Cows are sacred and basically have the freedom to go anywhere, even onto busy streets in the cities. Monkeys leap across the rooftops and walk on telephone wires. Goats and sheep range over trash heaps and small strips of grass. When filling out the customs card and I came to the question about having been on a farm or ranch or near animals, I just had to giggle.
Getting around is a real adventure. Our tour company arranged a comfortable Toyota SUV with very competent and patient drivers. Although there are many new model cars (Honda's, Suzuki’s, Hyundai’s, etc.) all over the streets (we even passed a Ferrari dealership in Delhi) transportation is quite varied. Trucks were typically decorated with flowers, animals and patterns in the front. On the back, as if the truck drivers needed coaxing, would be painted “Blow Horn.” Horns are substitutes for signals and breaks. The other modes of transportation we witnessed included, an elephant, camels for transporting cargo, bikes, motorcycles galore (they do wear helmets) rickshaws using bikes, and 3 wheel Piaggios with canvas covers as cabs… oh, and the occasional donkey.
Our last half-day in Varanasi. We both fell in love with the city. This is what we imagined India to be like. It is spiritual yet gritty. Our guide took us to a temple on a university campus, which was interesting to see. There were art students selling their work near the temple – just like here! We went to a red temple, painted red in out and on top. Throughout the tour we had been taken to many shops to be shown a demo and then the hard sell. This time we were shown some exquisite weaving. It is still a cottage industry in India but they have some workers at the shop. Oh, yes, we did buy some textiles.
One quickly becomes aware of the bright colors of India. They are found in the flowers laid out for gifts to the gods, on buildings, in the spice market and on the saris the women wear. The Indian people are not shy about color and patter, often mixing and matching unlikely combination that contrast against the dirt, dust, trash and decay one sees everywhere. This is just a small sampling.
Our guide picked us up before 6 AM (ugh) to return us to the Ganges. This is the time the pilgrims come to bathe in the river. Not only is it terribly polluted; we felt cold with jackets, hats and scarves on! Needless to say, we watched from the boat.
Before launching, we received a blessing for a healthy and happy life from one of the priests. After a row to see some other temples and gahts, we got off the boat by the crematorium for a closer look. We then walked through the narrow streets of the old town. There is a Muslim mosque and Hindu temple next door to each other so there was a good deal of security. You cannot go inside the Hindu temple unless you are officially Hindi. We were dropped by the hotel for breakfast and a break. We then went to a small village nearby called Sarnath where Buddha gave his first sermon. Our guide happens to have a degree in philosophy so he has been very informative about religions, gods and ceremonies. There were Buddhists from all over the world – Tibet, Nepal, etc. It was a fascinating learning experience.
