Ganges River - Cascadian Abroad

Life and Death: Varanasi, India

October 5, 2024April 17, 2015 by Robert Haddan

Fortunate are the People who Reside on the banks of the Ganga

We stepped off the boat, climbed a steep set of crumbling stone steps and entered the city’s dark back alleyways. The always-fragile electricity failed and everything went pure black. A few long seconds passed before the lights flickered back to life. Re-illuminated, several men carried yet another dead body past us, chanting “Ram Nam Satya Hai”… The name of God is truth

The chaos of a Varanasi evening as seen from the back of a bicycle rickshaw

We followed one of the boat’s crewmen toward the center of the market, the narrow alleys filled with eager shopkeepers trying to get your attention. A motorbike pushes through the crowd. We get stuck between a group of people—faces marked with colored powder—and a large bull. Whispers of “Hasish?” come from the shadows, preying on those looking for an additional perk on their spiritual journey.

It sounds like a scene from a thriller movie, but this was very much real life. Welcome to Varanasi, India—the world’s oldest city.

A City of Death

Varanasi is one of Hinduism’s three holy cities along the Ganges River. When a Hindu person dies, the family will transport the body to one of these cities for cremation and the ashes will be brushed into the Ganges. Hindu’s believe in reincarnation and that placing the ashes in the river will allow the soul to escape the cycle of reincarnation, setting the spirit free to move into the afterlife.

Varanasi's ghats, stone steps leading to the Ganges, are used for ceremonial bathing and cremations — Varanasi’s ghats, stone steps leading to the Ganges, are used for ceremonial bathing and cremations

In most Western countries, death is something to be hidden away. But in India, it’s very much a public affair. After a preparation period in the home, the body is transported to the city. The body is wrapped in a shroud—most that we saw were gold in color—and carried through the streets to the ghats alongside the river. The eldest son is in charge of the preparations and leads the processional.

Our tour guide gave us the option of visiting Varanasi’s famous ghats (stone staircases leading down to the Ganges) to view the cremations, which take place all day, everyday. I’m glad to have seen it as it offered an important look into the country’s culture, but it’s not something that you can really prepare to see. It’s simultaneously beautiful and disturbing.

Smoke from the previous day's cremations still smoke while piles of fresh timber are stacked for the next grieving familes — Smoke from the previous day’s cremations still smoke while piles of fresh timber are stacked for the next grieving familes

Out of respect to the grieving families, we were requested not to take photographs—and I believe human decency dictates this as well. The body is laid upon a wooden funeral pyre and covered in clarified butter (ghee), which is both a cleansing ritual and a practical method to help the body burn. The eldest son—who has shaved his head in a sign of respect to the deceased parent—lights the fire and performs rituals. He stays with the body until the fire has burned out. The ashes are brushed into the river and several more days of ritual follow.

I can remember vividly the sight of the body on the pyre. My stomach soured and clenched with the feeling of seeing something you shouldn’t see. The top of the head and the bottom of the feet were visible, reminding you that a person is inside the blazing fire.

A City of Life

As you move away from the Ganges, the city comes to life. Like most of India, tourism is a critical part of Varanasi’s economy with more than 3.2 million visitors—mostly Hindu pilgrims—coming through the city every year.

CW from Left: The famous Blue Lassi Shop serving yogurt-based drinks; the bustling city streets; a street vendor was making dosa from scratch

The first permanent settlements in the area date to the 12th century B.C. You can feel the history as you get lost in the narrow alleys packed with shops and food stalls. Varanasi grew in importance in the 6th century B.C. thanks to a burgeoning silk manufacturing industry, an enterprise that is still the city’s dominant industry 2,500 years later.

Our tour group sitting amongst the various scarves and blankets in Ganga Handlooms, a shop in the alleyways of Varanasi

Our tour leader took us to one of the silk shops. Not unlike a carnival barker, the show is part of the sales experience. They bring out piles of beautiful, colorful fabrics. Your uneducated hands and eyes try to decipher which is rayon and which is silk, but guess completely wrong (hint: both scarves are rayon!). Burning the thread is the only way to tell the difference (silk singes like hair, rayon melts like plastic).

They pull out the silk and the cashmere and the really-nice cashmere, known as pashmina. Pashmina comes specifically from the inner wool of high-altitude Pashmina goats who shed their thick winter coats every spring.

Getting what's left of my hairs cut at an open-air Varanasi barber shop — Getting what’s left of my hairs cut at an open-air Varanasi barber shop

On our free day, we wandered the streets and eventually were befriended by a local shopkeeper. He gave us the nickel tour of the lesser-known sites along with his myriad of opinions on the state of the city and India as a whole. Along the way, we passed a barber shop set up in a tiny alcove in one of the alleyways. I mentioned wanting to get my beard trimmed and he offered to help orchestrate the transaction.

Granted, I don’t have many hairs left to trim, but the barber did a nice job, polishing off the experience with a variety of face creams and a post-trim face massage. When he finished, I asked our new friend how much I owed the barber. They bickered back and forth for a bit… the barber said the haircut was 25 rupees, but because I was a tourist, he felt like he could charge 50 rupees.

We encountered this many times along the way in what I considered to be a “win-win-win” situation. The barber feels like he can get double his regular fee because I’m a tourist. His “double” fee is about 80 cents USD, so I win because I just got a haircut for less than a buck. He wins because I think an 80 cent haircut is ridiculous and give him 100 rupees (because a $1.60 haircut is somehow not ridiculous).

He wins.
I win.
Everybody wins!

Animal House

A little animal fun…

This dog and monkey were playing along the ghats

This cow was waiting for the bakery to open, but the shopkeeper strong enforced the "No shoes, no shirt, no service" rule — This cow was waiting for the bakery to open, but the shopkeeper strong enforced the “No shoes, no shirt, no service” rule

Bulls and goats just hanging out along the ghats on the Ganges

Mornings in Varanasi

And finally, the peaceful side of Varanasi can be found at 6 a.m.

Fire ceremonies called Aarti take place along the Ganges as a form of worship to Hindu's many deities — Fire ceremonies called Aarti take place along the Ganges as a form of worship to Hindu’s many deities

The sunrise on the Ganges was magnificent

The morning sun cast a beautiful light on the ghats and buildings along the Ganges

Fishermen are out before the sun, getting ready for their day's work — Fishermen are out before the sun, getting ready for their day’s work

Colorful boats along the banks of the Ganges wait for the sunrise

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

April 7, 2015 by Robert Haddan

Over the course of a month of traveling, you’ll end up using a lot of different types of transportation. Obviously, there’s a bunch of taxis and buses, but southern Asians use a variety of different transportation methods as part of their daily lives. Here’s a sampling of how we got around India, Nepal and Thailand.

Metro Trains — Clockwise from left: Waiting for the **metro train** in Kawagoe; The Delhi Metro; Bangkok Metro (MRT)

Airplane — We had five **flights** on our trip: Tokyo to Delhi, Kathmandu to Bangkok, Bangkok to Koh Samui, Nakhon Si Thammarat to Bangkok and Bangkok to Tokyo

Pink Taxi — We took a **pink taxi** in Bangkok similar to this one (Photo by Ilya Plekhanov, Wikipedia Commons)

**Tuk-Tuks** or **auto-rickshaws** are a common way to get around in southern Asia. We used them frequently in India and Thailand.

Passenger Train — Business class seating in a **passenger train** from Agra to Jhansi in India. Pretty comfy and clean.

Electric Cart — Only **electric vehicles** are allowed near Taj Mahal as the pollution was beginning to turn Taj’s marble yellow. We rode a cart similar to this one to the gates (Photo from jotarofootsteps.blogspot.com)

Private Van — In India and Nepal, our tour group used **private buses and vans** to move shorter distances. Usually our luggage was tied to the top and usually someone climbed on top of the van to get it down.

Sleeper Train — Inside the horror show that was the **sleeper train** from Orchha to Allahabad in India. A group of men argued loudly all night in the bunk across from us. (Hey Farren!)

Sailboat on the Ganges River — On the Ganges River in Allahabad, we drifted in **sailboats** to a remote beach where we camped and played cricket.

Varanasi Boats — In Varanasi, India, we used **motor boats** to watch the sunrise opposite the city’s famous ghats.

Bicycle Rickshaw — Riding a **bicycle rickshaw** in the streets of Varanasi, India. We felt bad having another human being peddle us around, but it was better than having to walk back to our hotel.

Crossing the Border to Nepal — We rode a bus to the India/Nepal border, then crossed the border on **foot** before boarding another bus to our hotel in Lumbini, Nepal

Bicycles — In the Narayani Zone in Nepal, we toured the local village on **bicycles**. We both got a “Hero Queen” bike.

Canoe — Our group loaded into two **canoes** and paddled our way to Chitwan National Park in Nepal

Safari Jeep — In Chitwan National Park in Nepal, we saw one-horned rhinoceros and crocodiles from our **safari jeep**

Scooter — In Koh Samui, we rented a **scooter** for the day and poked around the east side of the island. Later, in Nakhon Si Thammarat, we rode on the back of **scooter-taxis** to our songthaew to Kiriwong Village.

Tour Boat — To reach Thailand’s Angthong National Marine Park, you have to catch a ride with a **tour boat**. We camped on Angthong’s main island for a couple nights and returned with another boat.

Kayak — Both days we were on Angthong, we rented a **kayak** and paddled out into the Gulf of Thailand

Long-tail Boat — **Long-tail boats** are widely used in Thailand by fishermen and tour companies

Ferry Boat — We finally pried ourselves off of Koh Samui and took a large **ferry boat** to the mainland. Dozens of cars sat below deck. Above deck, comfy seats, televisions, massage services and a convenience store were available for passengers.

**Songthaew**‘s are one of Thailand’s primary public transportation methods. The modified pickup trucks stop along fixed routes and have padded benches in the covered truck bed. People hop on and off along the route.

Back of Pickup — Twice we rode in the back of a **pickup truck**. In Kiriwong Village, Thailand, a Thai from Krabi helped us set up our homestay lodging and gave us a ride to the house.

Back of Pickup #2 — In Nakhon Si Thammarat, a woman named Joon helped us make change for our songthaew fare, then went out of her way to give us a ride to our hotel in the back of her **pickup truck**. Her mother was driving and stopped for a snack along the way while her two daughters enjoyed their 7-11 Slurpees.

Back of Motorcycle — In Kiriwong Village, we hired a local guide to take us hiking to the waterfalls in Khao Luang National Park. He picked us up on his **motorcycle**. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see my wife again when I snapped this picture! 🙂

Water Taxi — In the old part of Bangkok, **water taxis** run up and down the Chao Phraya River, dropping passengers at the big tourist spots. They’re crowded and the boat attendants do a lot of yelling and pushing.

What’s the craziest method of transportation you’ve ever taken in your travels? Leave a comment below!

Everybody, This is India… India, Meet Everybody

March 19, 2015 by Robert Haddan

Americans routinely use words like “broke” or “poor” to describe why we can’t go out with friends, take a vacation or buy a new car. We’ve coined the hashtag of “#FirstWorldProblems” to describe many of our daily trials and tribulations. We are spoiled.

India—or more accurately, Taj Mahal—was on our short list of “must visit” places in Asia during our time in Japan. An easy 10-hour flight from Tokyo, it was more accessible than ever. But you can’t fly 10 hours to see just one thing, so we looked for help crafting the perfect itinerary. In the end, we chose Intrepid Travel‘s Delhi to Kathmandu, Nepal trip.

Delhi side street — An alley in Central Delhi near our hotel

Our trip began in India’s capital city of Delhi. Before arriving in Delhi, phrases like “developing nation” and “extreme poverty” were buzzwords on Sunday morning political shows or keywords in a college thesis. But they weren’t real. They didn’t have faces.

Aside from well-known landmarks like Taj Mahal or the Ganges River, the reality of India is largely ambiguous in the minds of most Americans, myself included. India is an emerging power on the geopolitical landscape. It is a large landmass in the center of an unstable part of the world with an increasingly wealthy upperclass. As such, it’s an important national security ally of the United States in the fight against terrorism. It’s battling China for the title of world’s most populous country with more than 1.2 billion inhabitants.

Delhi Streets — A main street in Central Delhi. Shopkeepers clean up the sidewalks as best they can, but the trash will pile up again throughout the day.

But it’s also a country with considerable poverty. Poverty unlike anything that exists in the U.S. and certainly unlike anything I’ve seen firsthand until now. According to World Bank, India has the largest concentration of impoverished people in the world. Delhi alone is home to 22 million people in an urban area the size of Jacksonville, FL. New construction dots the city, but not fast enough to replace crumbling residential buildings and spotty infrastructure.

Delhi Street Scene — Looking down at a typical Delhi street scene from Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, Delhi’s largest Sikh temple

As tourists, we’re discouraged from giving handouts of food or money. There’s a larger strategy at play to quell the national poverty problem. But try ignoring a toothless grin from an elderly lady at the train station or the children, undernourished and dressed in dirty rags, wading through traffic begging for change from passersby who drive a new Audi or Mercedes-Benz. These aren’t the guys in a Columbia jacket standing on the freeway ramp with a “Why lie, I need a beer” sign. This is real, life-and-death stuff and it’s heartbreaking.

Government propaganda encourages a “green” Delhi, yet trash piles up in the streets. An editorial in The Times of India newspaper claimed (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) that throwing trash in the street is part of the national identity. The government is also encouraging the use of toilets instead of doing business in the open. Since October 2014, a government program has provided more than 500,000 toilets in homes across the country, but is fighting a perception that indoor toilets are unhygienic.

Yet, in a situation that seems unresolvable, India is trying to move forward. The country was still buzzing from President Obama’s visit the week before we arrived. When we told people we were from America, they’d reply with a big grin and say “Obama!” More importantly, they see that the U.S. finally understands the seriousness of India’s successful development.

Today’s India is a country breaking free of an imperial past. Despite its ancient history, it’s only been independent from the British since 1947. It’s a country resetting the expectations imposed by a caste system that determines a person’s lot in life simply by the family they’re born into. There’s unprecedented access to education, yet many are still not participating, young women in particular.

My goal is that this is the last of the “book report” posts about India… our travels through the country were amazing, inspiring and enlightening. But, to present India only through the lens of its natural beauty is to do a disservice to the realities facing its people and the efforts of those who have literally given their lives in the development of the nation (Mahatma Gandhi and his daughter-in-law Indira Gandhi to name a few).

Whirlwind: India, Nepal and Thailand

March 9, 2015 by Robert Haddan

The world is a big place. We’ve tried our best to take advantage of our current locale to visit parts of the world that previously seemed unreachable. In August 2014, we spent two weeks traversing Australia. Japan on its own could fill years of travels, but we’ve started chipping away with trips to Kyoto and Osaka, Fukuoka and Mt. Fuji among others. However, our latest adventure has been the most epic yet. Spanning 33 days, three countries and every transportation method imaginable, we’ve had a taste of southern Asia that’s left us hungry for more.

Travel Map — From Tokyo to Delhi, Kathmandu to Bangkok… our 2015 tour de Southeast Asia. Click on the image for a closer view.

Beginning in Delhi, India, we toured the northern part of the world’s seventh largest country before crossing into Nepal. From Kathmandu, we flew to Thailand, where we lounged on amazing white sand beaches, explored national parks, lived with the locals and wandered through one of the world’s greatest cities.

Helpful Couple — A couple on vacation from Krabi helped us get settled in Kiriwong

Along the way, we met amazing people with both heartbreaking and heartwarming stories. We experienced the “real” India, Nepal and Thailand, but could also see the impact that tourism is having on the identity of these cultures. We ate what the locals ate and what the tourists ate—spoiler alert: they’re not the same.

This trip was not only a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but also a perspective-altering one. The reality of seeing developing countries in different states of progress trumped anything I’ve ever read in Time or Newsweek. Our eyes and minds opened as we struggled to understand a way of life that flew in the face of what we know to be “right”—arranged marriages, extreme poverty, access to education and gender inequality.

Mud Hut — Our made-from-mud duplex in Nepal

It also brought new opportunities. I can now say that I’ve played cricket (on the banks of the Ganges River, no less) and I generally understand this sport that mostly remains a mystery to Americans (despite being the second-most popular sport in the world). We slept in overnight trains, mud huts and bungalows—the latter included a 5 a.m. wake-up call from both a crowing rooster and a flying chicken landing on our roof with a thud. We gained a better understanding of Hinduism as well as the role it played in shaping Indian society and many of the world’s religions. And we learned a thing or two about toilets around the world (“squatty potty” anybody?).

Enough with the teasers. Let’s dive right in with a look at some of the best food we’ve ever eaten… anywhere! Meet northern Indian cuisine!

A City of Death

A City of Life

Animal House

Mornings in Varanasi

More on our February 2015 Adventures