appeared more spiritual and intimate. We watched the life along the ghats (large stone stairs leading into the water) from a boat the next morning ...
The whole spectrum of Life (and Death) was played out before us: faithful Hindus bathing in the holy water of the Ganges (most Hindus come to dip in the Ganga at least once in their lives),
... people swimming or doing their laundry in the river, people being cremented, or ... have their ashes brought here and immersed into the Ganga. All of this along the same river!
After the boat ride, we walked through the impossibly narrow passageways of the the old city which were too narrow even for rickshaws to enter, only cows and dogs wandered around freely and dead bodies were carried down to the river. It was the time when we started to feel that we needed to get out of this place... thus we appraised our guide's idea to visit Sarnath, which is located about 13 kms of Varanasi ... an important place in Buddhism as it is the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon after he got enlighten. A huge Stupa marks the actual spot where the sermon was delivered:
After a refreshing shower and some rest in the afternoon, we were ready for our first overnight train ride on Indian railways from Varanasi to Agra... our first impressions: an organized chaos! There were people everywhere in the train station and sleeping on the floor, but the train was already in the station 30 before departure time and we could even find our names listed on the carriage!
We had tickets for a 2AC sleeper carriage, which is second of eight classes in India and pretty ok if you are tired enough to be able to ignore the train vendors passing by every 5 minutes trying to sell some tea, fruits, dinner and whoknowswhat ... but after all, we were travelling to India to experience India... and more importantly, we were on the way to Agra and could hardly wait to see the Taj Mahal!
All our photos from Uttar Pradesh
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Varanasi |
What makes Varanasi so special?
First of all, it is the oldest continuously occupied city on Earth, and it shows... the streets conditions here are just as “3rd world” and chaotic as in Kathmandu...
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Varanasi |
Then, being the most important holy city in the Hindu religion as well as the birthplace of Buddhism, Varanasi is full of spirituality and ritual. On our first evening, we watched the evening riverside Aarti ceremony at the ghats, a ritual on the bank of the Ganges, which is hard to imagine!
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Varanasi |
An amazing combination of light and sound, while thousands of locals and pilgrims make their offerings to the river goddess Lady Ganga.
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Varanasi |
It is said that the Ganges must be seen at two different times of the day. In the early morning fog, the Ganges appeared more spiritual and intimate. We watched the life along the ghats (large stone stairs leading into the water) from a boat the next morning ...
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Varanasi |
The whole spectrum of Life (and Death) was played out before us: faithful Hindus bathing in the holy water of the Ganges (most Hindus come to dip in the Ganga at least once in their lives),
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Uttar Pradesh |
... people swimming or doing their laundry in the river, people being cremented, or ... have their ashes brought here and immersed into the Ganga. All of this along the same river!
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Varanasi |
After the boat ride, we walked through the impossibly narrow passageways of the the old city which were too narrow even for rickshaws to enter, only cows and dogs wandered around freely and dead bodies were carried down to the river. It was the time when we started to feel that we needed to get out of this place... thus we appraised our guide's idea to visit Sarnath, which is located about 13 kms of Varanasi ... an important place in Buddhism as it is the place where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon after he got enlighten. A huge Stupa marks the actual spot where the sermon was delivered:
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Uttar Pradesh |
After a refreshing shower and some rest in the afternoon, we were ready for our first overnight train ride on Indian railways from Varanasi to Agra... our first impressions: an organized chaos! There were people everywhere in the train station and sleeping on the floor, but the train was already in the station 30 before departure time and we could even find our names listed on the carriage!
 |
| From ASIA - INDIA - Uttar Pradesh |
We had tickets for a 2AC sleeper carriage, which is second of eight classes in India and pretty ok if you are tired enough to be able to ignore the train vendors passing by every 5 minutes trying to sell some tea, fruits, dinner and whoknowswhat ... but after all, we were travelling to India to experience India... and more importantly, we were on the way to Agra and could hardly wait to see the Taj Mahal!
All our photos from Uttar Pradesh
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