Varanasi
January 2005
After our train arrived in Varanasi about 8:00am we took an autorickshaw-taxi to the
Hotel Surya, which we had seen on a previous visit to Varanasi.  By email we had reserved
a "standard" room for 450 rupees (US$10) plus 10%tax but were given a "deluxe" room
at the same rate.  
The room was comfortable and the hotel looked quite nice.  The hotel had a nice garden but
it was ruined by a very loud electric generator which was running much of the time.
Varanasi has an overloaded electric system so that electricity is cut off for several hours
to different parts of the city;  as a consequence most hotels and shops have their own
generators which start up whenever the public utility shuts off power, which happened
several times a day.
Varanasi (formerly called Benares) is a very important Hindu religious center on the Ganges
River.  Varanasi is visited by many pilgrims who go to be spiritually purified by bathing in
the holy but very polluted Ganges.   To die in the city, to be cremated there, and to have the
ash remains deposited into the Ganges also is believed by many to have postmortem religious
benefits.
Varanasi is an extremely exotic city.  We had been there twice before and came again,  In
Varanasi we know we are in a place very different from home, amazed with what we see, and
impressed by the religious fervor of many of the pilgrims there.
We had seen most of Varanasi's  standard "tourist attractions" on previous trips.  On this
visit we concentrated on the old parts of the city, especially the Ganges waterfront.  
Something new for us was going to the "Burning Ghats" near the Ganges where the
cremations were taking place in the open air.  Below are a few photos:
To the right, one of Varanasi's
Ghats (steps leading down to the
Ganges), which extend for several
miles along the river.
To the left, another Ghat with
several shrines.  Along the top of
the slope are many hotels to
accommodate pilgrims.  Along the
river's edge are worshipers, also
boats to take visitors along the
waterfront.
On the right, a closer view of one
of the Ghats.  Under the umbrellas
are holy men and fortune tellers
offering religious guidance and
telling fortunes.
Varanasi is a large city with a population of over one million.  What we saw in the parts of
the city away from the Ganges were not very different from other large Indian cities:
To the left, see the
concentration of several
small businesses in a small
area:  tire repairs and
tire sales, a butcher shop,
a poultry shop with caged
chickens, and  also what
looks like someone selling
towels or tablecloths.  At
the extreme left there
also is a closed
restaurant with the menu
posted outside.
To the right, a street
improvement project with
donkeys being prepared to
carry away the surplus soil.
We spent a couple of interesting days in Varanasi, then  went on a pleasant excursion to
nearby Sarnath, described on the next page.