May 21, 2012

• Sunrise on the Ganges

  Apologies for the long delay in posting from India/Nepal, but I have just returned from a Singapore/Malaysia/Miami Trip with my remaining vacation time from the year. So lets get cracking as we have a lot of ground left to cover

   

  When last we left our intrepid adventurers, we had just completed an evening fire aarti in the city of Benares aka Varanasi, on the banks of the holy ganges river. The following morning, we returned to the same river, setting off at sunrise to view one of the more interesting morning commutes

  

  

  Alongside every part of the riverbank are stone ghats, or docks leading down to the rivers edge for people to conduct their daily ablutions and/or business

   

  

  Apparently a submarine washed up near this crematorium…when they say six feet under, they arent kidding!

  

  Indiana Josh and the sunken temple?

  

  Quite the busy day, no? And yet, on the other side of the river, the land remains relatively untouched

  

  

  Of course, once the sun is up, people have things to do, like bathe

  

  Or catch up on the latest gossip

  

  or even do laundry!

  

   

  After that, our guide informed us that ALL the water in Varanasi comes from the ganges river. The water we drink, bathe in, etc is all (hopefully!) purified from the river in which people are taking their morning dunks, cleaning their clothes, and disposing of their dead bodies. We are all holier and slightly smellier for the experience

  

  Following our morning boat ride, Dr Han decided we should set off through the streets of the city to explore them by day

  

  good thinking, Doc!

  

  Of course, Short Round remained on the lookout for any more dangerous monkeys

  

  

  At such an early Hour the streets were still mostly deserted, but things picked up as the day progressed, and we visited Indias largest university!

  

  Hahaha, boo-b .com, institute of higher learning!

  

  We also learned about the fine art of weaving, both by hand loom as seen on the right, and machine looms. Sadly due to the time intensive requirements of this job, very few people have the skill or inclination to learn how to make cloths and tapestries from silver thread such as those seen on the right anymore

  

  Next and final stop in India was the Mother India Temple, a 3 dimensional topographical map of the subcontinent

  

  and yet, no you are here locator

  

  Despite That, here we are!

  

  Along with a potential replacement for my longstanding Zoidberg Avatar, Dr Geeko!

  

  With that, we bid adieu to both India and Dr Han, as he had patients to return to, and we had one more country to tackle before returning home.

   

  Next Stop, Nepal, home to Everest, more temples, and Parahawking

  • 11:41 am
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