Incredible India: Holy Varanasi! (Part II)

Hold on! Second part of our journey to India is here! Varanasi (also knowns as Benares) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.  This article is about our journey to the spiritual capital of India.

Getting there
The first part of our journey left us in Agra, contemplating the beautiful masterpiece of Shah Jahan: Taj Mahal.

 We had tickets for the train from Agra to Varanasi departing at 20:40. It was a smart decision because one day was absolutely enough for Agra and instead of wasting time in hostels we were planning to sleep in the train on our way to the holy city.

After a fierce bargaining we took a rickshaw from Taj Ganj to Agra Cantonment Railway Station. What a surprise to found out that our train actually leaves from the other railway station: Agra Fort!

Tip: Before you go for your train always check your place of departure ;)

Tired of the whole process we had to bargain again. The drivers were trying to convince us that there is a price set by the government and we would not pay less than 150R. Well, we paid just 50R. I was really proud with Biljana! We were getting better each and every day :D

After we arrived at the right station we rushed to the enquiry counter to ask the same guy about our tickets to Darjeeling. Remember? That was our main concern and it was turning  almost into a problem because we were running out of time. Our plan was to spend just one day in Varanasi and the same evening to do the same - to take a night train to Darjeeling.

After my short educational research about the options to reach Darjeeling I knew the only way would be to take that train from Mughal Sarai to Jaipalguri. For our biggest surprise the guy told us:

- No tickets for this train madam. It's already full.

- How come no tickets? Yesterday you told us that it's possible to book it!

- Well madam India is big country. Where are you coming from?

- Italy! - we announce with our biggest confidence.

- You know madam, what is the population of Italy and what is the population of India? We open the seats 4 months in advance, you want to book a ticket 24h before your trip.

This was one of those moments in my life that I wasn't sure should I cry or should I laugh? How to explain that guy that the population of Montenegro and Bulgaria together is probably equal to the population of a neighbourhood in Delhi? :)

Anyway, it was clear that we won't be able to book the tickets from Agra so the only chance was to do this when we arrive in Varanasi.

 The good thing is that the guy gave us a seat for our RAC ticket (for more info see the first part of Incredible India).

Of course we had the usual delay of 1 hour and meanwhile the platform that our train was supposed to arrive had been changed. So when you travel with train in India always expect two things: delays and changes.

While we were waiting we met another group of tourists also going to Varanasi. They were travelling in India for a couple of months and they're shocked again to hear we were doing our trip in 9 days. Well I was shocked too. These couple of months in India that they were having were just part of a huge 2 years journey around the world. If you could teach me how can I do that I would love to teach you how to travel fast.

Our first night train in India turned to be a pretty cool adventure. The journey from Agra to Varanasi takes around 12 hours. We had tickets for 3 AC class (for more info refer to the first part of Incredible India).

We have beds + bedsheets. We have AC. Actually travelling in train is almost like Crew Rest Compartment with the bunks (flight attendants know what I'm talking about) but you have more oxygen and no turbulence :D

Indians take care of you with a non-stop service of hot tea and coffee. The "duty free" on-board includes everything from hair dryer to immersion water heaters. You have time to sleep, read or write for your blog.

                                                         The "duty free" on-board

Day 4: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

The next morning we were already in Varanasi.

Straight after we arrived we found the locker room and left our luggage there.

Our plan to leave the city the same day was about to fail if we couldn't find tickets so we rushed into the ticket office for foreigners at the train station.

The lady behind the desk kindly explained us that there is no seats for the train departing at 21:15h so the earliest option was the day after.

Our complains and questions about the tourist quota didn't help so there was nothing else to do but we still didn't want to give up.

We decided it's vital to find place with Internet and to check for flights.

Our Lonely Planet guide recommend us to check Brown Bread Bakery which seems to be really cool restaurant with organic food owned by Germans. There is Internet as well and this is all we need.

A nice couple that we met at the ticket office told us to take a rickshaw to Godaulia circle. From there we could reach the bakery on foot. They told us the rickshaw would cost between 70R (for bicycle rickshaw) and 150R (for auto rickshaw).

According to our Lonely Planet guide, Varanasi has the most unscrupulous reputation among the tourist spots. Literally scammers are behind every corner so you should keep your eyes open all the time. It's pitty that some people use this holy city for this purposes but this is all that advertisement and commercialization does: revelas the dark side of tourism. After the first couple of days in India me and Biljana felt fully prepared to face the reality.

Our first small victory was bargaining for a bicycle rickshaw from the train station to Godaulia circle. We bargained the rickshaw for 50 R ;)

Historically Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism. 


In 1897, Mark Twain  said of Varanasi, "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

Our bicycle rickshaw was moving so slowly so we could absorb every single view (and smell) in front of your eyes. My first impression of Varanasi? It is extremely polluted. I could taste the pollution on my face, my nostrils, my mouth.

It's a strange feeling having your first sight of this crazy city. It looks like people live in a total chaos. Constant noise of the horns, rickshaws, motorbikes and cars is driving you crazy. Tons of rubbish, thick mud and animal shit are mixing into unbearable smell that has its own existence.

But for some strange reason I feel great excitement seeing this picture. I feel like I participate in a documentary movie, witnessing this extraordinary life, so far away from my familiar Western World. Some people will see just the misery and extreme pollution, I see the real life hidden behind this ugly scene.
The rickshaw dropped us at the Vegetable market. Many street stalls offer you the sweet taste of fresh vegetables and fruits that doesn't fit in any standards and rules so you can remind yourself how the real food tastes.

 Immediately we were approached by a guy who insists to guide us to the Brown Bakery. Here we go, the game had already started. He invited us in his textile shop and we decided to have a quick look. And why not? It's for free and anyway later we will need some gifts for our family and friends.

We kindly declined to buy anything from his shop (using the wide-spread lie: "Yes, I'll definitely come back to your shop later) and we followed him to the river.
All of a sudden I found myself standing in front of a landscape I've seen so many times on photos in tourist magazines or in google: Ganges River.

The Ganges River is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. Even thought the Ganges has been ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world, Hindus believe that it purifies the living and brings salvation to the dead.

Many times I've heard the expression "Holly Cow!" but if you want to find out what's the holy thing about it you should visit Varanasi.

In the religion of Hinduism, the animal called a "cow" is thought to be sacred, or very holy. Most Hindus respect the cow for her gentle nature which represents the main teaching of Hinduism, non-injury (ahimsa).

To the Hindu, the cow represents all other creatures. Hindus believe that all living creatures are sacred—mammals, fishes, birds. The cow is more, a symbol of the Earth.

In Varanasi cows/bulls are everywhere on the streets.

The most amazing thing we saw is that holly cow, pardond me, Holly Bull, named Nandi Baba that lives in this cloth shop:

The legend says that years ago a bull walked into this small cloth shop. He returned the second day and his third visit the bull had a name - Nandi Baba. People decided that the bull visit was a sign from God. The first Nandi Baba died. But other bulls followed, all named ‘Nandi Baba’

Nandi Baba is organised. It arrives at the shop at 9.30 am, except in the summer, when it waddles in half an hour later. The shutters are opened only after the bull reaches the shop. It walks in first and everyone else follows.

We walked by the river for 5-10 min and we saw steps with a sign for our bakery.

The small streets are full with cow's shits and mud. I haven't had shower for 2 days and I spent the night in a train. I feel like a real backpacker today :D

Our "new friend" from the textile shop kept insisting to show us the way. As soon as we reached the bakery we get rid of him.

Important: 
Lonely Planet pays attention to the fact that there is another Brown Bread Bakery (apparently fake one) abandoned by Micha, the 5th generation German baker, but carried on by his local ex-partners. If there's no rooftop at your bakery it means you're in a different place.

The two restaurants are located next to each other so it's very easy to get confused.

This is how the fake one looks like:

This is how the one with the rooftop looks like:

Brown Bread Bakery has a nice rooftop, good menu choice and apparently crazy waiter from Nepal :) The place doesn't miss fame - it's full with tourists. 

I ordered chicken curry, soda water, big Kinfisher and yellow Gouda cheese which according to the menu is produced by an Italian who has a farm in The Himalayas. This cost around 500R - the more famous it is, the more you'll pay!

Overall I liked the food even though the chicken curry was damn spicy and the waiter was extremely sluggish. 

We started checking the options for flights from Kolkata to Bagdogra, trains back to Delhi and after 1-2 hours we were completely exhausted and lost. 

We realized that it was already afternoon and our chances to leave Varanasi the same day were getting less. It was time to admit we had no plan how to continue our trip to Darjeeling.

Me and Biljana decided it's time to leave the restaurant, go back to the train station to pick up our backpacks from the locker room and try to find a place to spend the night. 

And at that moment... We were on the street and I saw a travel agency office - New Travel Desk. Apparently the guy was capable of doing everything: booking plane tickets, train tickets, renting a car for you. 

We were at that stage that we didn't have more plans, I mean, we had a plan but no options in front of us. So why not?

We entered the small office and we met Gaurav, a cute guy who was doing good business providing tourists everything they need. 

Me and Biljana were in a business mood too. We showed him clear that we're not in a mood to play games and we need to find the quickest way to reach Darjeelng. 

He got the message and he started searching for different options: flights and trains. He told us he has a guy that could arrange for us seats for tonight's train from Mughal Sarai to Jaipalguri. Now, that was a different story! The things were happening in the same way they work in our countries (Montenegro and Bulgaria): means, if you know the right people and if you pay some money under the table everything which looks impossible will become absolutely possible. 

The only problem was that the Indian Railway System close the option to book a ticket some certain hours before your journey so even with the help of God you can't book your tickets. And yes, we were late. 

Gaurav was pretty sure he will find a solution for us and he continued searching. Meanwhile, another guy, with European apperance and hippie clothes entered the travel desk only to show us that Gaurav is mixing all his activities with another one: an exchange bureau. 

The European-looking guy didn't pay much attention to us and even interrupted the process of solving our main problem so we were not very happy about that. At some point he asked us where we were coming from. Now, for Europeans we didn't have to present our official version of two Italian girls, because we know (hope) that most of them have better geography education. After Biljana mentioned Montenegro they immedialtely started talking in the same language. We found out that the guy in front of us, named Srdjan, is from Serbia. 

I've always being a fan of the famous saying: "We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason."

Today was one of those days that proved me that this saying is so true. 

Srdjan is suach a laid-back person so we imediately stopped carring so much about our train tickets. Of course we wanted to continue the trip but we understood it's not meant to be tonight. 

The Indian guy was also happy from the recent events because this situation made his job easier. He booked our tickets for the evening train from Mughal Sarai to Jalpaiguri for the next day. For some unknown reason he did this almost for free, with the minimal agent travel service charge which is something like 20R!  

 After he saw that we're going to stay Gaurav pass me a business card, adding another of his endless activities to his business: boat tours in Varanasi (link varanasioldcitytours.com) Apparently this guy was the local businessman of the city, able to answer all tourist's needs: from reservations for air, train and bus tickets to organizing tours and exchanging your currency!

Srdjan started advertising all the things that we could do starting from the special prayer, that was taking place every evening by the River Ganges, so we decided: we were staying in Varanasi! 

Srdjan offered us to stay in the same hotel he was staying - Shanti Guest House. 

Gaurav found a rickshaw for us and even came to the train station to pick our luggage. After that he took us to the hotel and we were really thankful because honestly finding this place would take us forever!  For almost 15 minutes we were walking through an endless labyrinth of narrow streets until we totally lost any orientation. With an ironic smile I thought it's almost like the small streets of Venice but compared to Varanasi, Venice has a few more levels of cleanliness (I will never complain again of those smelly canals, I promise!)

 For 150R per person we received a decent room on the same floor with Srdjan. Actually these were the only 2 occupied rooms so me and Biljana were free to use all the facilities and speed up the process of taking a shower. And we were definitely in a desperate need of it!

                                                      The entrance of Shanti Guest House. 

Gaurav joined us for the evening ceremony at the main ghat. Every evening at 06:45 pm at the main ghat in Varanasi you can see the ceremony of Ganga aarti (Worship of Fire). Gange aarti is a magnificent event that one must not miss to see. 

We had the privilige to see the ceremony from something like a v.i.p. lounge, from the top of a small restaurant carried out by Gaurav's friend. People have to pay money to sit at one of these chairs but we were there for free. 

I was sure that Gaurav has a "scenario" for us and I wasn't far away from truth. There is a few quintessential experiences that  you shouldn't miss in Varanasi. After the evening ceremony, number two in our list is a boat trip in Ganges River. The best time to do this is at dawn, with the first morning light which, if it wasn't the fact that we were about to witness  the biggest public ceremony of cremation, could be even romantic experience. 

Gaurav told us that the price for the boat tour would be around 500R. We knew that this is too much and Biljana told him straight away that we are not going to pay that much money. I'm more kind of a delicate person but I love how straight forward this girl is! :D

Gaurav knew that he is not having business with some dump girls who are travelling for the first time so he said we will try to bargain. We set up a meeting for the next morning 05:00 am. He promised he would come and pick us from our hotel. 

Day 5: and we are still in Varanasi

With just a couple of hours sleep we woke up around 04:30. It's one of those moments that you're telling yourself "Wtf am I doing? I must be completely crazy".

We went downstairs to the lobby of the hotel, to find out that the receptionist was sleeping and the door of the main entrance was locked. But that was not the biggest problem. The worst thing was the weather! It was raining like cats and dogs outside and it was so windy. 

Now I was definitely able to tell myself: "Yes, you are completely insane".

We were sure that Gaurav would not show up in this weather and we decided we won't wake up the receptionist unless we see the guy from the travel agency. After 15 min waiting in the lobby we gave up and we went back to sleep. 

Later, the same day we met Gaurav who told us that he was actuallly there, waiting for us in that rainy morning but close to the main entrance so we missed each other. May be it was meant to be like that. 

Finally, after a decent amount of sleeping hours that we rarely receive ( I'm talking about flight attendants) we woke up to join Srdjan for breakfast in the guest house restaurant, on the rooftop. 

It was time to eat and to solve our last problem: going back to Dubai. We booked a flight from Bagdogra (around 70km from Darjeeling) to Delhi. How we were supposed to reach the airport in Bagdogra was still a mistery for us, but it wasn't something to care too much at that moment. 

Weather was still pretty bad but we went out with Srdjan. We had only one day to "enjoy" shitty streets of Varanasi so we had no choice. 

                                   me, Biljana and Srdjan, enjoying the nice weather in Varanasi. 

It was time for some shopping and gifts for friends. Don't miss the amazing streets stalls of Varanasi. If you want to experience what does the magic smells like stop nearby one of the many shops to find black pepper, cummin seed, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and hundreds of other spices and oils to deliver a real pleasure of your senses. 

Me and Biljana made an attempt to visit one of the most famous Hindu temples that is dedicated to Lord Shiva: Kashi Vishwanath. The temple is located in the narrow streets of Dasaswamedh Ghat. We went again through strict security check (what's the problem with this visitors and all these frantic precautions, I still can't understand) and we were warned by a huge sign: "No phone, no bag, no sharp pen!".

We had to leave all our luggage in a locker room but to keep only our money & passport with us. Why passport? I have no idea since we were not allowed to enter the temple. Such a discovery to find out that it is only for Hindu people!

After this part failure it was time to see one of the places that is a main reason for people to visit Varanasi: the burning ghats. 

Ghats in Varanasi are riverfront steps leading to the banks of the River Ganges. 

Anyone that dies in Varanasi, gets cremated at the Ghats.The bodies are burned in a public ceremony and they spread the ashes over the Ganges River. Indians believe this would stop the circle of reincarnation and earns them instant enlightenment (Nirvana). 

This is how the whole ceremony which takes place at the Manikarnakia Ghat looks like:

Have in mind you're not allowed to take photos here, so if you want to do it, just be discreet. 

What I saw at the burning ghats it's something you don't see nowadays. I mean, cremation of people is something that many people would prefer instead of being buried in a grave (and we can't blame them for that) but death takes a special place in Varanasi's daily life.

Many times during the day we saw people marching through the city with dead body placed on a wooden stretcher. When a passerby witness this funeral procession in the narrow streets people usually would just stop, first because the streets are quite narrow and second because you feel you should give this poor soul some respect on her last march on the streets of Varanasi. For me the whole experience looked scary and at the same time mystical and extraordinary. 

This is what Piers Moor Ede writes about the burning ghats in his book "Kaleidoscope city: a year in Varanasi":

"At the burning ghats, where bodies are consumed  by Angi, the Vedic god of fire, I was struck by the logic of making fire by water; the significance placed on elements here, not merely as metaphors, but as central participants in the grand process of life. 'Life is like a river, always flowing,' said the Buddha, whose first sermon wad delivered not far from here. 'Do not hold on to things.'

If a city could be condensed into a single phrase, the one that might well stand for Varanasi is 'the Great Cremation Ground', a place provided by the gods for humankind to end their days in."

When we reached the main ghat I thought  l could see (and smell) the death. I felt as if I could almost touch it. The death body is placed on top of an woodpile and after 2-3 hours the only thing left over from a human would be just ash and bones. And not long after that they will disappear in Mother Ganga so that the only thing left from will be their soul or at least this is what Indian people believe. 

Hindus believe that the soul leaves the body once the skull explodes from the heat. If it doesn't, they help it crack with a bamboo stick. They also use a stick to break large bones that refuse to crumble under the heat. 

I'm not sure how to make a smooth transition into my next topic after what I've just written so let's just say that wandering around the narrow streets, covered with thick layer of mud and well...cow's shits the whole day wasn't enough. Our white shoes were still white enough so we had to do something about it. 

                                                      I'm sure even this bull thinks 

                                         that this is a shitty day for being in Varanasi. 

It was raining like cat's and dogs but as I said we had just one full day to experience everything that Varanasi has to offer. And one of the famous offers was the boat trip. So Srdjan helped us to convince one poor guy to take us with a boat for a quick ride in the river. We paid 100R each which was a good price considering the fact that me and Biljana were the only one crazy tourists in the river. None of the boatmen wanted to work in that weather. 

The rain was the reason for a specific extras for our trip: the guy brought us a huge umbrella like the ones you use for the beach. I don't have a proper photo due to the bad weather conditions but you can only imagine the picture of me and Biljana with the beach umbrella in that boat - the only one psycho tourists in Ganga today :D

After this wet journey we went nearby vegetable market in one shop for souvenirs to finish what we started earlier. The traders were extremely happy to see clients in this rainy day so they quickly turned the small shop into a showroom. We picked up some small sculptures and incense holders and at the end of course we bargain better than gypsies. Biljana got all her stuff for 350R. I didn't even have to bargain. Biljana is ready with the price I should pay:

"We don't have time girl, just leave 350R and let's go" 

This girl is so funny, I swear. 

After this I can proudly announce we need to throw away our shoes. They were completely destroyed. 

We tried to buy something decent to wear but at the end we gave up and we decided we will improvise with the shoes later. 

We took some food from the vegetable market and we went back to the hostel. On the way back we met Gaurav (remember the guy from New Travel Desk) who told us how to check if there's any delay for our train (now I'm sure you've already forgotten the link I mentioned in Part I: http://enquiry.indianrail.gov.in/ntes/)

And of course there was a delay! We went back to Shanti to dry our clothes and take another cold shower after the rain. We were officially checked out from our room but since there was nobody else on the whole floor apart from Srdjan we were free to use all the facilities :D 

When I said that we had a delay I didn't mention that this time it was a massive delay! Our train from Mughal Sarai was supposed to depart at 21:15 on 29th. Well guess what? We left Mughal Sarai at 04:00 am on 30th. Welcome to the romantic adventure called Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited or simply IRCTC :D

After checking the delay numerous times in the website  at some point around midnight we saw that the time of departure didn't change anymore so we said goodbye to Srdjan who helped us to hire a rickshaw to Mughal Sarai (400R). 

When we arrive there nobody had a clue where's our train so we spent another 3 ours waitng. So after 7 hours delay we were finally into that train to Jaipalguri. I couldn't believe it but we were close to make our plan reality: Darjeeling wait for us! But before reaching our tea paradise we had to go through other adventures which you can enjoy in the last, third part about Incredible India :)