From the Ganga, into the clouds...

a sort of "evening mass"

So we made it to Darjeeling, finally, from Varanasi and life couldn't be better. The cool, intoxicating mountain air is just the refresher we needed from the polluted, overpopulated yet blissfully typical India that was Varanasi. The peace of the mountains, and some long uninterrupted walks, have given us our first chance to really debrief and look back on our trip.

Varanasi was really quite special. The Holy City is supposed to be as old as other ancient cities like Jerusalem, Mecca and Athens (according to a postcard, an ever reliable source) and it feels such, walking through the narrow labyrinth of corridors known as the old city. The Ganga and the entire buzz around it is truly beautiful. We saw a nighttime service, with the Brahmins performing puja on the riverside at night. We also took a couple boat rides which gives you the true sense of how important this river really is to the people. They do it all in there. At any time of the day you have people swimming, bathing, brushing their teeth, doing their laundry and of course, cremating their dead, all in the same 6 km stretch of fresh water. All of this makes for one hell of a murky, dirty, milky brown holy river! There have been efforts to revive it, but as long as all of this continues, it seems hopeless. Which nevertheless seems to be OK with the people of Varanasi, so try to argue that.

We still dipped our feet in.


We took an evening boat ride to one of the burning ghats to watch the riverside cremation, which is honestly more somber and low key than weird or whacky as it sounds. I once even had to side step a funeral procession through the streets. Only the men of the family participate in the ceremony, where they carry the body to the ghats, make a fire with logs provided, slather the body in ghee (animal fat) and place the body in the fire. After that they seemingly just stand around chatting and remembering the deceased. The whole procedure is quite peaceful and eerily tranquill and serene and lasts a total of a couple hours.

The city also proved to be the most draining of all we’ve encountered so far, which may be why Darjeeling seems almost Zen like. But even with what seemed like every second person trying to usher you into their shop, sell you some hash or get you in their rickshaw, or all the, pardon my french, shit everywhere! (as cows run and roam free through every little street) the city truly had a cool vibe, with lots of little hippie café’s and music shops and hippies and cheap clothes everywhere.

Getting out of the city was another story though, one I’ll leave up to Cass. Til then...

PS these pics were supposed to be on cass' post but the camera died, i feel bad taking credit for the them. Thanks again uncle bill for letting us borrow yr digi! its really quite nice and great.
in the clouds...

HOLY MOTHER GANGES

hello all!
This week we have surfaced in Veranasi the home of the famous ghats that lead into the holy Ganges river.
The ghats are steps leading into the water where people from all over India come, to do pretty much everything. It is amazing how much is going on at one time in the same river. At one end there is the cremation ceremonies where the ashes are then released into the water. Then down that same river the city's sewage pipes are being dumped as well as many factories depositing toxic and other types of waste. Then further down the river there are people bathing, drinking the water and doing laundry. It is pretty crazy.
Also note to future travelers you should not get your laundry done in Varanasi or open your mouth in the shower.

As amazing as the action on the river is I found the state of the river extremely sad. I think the people have this feeling that because this is their holy river there is no need to protect it. Which is clearly not the case because from what I have read since being here is that most of the animals that live in the river are becoming endangered. So even though seeing the pilgrams pray and do puja in the river is enlightening, you feel saddened by the state that the river and city is in. It is full of pollution and garbage and it is ruining the sacred feel that this place should and once possessed. There is some notion around that people want to clean the river but in such an ancient city with strong tradition, I could see that kind of change would be difficult to encourage.

This thursday we will be trading in our prayer beads for hiking boots and heading to Darjeeling. Darjeeling is a little mountain town with amazing treks and white water rafting. I think it will be a really nice quite break from all the hectic places we have been.

Until then,
Namaste

UPDATE!!

shot of our evening camel journey in Pushkar

It has been forever since our last post. Sincerest apologies!
We encountered computer crashes and lack of time and technology at the camp and everywhere else we've been. Just wanted to say we are alive and well! Its only been 2 weeks but so much has happened its tough to know where to begin...

We went on a couple weekend trips to Jaipur, and a sleepy hippie mountainside town, Pushkar, completed our volunteering at the camp and in the slum school, have seen the Taj Mahal and now the Golden Temple in Amritsar, our current stop.

Pushkar was amazing! It was such a nice break from the hectic hussle and bustle of city life. The fact there was no rickshaws and you could get around on foot was blissful. It was such a peaceful, quiet and serene atmosphere, with lots of tourists and plenty of em hippies. The merch was super cheap and we climbed a mountain and went on an evening camel ride where we rode back into town under the moonlight.

We also finished our volunteering at the camp where for the last two weeks we taught in the slums at a makeshift school in the center. Kids would drop in everyday and we taught them the rudimentaries of the english language, math and played games with them. I can probably say it was the most amazing and rewarding experience of my life. We taught kids from the ages of 2 to 14, who would show up and just soak up as much as they could. They have nothing these kids. Some better off than others of course, but you had kids in rags, children bringing in their naked baby brother, their pet goat, etc. The people there live in huts made of sticks and tarps and held together with twine or plastic bags. Its hard to put into words the magitude of feeling one goes through being there. But there is also a sense of pride amongst them. They are happy and smiling and doing their best to get by. Their houses were all swept and tidy. There is alot more to say about our experiences there and I assure you, we will.
slum school group photo

In the end our time at the camp was well worth the experience and we made some good friends and travel partners as well. Our last week at the camp, 3 new volunteers showed up (from UK, Australia and Belgium). All girls naturally. It was like a week spent in silence for me, being the only dude amongst 6 chicks, but i must say, if anything, I learnt alot... Our friend Bhavani (aka Bini) is with us now in Amritsar and making the journey to Varanasi as well. She is a total blast to travel with and such great company.

We've now seen the Taj Mahal and the Golden Temple here in Amritsar which will have to be discussed in greater detail soon, and went through a 3 hour hell trying to catch a train in Delhi. Never go to Delhi. We make our way to the Holy City of Varanasi now to catch the end of the Diwali festival, a sort of Hindu Christmas, as descibed by Bini. Just wanted to update everyone that all is well and we will now continue regular posting. So long!

Ps Happy thanksgiving Canada


chillin