Hello, Boat?

After the trouble we had on arrival, wandering about was all we were motivated for on our first night in Varanasi, the holiest of Indian cities with the revered river Ganges flowing through it's side.



The Ganges holds huge importance in both Hindu and Muslim faiths, with huge numbers of pilgrims from both visiting Varanasi every year. For many Hindus it's their final pilgrimage. Hindus believe that if you die here you achieve automatic enlightenment, the ultimate goal for any Hindu. Hence you have the odd phenomenon of many elderly or very ill Hindus coming to the city as a place to see out their final days. Seeing bodies openly cremated on the banks of the ganges is a sight that I won't forget in a hurry.

But Varanasi has some life too. The maze of narrow pedestrianised streets are great fun to explore, packed with people, cows and flying motorbikes. Along the ghats on the banks of the Ganges, we saw everything from cows and people bathing to clothes being washed as well as the aforementioned cremations, all along the same two kilometre stretch of river.

No visit to Varanasi is complete without a boat trip on the Ganges, preferably at sunrise, so says the Rough Guide to India. And you can't walk 30 seconds down the ghats without hearing the words “Hello, boat?”. So on our last morning we struggled out of bed at 6.15 and hit the water.



In a way it was surreal. On the river banks you have pilgrims and locals giving worship and going about their business, and on the river itself you have dozens of boats full of tourists watching and photographing them. Add to that the fact that our hired rower was about 12 years old and incapable of rowing three giant Irishmen around, and you get an idea of the scene. John even attempted to row himself.



After he spun the boat around in a circle for a little while we decided it'd be best to give the 12 year old a little rest and leave it in his little hands.