Varanasi. Benares. Kashi. Benasi. Known by many names. Home of the Momma Ganga, the Ganges River. The spiritual center of India:
Honeymoon recap: Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and now India: Varanasi.
After a hairy night in a total tourist trap hotel out by the airport, in Delhi, we finally arrived in Varanasi. India is an intense place and we spent the next week acclimating to indian life. Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world and it’s citizens live almost as they did hundreds of years ago. Varanasi life revolves around the Ganges River and the series of stone steps called “ghats” organized in sections, with each section dedicated to a particular function or deity. The ghats host hindu pilgrims from around India and the world, who come to pay their respects to the holiest river in India. Up at the top of each ghat are tiny alleyways called “chowks” that snake through the city. We stayed in “Assi Ghat” at the advice of my homies Isaiah and Jess and we spent our days walking the ghats and chowks getting into a types of mischief. Along the way, we experienced India’s near-iconic traffic jams. Jams of cars and bicycles, jams of rickshaws, we even experienced people jams in the chowks near the golden temple in Gondulia. We took a day trip to Sarnath (the place where the Buddha gave his first teachings). and tried to get to Bodhgaya (where the Buddha attained enlightenment) but all trains were completely booked.
Ya see, India has a rhythm and pace all it’s own. People often say it, but until you experience it, you have no idea. Up until this point in our trip, I think we were in control of our destinies. Once we hit India, it took us a handful of days to feel the rhythm, to succumb to it and to let go of our preconceptions. I mean this both literally and figuratively.
India isn’t a place, it’s an experience, a frame of mind. Welcome to Varanasi.
amazing, Amazing, AMAZING! Your photos totally drew me in. They are spectacular!