Well I didnt expect being able to go to Varanasi to be honest..it was a dream and a destination I really truly wanted to go to as people say its magical and very energetic atmosphere..Was sitting having breakky in one of Delhis Rooftop Cafes one morning after getting back from my Rajasthan trip and all of a sudden I hear this swiss accent(talking english to japanese people)..I must say I had to smile because the swiss accent is definately NOT one you miss!haha..anyway turned out the guy, Mesum, was from St.Gallen which is just the town next to mine, where I too grew up and went to school..(well parts, some was here and some in Melbourne)Anyway he was just off to Varanasi by train that morning with some Japanese friends of his to see the total sun eclipse which hereafter was due 3days later. He "invited" me to join them, so I spontaneously deccided to book the next train which was due to leave the next morning and mee them in Varanasi. I must say, a journey on Indias trains is worth a travel to India its self! Lots of people hate it but I find it quite revelling! Of course I never booked first class as I find it interesting to travel the way the locals do plus you meet interesting people (locals and tourists) whilst train rides. Though I treat myself with the middle class as the budet one is very basic with no seats and about 100people per 1m square;) I shared my cabin with a guy from Japan, America, Croatia, ireland (well he more acted as he was Jesus from bethlehem though and is convinced he is one of the 56 god`s whom will return to earth in 2012), a guy from brazil and 4(well there were only supposed to be 2 seats but as indians are they squeeze extras in)Indian men,very nice,offering us home made food they cooked for the journey!So 14hours later I arrived in Varanasi, exhausted but full of new energy as it was incredibly amazing! So I spent 5 fantastic days in Varanasi, exploring, unforgettable impressions and experiances, feeling feelings I have never thought existed and philosophize and think intense about life and death wherefor there isnt a boarder existing inbetween in Varanasi which you strongly get to feel. I was lucky to see the total suneclipse( second in my life!)We got up at 5:20 (pretty much as usual as our bodies functioned according to the sun)and experianced the amazing feel of the eclipse! One of the days we took a trip to Sarnath. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Singhpur, a village one km away from the site, was the birth place of Shreyansanath, the eleventh Jain Tirthankar of the present age (Avasarpini), and a temple dedicated to him, is an important Jain pilgrimage. )Its the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Isipatana is mentioned by the Buddha as one of the four places of pilgrimage which his devout followers should visit, if they wanted to visit a place for that reason. It was amazing to see everything and a total different feel to Varanasi even though not too far away..a very hot day (as all of the 5 in Varanasi)..
Oh, by the way..I stayed at a place just at the Ganges River (the holy river), sometimes feeling as under a spell as I enjoyed the view of its beauty and magic and watching the hundreds of monkeys play,steal food and clothes off people etc..(well I must say that sometimes they can get a bit scary when they jump at you and show you their teeth kind of telling you to bugger off). As you can see I could go on and on..but to tell you the most important bits (so I dont forget and keep drifting off,sorry)at first I was pretty shocked by Varanasi, at the same time in love with it!As I had mentioned before, the boarder of life and death does not exist in my eyes..and its a place hard to describe!People washing, bathing, brushing teeth, doing their morning toilet duties, praying, perform their rituals, playing, cowes bathing, rubbish floating, and dead bodies swimming around in the River all in one..at the riverside they have the burning ghats constantly in use, where dead bodies get burnt, allowing the ashes to be sweapt away by the river. Its amazing how different you start seeing death in such places..
I think thats about the most important..who feels like more details (well actually on the whole India trip)feel free to contact me;)
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