Craig - Hope you all get power before we head up there this weekend. Waiting for more bob.

Wednesday Nov 2


More problems with the bill this morning. This makes the 4th time I have had to go to the desk.. And evidently no help from the GM. So that means a quick note to him, and this time I asked for some bonus starwood points. We will see if he even contacts me.

We took an hotel car to the airport about 9:15 for our 11:05 flight. This time the domestic terminal, which has passed its prime for sure. Men and women are separate for security checks. The lines were sort of slow for the men. BTW there are lots of xray machines, even a screening upon entering and about 4-5 security ticket checks. Finally we were at the gate which had little a/c, but had fans in some places. When our plane arrived boarding was swift and we were off right on time. Again 3 security checks.

Arrival at Varanasi, at their new terminal, was a bit odd. Our jet airways flight parked way away from the terminal (discounter??) and we walked across the tarmac for quite a ways.

Our Castle and King greeter was at the exit to meet us. We walked across the lot to our huge SUV, bigger than we were expecting. We were introduced to our driver, Sunil, and we were on our way to the hotel, which we were told could take 1+ hours. The roads are not good, full of holes, piles of rocks, goats, cows, bikes, motorbikes, tuk tuks, people, kids, pedicabs and every other GD thing you can imagine. Oh did I mention the speed bumps…

We arrived at Hotel Temple on Ganges (www.hoteltemple.com) an hour or so later. It is just above assi ghat at the southern end of the 7 kilometers and 84 ghats along the river. Lcuy had suggested it to us. Well, let me say it is different from the ITC Sonar… The entrance is behind a cement wall, but within that wall a few families live with their cows in rustic surroundings. We were greeted by name and shown to our very decently sized room (#20) on the second floor (walkup). At best this is a 2* but it meets our needs. The bath is large but had no water when we arrived except for a large puddle, which then caused mud from my shoes to track all over the tile floor. We overcame that, or at least K did, and she told me to -----. The time was about 4PM and we were being picked up again for the evening “show” at Dashashwanmedh Ghat (the main/central ghat at 5. Before we left we went to the roof restaurant and had some dal and vegetable fried rice and some naan bread.

When the driver returned he brought our guide with him. He is 35 and very personable with good English and good descriptions. He is: Chanchal Maurya, a licensed guide, who is available occasionally for private work ([email protected] or 0091-9415266141). We would highly recommend him.

After our arrival near to the ghat, we had to walk about 1/3 miles down the access road, past tons of milling people, beggars, vendors, shops, sellers of everything under the sun, old ladies, crippled people, etc. to reach the ghat (steps down to the holy Ganges River). It was all quite the spectacle. We took tons of pics, walked around a bit, and then hired a boat for the evening (100 Rs. Each--$4, plus tip). There were what seemed like hundreds of boats of all sizes. Ours was wood and about 5 feet abeam and perhaps 20+ feet long. It had one plastic chair and a couple of benches with a thin foam cushion. Dusk had arrived. We were rowed up river a ways, past craig’s guest house to the site of the on going cremations. There were 12 going on when we arrived and they were lines up waiting corpses, which are “clensed” in the river, before being arranged for cremation.. The whole cremation saga is a long one and I won’t go into it. The eldest son, has his head shaved, and then officiates at the ceremony which is attended only by the males of the family. We found this a highlight of our trip thus far.

Following this we returned to the main ghat where boats had begun to tie up together for the evening music show (K loved it, I was bored---think bells ringing and fire being swung around in various vessels by 7 or 9 guys on a platform—oh yes chanting too). Our rower had placed us directly in the center, next to a large empty boat. Young men and women climbed barefooted from one boat to another selling floating candle vessels for you to float in the water---think krathongs. We did this in Andy’s memory.

Following the ceremony, we landed back on the ghat, where bathers had been dousing themselves in the FILTHY junk strewn river along the ghat’s edge….. YUCK!!!

Above all of the filth/frenetic energy this is a fantastic place to visit. If you skip it you will have missed something uniquely Indian.

We returned to the hotel for a bit of dinner on the rooftop restaurant overlooking the ganges. We could see the fires in the distance. Dinner was Indian and very tasteless and uninspiring, but sufficient.

We were in bed by 9:30 for our 5:15 wakeup call.



Thursday Nov 3


I woke up about 4:45 and got up. Still uncertain about the shower/tub, etc… we passed. We dressed and went down to wait for our guide and driver. They arrived right on time and we were off to the main ghat again. This time we were able to drive right to the ghat.

We found our same boat driver (rower) after taking tons of pics of the bathers, freaks, families and general scene. We were rowed down about ½ way to assi ghat, past tons of local and religious bathers/worshippers, and past men beating washing against large rocks and then spreading it out to dry on the flat stone areas adjacent to the ghats. It was quite the morning ceremony. Rowing back up the river was very difficult against the swift current. K reminds me that we did the krathong this AM, not last night. Over our shoulders, the huge red sun began to rise and light filled the river basin. Even more people arrived.

After the boat ride we strolled some of the small lanes around the ghat. We eventually came to the area of the Golden Temple, which non-believers cannot visit, but we saw the gold stuppa top. There is lots of security in this area. No photos or electronic eqpt are allowed in the area. I was body searched. We had stopped in a small oil shop just prior to arriving in this area. We left our electronics with our guide and a shop assistant took us near to the temple. I loved walking in the lanes, but would not waste the time to “see” the temple. Upon our return to the shop we were given a demo of the various oils which will cure everything naturally. We bought nothing, but it was interesting.

We returned to the hotel for one hour for breakfast: crepes and honey with cutup bananas and toast and jam for us, plus water and tea/coffee… very good.

We reboarded our SUV and headed for a series of temples. We passed thru the huge Banaras University campus…. I stayed in the car for most of the temple visits, but K and the guide visited: New Shiva Temple (everyone can go inside this temple), Durg Temple and others. We drove north to Sarnath, the location of Buddha’s first sermon and the ruins of a monastery, a museum, and a large stuppa.

K had asked to visit a non-commercial silk merchant, for which Varanasi is known. We were taken to an unsigned compound and had a demo of hand silk weaving, followed by an hour in the showroom. We were the only people there K liked the quality, but much of the merchandise was not our style, but she did manage to spend $300. I SILKS, Cantonment. www.isilks.com. Prices from $10-1000+. Watch your final bill as I believed we were overcharged because I was no paying attention. We would gladly shop there again.

After this, we returned to the hotel… I tipped them both as we are on our own tomorrow. As often happens the electricity went off shortly thereafter, so no internet till later. We went up to the roof and I typed this into Word, and K read her kindle.

About 6ish we headed up the road to the Hyfia Restaurant, inside a hotel of the same name—a 2 minute walk. We were rewarded with a delicious meal: egg curry (hard boiled egg in a curry sauce, mashed potato croquette with a sweet cashew sauce, palak paneer (creamed spinach with cheese cubes), white rice and shalom cookie/vanilla ice cream with choc. sauce. All delicious--- 588 Rs, $12.

More internet, then bed…

Quiet day tomorrow..

now a fresh good jelly donut--almost impossible to find anymore--- is always welcome

How did you enjoy sarnath? We missed that site. Glad to hear we missed nothing special by passing on the golden temple. I loved the pander dishes we ate while in India. I'm surprised to hear about the power issues. We did not experience that at the ramesh guest house - palace on the Ganges. Keep your report coming.

Bob:
I'm reading your report and enjoying it. As you know this is as close to India that I will ever get. If I even mention a possible trip to India my wife will no doubt proceed with divorce proceedings!

I'm glad you enjoyed Varanasi. You'll see something similar in Nepal at Pashupatinath.

Billy - never say never...that's what my husband told me and somehow we managed to go to India this year. You've got to wean them there. We went first to Thailand/Cambodia then to vn. What my husband enjoyed most was the foreign nature of those trips and that's how I somehow convinced him to go to India. Of course india isn't for everyone, but he sure thought it one of our most interesting trips. For an entire year before going, my DH played his guitar making up songs that all ended in the same common verse "don't take me to India"!!!

Sorry...that would be BillT - that darn auto correct on the iphone!

bill, olive may be right...

there are huge bathrooms here, but we have water on the floor and an unusable shower about 2 feet from the toilet. I will try the tub with no shower curtain today. No makeup mirrors either...

june you missed nothing... even K said so.... the action is on the ghats, in the boats and along the narrow lanes.. i stepped in a 'pie' today. even vermont doesn't have this many cows.

i do not see any meat stores here, so i am investing in a meat franchise here---minimum investment $5,000,000. send certified checks.

why does the shower not work? I don't get the picture. I know I would give the toilet a shower while taking mine if that was the problem and who cares about adding to the wet floors anyway right?

great way to start your day stepping in a pie.....comforting....India....au contrare.

more more and find that jelly doughnut somewhere in India, there is one with your name on it.

Aloha!

Could I ask a boring question - what's the weather like in Varanasi now? We'll be there next week. Still trying to pack. Upper 80s?

Bob - you are sooooo right! Keep the reports coming I am enjoying them!

Checks in the mail. So, are you enjoying Varanasi? I can't really tell from your report. Remember, you've gotta look down as you walk in India. Sounds like the palace on the river was the right way to go as long as one is able to get a softer bed. I think we had a squegee (sp?) in our bathroom and everytime we showered I had to push the water toward the drain.

Glad you enjoyed the Haifa restaurant, try the thali's they're great. and if you fancy a beer that's where they serve it in a teapot.

When we were in Varanasi, four or five years ago, we did not stay on the ghats for the very reasons Bob mentioned. We wanted a 4 star hotel where the electricity worked and the bathrooms were modern. We did have to travel 30 minutes by tuk tuk to reach the ghats. We spent a lot of time on boats and on foot in the ghat area, but were happy to leave the area after the nightime ceremony (I think it is called Arti) and return to the ghats the next morning for our morning boat ride. In between, we ate and slept in a modern, first class hotel.

bathroom--- large L-shaped room... tub with hand held device---fine... sink fine... to the left of the sink above waist level a large bathtub skicket and controls, under which was a large plastic bucket on wheels.... above that and slightly to the left was a shower head and controls... and just 1 foot to the left was the toilet in the corner... the whole thing turned me off... plus the small water leak next to the toilet... plus the puddle in the corner... plus the fact that no one told us we had to turn the hot water on... a failure was this whole bathroom.

bed was very comfortablr, but we each had a single top sheet and the blankets in the closet were like heavy winter blankets.. room was nice and we could see the river from our bedroom and shared balcony.

This hotel experience was a bit of a failure, but we survived. $70 per night.

we asked haifa again last night about beer and were told no, after a pause. we did get one later at palace on the ganges almost next to our hotel.

we did enjoy varanasi, K more than me. I am just an old crank. It is a must on any india visit.

weather---it could not have been better--75-82 F, overcast to sunny...hazy in the AM (fog/smog)....perfect for us... we kept the a/c on between 19 and 25 C depending on what we were doing.

i think we would try the palace on the ganges another time for an extra $30+/night. did not see their rooms however.

another segment is almost typed.

off to kathmandu in the AM.... Courtyard by marriott in gurgaon is fabulous and about 1/2 hour to airport.

Bob, you just don't sound as 'happy' as you do when you are in Thailand or Bali or.....

Anyway, keep the report coming.

Friday Nov 4

This is a day on our own… just to relax a bit and take in the riverside around Assi Ghat.

We took our breakfast on the roof again: jam toast, honey and banana crepe, coffee/tea and cold water. After eating we just lazed around on the roof talking with a young English couple, from London, who we had met.

We took a walk down to Assi Ghat, looked around, spoke to several touts and kids---took a ton of pictures. I visited a local barber shop and a café with lots of men sitting around.

Walking back by the hotel we met Chris and Vikki, the Brits, who were venturing out. Along the way we were joined by a young tout who we were unable to ditch. We told him we were not paying him… He showed us the way and stayed with us. We joined them on their way to the monkey temple… it was pretty warm so I chose to ride a cyclo bike. My peddler was a 15 y.o. frail kid, but he managed.

First we visited the Durg Temple, then we walked to the nearby small monkey temple. We were amazed to see that a drum and some bells were mechanically played/rung, as well as some hand rung bells. It was quite loud.

From there K & I had separate cyclos back to our hotel area where we were dropped off at a small silk shop-- thank you mr tout.
It was actually quite fun… Chris and V were already there sitting on the small cloth covered floor. So in this small area there were the 4 of us, the tout, the owner, 2 silk helpers and at the door, the father, I am guessing. They began to throw out silk items between us. More and more. K immediately judged them to be poor quality and short (scarfs) in length. Chris told him they were worth 50 Rs only. They asked 650.
Finally Chris stood up and we were out of there.

We returned to the hotel and had coke/fanta and grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches on the roof. We returned to the room, where K did kindle and I napped in my chair. Later we did some internet.

C & V joined us at 7 for dinner at the Haifa hotel just up the road. We asked about beers and the waiter went away and checked with someone and came back and said no. We had some delicious dishes, quite similar to the night before---$13.

We really wanted a beer and decided to try the Palace on Ganges hotel and sure enough they serve beer in their basement dining room. About $4 for large kingfisher beer. There was a trio playing Indian instruments as well.

The public rooms of the hotel are all quite nice, almost lux with lovely B&W photos of Varanasi and various decorative arts.

Back to the hotel and a good sleep.
The electricity went out at various times during the day and evening. Most hotels have generators that run some lights. Our hotel also had huge batteries. After dark when the lights go out, the streets are quite dark except for candles in some shops and on vendor’s carts. If it wasn’t India you would think it quite festive.

We are liking our visit, but as I always say India is a real challenge to visit. We are so glad that we have extra assistance from reps from Castle and King which includes some airport pickups. C & V told us that they had already been deceived by 2 taxi drivers when trying to get to their hotels from airports---“the hotel is full and you need to try another one…”



Saturday Nov 5


We were being picked up at 10:30 for our 1405 flight to Delhi. We had a leisurely breakfast up on the roof and finished packing. I paid the remainder of my bill and we were on our way. C & V were just leaving for the airport so I offered them a ride with us. They accepted. They really should have left at least an hour earlier.

Traffic was very very heavy and it took us an hour and ½ to get to the airport. Had their plane to kathmandu not been delayed they would have missed it. We were plenty early.
Security was quite heavy again. We checked in swiftly and took seats in the lobby awaiting an invitation to proceed to security (separate lines again). Make sure that as you leave security that they stamp the tag on your carry-on or you will be sent back from the departure door.

We had a long walk across the tarmac to our airbus 330. We were in the 4th row of economy (aisle and middle). Our Kingfisher seats were very comfortable with plenty of leg room. During the 65 minute flight a very fresh chicken or veggie sandwich was served with bottled water. We arrived at the new terminal 3 at New Delhi----finally a decent airport---quite lovely.

The Castle and King rep was waiting for us outside baggage claim. We had to walk quite a ways to the new 5 story parking garage where our driver, Krishner, was waiting for us. He will be our driver too when we return next week for our road trip. He is a nice man. We will enjoy him, I can tell already.

We drove to Gurgaon, a new business/hotel district not far from the airport. We found the Marriott Courtyard after having to call the hotel for directions. The hotel is very nice and is similar to any 4* Marriott.

After leaving our stuff in our room, we went up to the 15th floor to the executive club for a snack and drinks. My platinum status helped for upgrades here. We ended up talking to an interesting guy from Ohio who sells eqpt. in Africa/Asia and India. Later we spoke in depth to an Indian/American who is trying to set up cancer treatment centers in India.

We had a couple of drinks and some goodies. Later we ordered room service from our room: bacon, cheeseburgers and fries…. YUM!!!

Bed followed.

Bob- You are so right about India being a challenge. I too said we would not go back after our first trip, but after 5 years I am planning another trip to India for next for year. BTW, I really loved looking at my photos of India, after returning home. They were a lovely reminder of our trip...minus the challenges encountered in India. I am looking forward to the rest of your report.

Bob- All the hotels in Varanasi are pretty poor. The goal is to get one that is <b>decent</b>, and since yours had a good bed, a view of the river, and not too many stairs, your hotel was darn tootin' good!!

(thanks Lori!)

The bathrooms are always that "showerhead on the wall" type that leave the floor and toilet wet. I've learned to get an extra towl and use it as a floor mat outside the bathroom door

Yes, India certainly is a challenge. Only the strong survive. Only the adventurous go back again. Only the crazy go back for a month at one stretch...

I'm enjoying your report!