I have officially left Nepal and have now entered India. Before our first Indian tourist stop at Varanasi we stop a unscheduled stop at Gorakpur for the night. This appears to be a popular town due to the train station and it being close to Nepal but other than that not sure what else this town has to offer. We spent the night in a 1 star hotel (think I am being generous with the rating here) a squat toilet, bucket shower and what might have been bed bugs.
Yep you guessed it, it was an early start in the morning as we make our way to Varanasi this drive takes almost the entire day. Upon arrival all is forgotten about the length of drive as the hotel has a swimming pool.
A few of us found a great spot to spot put up our feet and relax with a drink. This is no ordinary drink, we stopped at Blue Lassi, a.k.a The best Lassi in Varanasi – We tried Banana and Apple. Oh!!! So Delicious. I feel this is going to be my drink of choice while in India.
Yep you guessed it, it was an early start in the morning as we make our way to Varanasi this drive takes almost the entire day. Upon arrival all is forgotten about the length of drive as the hotel has a swimming pool.
4am Yawn!!! So they say the best time to visit the Ganges is at dawn. Why is dawn so early in the morning? We divide into groups of the and jump into rickshaws and drive to the edge of the city, we walk through all the narrow ally’s and find ourselves arriving at the Ghats it’s here we get on to a local boat with our guide and drift down this holy River Ganges. We saw the morning ritual, where lots sometimes thousands of worshippers who come to purify themselves. We also were able to watch from a distance one of the Burning Ghats, where bodies of the faithful are cremated and their ashes strewn out over the waters. After experiencing the Ganges up close it was time to explore Varanasi by foot and rickshaw.
