| Submitted by: Mark S. Nowak United States |
| Submission Date: 07 February 2005 |
|
 |
|
| There was no wondow and it was pretty tight. Across the aisle were compartments that held four people. Marc, Marie, Jenny and Lisa were in one near me, and it looked like they had a lot more fun being together. We didn't have the whole carriage to ourselves. Katherine, Antje, Karen and Jo were in the one across from me. Jergen was in the bunk next to mine. The train was supposed to leave at 11:15 PM, but left a little after that.
Getting ready for sleep was kind of fun in an adventurous exotic way. It was quite an experience trying to get my blanket unfolded in my small bunk which also contained my large backpack. Rachel told us it was like a Marilyn Monroe movie. I gave Rachel a hard time by joking that that was before my time and adding, 'Who's Marilyn Monroe?' I think Rachel told me to shut up at that point. I wouldn't have traded with the crowded compartments we saw full of Indians. A night in such quarters would have been awful. It remined me of the trains the Nazis took Jews in to concentration camps, but they did have windows.
I ate some Life Saver type candy as I wrote for a while before going to sleep. I wished I could be sharing this experience with friends back home, or that they could have a similar experience. I felt a cold sore developing on the left side of my lower lip. When I settled to go to sleep, I didn't use my blanket or the second available sheet. Since I couldn't see outside, my compass at least could still verify we were headed further east. I turned off the light over my bunk. As I fell asleep, the only sensations I had were the sound and vibration of the train moving in the dark.
It had been quite a day.
|
Getting ready for sleep was kind of fun in an adventurous exotic way. It was quite an experience trying to get my blanket unfolded in my small bunk which also contained my large backpack. Rachel told us it was like a Marilyn Monroe movie. I gave Rachel a hard time by joking that that was before my time and adding, 'Who's Marilyn Monroe?' I think Rachel told me to shut up at that point. I wouldn't have traded with the crowded compartments we saw full of Indians. A night in such quarters would have been awful. It remined me of the trains the Nazis took Jews in to concentration camps, but they did have windows.
I ate some Life Saver type candy as I wrote for a while before going to sleep. I wished I could be sharing this experience with friends back home, or that they could have a similar experience. I felt a cold sore developing on the left side of my lower lip. When I settled to go to sleep, I didn't use my blanket or the second available sheet. Since I couldn't see outside, my compass at least could still verify we were headed further east. I turned off the light over my bunk. As I fell asleep, the only sensations I had were the sound and vibration of the train moving in the dark.
It had been quite a day.
|
Varanasi (or Benares) is the city of Shiva, the most sacred Hindu city and a major pilgrimage site where many orthodox Hindus come to die. Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi ends the cycle of death and rebirth. Instead of being reincarnated, they attain Nirvana. Consequently, the city is full of elderly and crippled people begging in the streets. Hindus try to come to Varanasi at least once in their lives to bathe in the waters of the Ganges. The name Varanasi is derived from the names of two rivers that meet there. Kashi (which means City of Divine Light) is another name for the city. Buddhism is to Hinduism much like Christianity is to Judaism in that the Buddha never claimed to be anything but a Hindu and Jesus was a Jew.
We were supposed to arrive around 7:00 AM, but we were a little late. I ended up following Jerry to the bathroom after I woke up. The train station was bustling with travellers and people selling food. We followed the porters who carried our bags to our new bus which drove us to the Hotel Ideal Tops. The city was crowded and dirty. The air was hot and dusty and full of fumes. This was easily the hardest city for me to enjoy. All of our rooms weren't ready, so some of us had to wait in the lobby for a while. The local Imaginative Traveller agent collected our airline tickets so that he could reconfirm them. I hated giving up my ticket since getting it had been such a hassle and Rachel and I both figured my seat was confirmed since I had just obtained it yesterday. Breakfast wasn't included this morning, so we had to order and pay for it ourselves in the hotel restaurant.
Jerry and I were in room 314. I took a shower (which flooded the bathroom floor) while Jerry ate breakfast. When I asked for towels, I only got one. After Jerry came up, I went down for breakfast. I ate with Jenny and Jo and stayed to talk with Jenny. I had eggs, juice and Thums Up cola which was awful for about 110 Rs. Jerry took the opportunity to do some laundry. I did the same when I got back up. The phone in our room wasn't working, so I called Sara from the lobby. They charged me 95 Rs for the time. The cold sore on my lip was hardly noticable, but the glands under and on the left side of my jaw were getting sensitive. I wrote my friends Chris, Andy & Heidi postcards. I needed stamps, so I went out to try to find the nearby post office. It turns out I made a wrong turn (left instead of right) when I got out of the hotel, so I had to postpone mailing the postcards.
At 3:00 PM we went on an afternoon excursion to Sarnath, a city ancient even when the Buddha visited it in 500 B.C. It is just 11km from Varanasi. Sarnath is famous for being the site of the Buddha's first sermon. We visited the museum there where we saw the Lion Capitol on an Ashokan pillar which was built by King Ashoka at Sarnath and can be seen on present day Indian currency. We struggled to answer my question about to whom Buddhists pray. Paul ended up talking with a bunch of school children who arrived there as well.
There were quite a few monks and beggars around. Children would come up to us while we toured the Buddhist complex and saw Sarnath Deer Park wanting us to buy some souvenirs. We had to take our shoes off to enter the Sarnath Temple. Walking around in my socks didn't seem the best way to go. Some of the others wore sandals (Birkenstocks and Tevas) and walked in bare feet inside the temples which looked pretty good to me, but Jerry didn't think it was better since then you got you feet dirty instead of just your socks. Strangely, the temple with its paintings depressed me. Some Buddhist beliefs seemed so silly to me, and it made me wonder about some of my own. I got out of tipping for my shoes again. I just didn't have small change, and they didn't make it easy for you to get it.
We ended up having time to visit a nearby Tibetan Buddhist monastery which I really enjoyed. We could hear the monks chanting when we entered the complex. We had to once again take off our shoes to enter. The monks were sitting in rows chanting. We were welcomed inside and allowed to take pictures as we moved in a clockwise direction around the room. The experience was very cool. I donated some money into a collection box for taking photographs. A sign asked for a meager 2 Rs. I gave 5 Rs. It was refreshing not to have someone come up to you and ask for money. They even offered us fruit before we left -- I had an apple. I think the thing that struck me most was how welcome I felt. Before we left the complex I stopped by a little shop they had. A woman was running it. There were some very nice crafts there. I asked how much they cost and was amazed at how little she was asking. I bought a wall hanging made out of wool that has a small bell in its center. Just when I was feeling quite drained, I felt really good again.
Back at the hotel we had to have someone come up to fix our toilet so that it flushed. I rested. We planned to go to a restaurant around the corner for dinner at 7:00 PM, but it turned into an outing to the ghats on the banks of the Ganges River where laundry is done, people bathe and corpses are cremated. The ghats are really just steps that go down the banks to the river. Not everyone decided to go. We took two taxis. Six of us got in each one. Traffic was probably the most outrageous and frightening I had yet seen in my life. We drove quickly in poorly defined streets where you couldn't always tell where their borders were. They were crowded with vehicles, pedestrians and all kinds of animals. There were times when we had to go over the median and drive on the wrong side of the road. It was crazy. It was hot and there was a lot of dust in the air as well.
Eventually, we had to abandon the taxis and go the rest of the way on foot. We moved quickly and at times we seemed in danger of losing people. There was some kind of celebration going on by the river. When we got there, it was crowded. I believe we were at Dasashwamedh ghat (not from any signs, but it's supposed to be the main ghat), and it looked like we were at the center of a lot of activity. We decided to hire a boat to take us on the river. At this point I was tired and hungry. I felt drained and was not having the best time. Sue and **** gave up and decided to find their own way back to the hotel. Rachel, Carolyn, Marissa, Lisa, Jerry, Jergen, Jenny and I hired a boat. On the way we paid 5 Rs for small ashtray type containers that held a candle and flowers and floated on the water. They were being sold by little girls who very loudly with high whiny voices demanded to be paid. When we pulled away from the banks, we lit the candles and released the flowers onto the water. It was a ritual meant to be performed at sunset, but it was beautiful in the evening dark.
Music was being played as our oarsmen rowed us up and down the Ganges. We saw a number of ghats. One of the oarsmen said that I looked like a famous Indian movie star. I must have been getting a tan. We almost didn't go to Manikarnika ghat, the cremation ghat, but I'm glad we did. No pictures are allowed there. We saw three fires, each a corpse being burned with wood. There was a smoldering area nearby -- perhaps where one was cremated not too long ago. There were also two wrapped bodies waiting to be burned. The deceased's closest male relative dressed in white stays for the entire burning. The ashes are then thrown into the river.
One of our oars got away and would have gotten away if I hadn't put my hand in the polluted water to grab it. When we got back to the river bank, we had to climb back up to the streets. I saw a little girl squat down to go to the bathroom in full view of everyone on the way. We had a crazy walk to the restaurant. I don't remember ever seeing a street sign, and I didn't like the idea of getting lost here. We ate at the El Parador. |
|
| Copyright © - "Mark S. Nowak" |
|
