Varanasi

The picture shows some boats on what the Indians call the Gunga and we call the Ganges. It's toward the end of the dry season and the river is low, but it's still a pretty big river. I got here a couple of days ago, but the first day I went to Sarnath in the morning with a couple of other people who were staying at the same guesthouse I am in.
Sarnath is one of four key sites related to the life of the Buddha. It is where he found his first followers and where he gave his first teaching. Laurie and I visited Sarnath when we were here in 1999 and I visited in 1971. I considered going to Kushinagar, where he died, but I decided not to do that this trip - I'm being lazy regarding getting around by any means but flying.

Sarnath was on my first morning here, but the evening I arrived I walked toward the ghats, which are the steps lining the Varanasi side of the Gunga, but I didn't make it quite that far. I thought walking was crazy in other places I've been on this trip but Varanasi takes the prize. No sidewalks, lots of cow pies, constant horn blowing and a complete disregard for pedestrians by anyone with any kind of wheeled vehicle. I am slowly getting used to it and haven't had my toes run over yet.

Today I walked to the northern part of the ghats and then walked south as far as the main part of the ghats goes, which is roughly a mile. It was around a hundred degrees but that didn't feel so bad compared to the seven hours I spent walking in heat that approached 115 degrees in Khajuraho. After I reached the end of the ghats I turned around and walked back, partly on the road but mostly through the alleys that make up much of the old part of the city.

My home stay is nice, with friendly owners. The woman of the couple who own it prepares breakfast and will provide lunch and dinner on request. My room is comfortable and quiet at night. The only downside is that it takes me roughly half an hour to get to the old part of the city, which is the most interesting part.

I stopped in a shop called Blue Lassi to, naturally, get a lassi. While I was waiting for my drink a funeral procession walked by on their way to the burning ghats. The alleys are really narrow, so the corpse was carried a few feet away from me. That was different.

I just took a break from writing to walk up the street to pick up a shirt I had altered by a tailor. It was supposed to be ready but wasn't so I ordered some veg chow mein from the hole in the wall place next to the tailor's shop. The four chairs that they had were all taken so I sat on the ledge in front of the"restaurant". The chow mein was pretty good but the wind was blowing dust around and I stopped eating when the food started getting crunchy. I enjoy eating really cheap food sometimes - the plate of chow mein cost 30 rupees, which is about 40 or 45 cents.