Relaxing in Cochin with a quick stop in Bangalore

After escaping the heat for a few days in the hill top town of Munnar we were ready to get back to the coast to soak up some sun back in the town of Cochin (also called Fort Cochin, Cochi or Kochin). We had a little break from the traveller life planned for ourselves in Cochin; we used my large collection of hotel points to book ourselves a 3night stay at the Meridian.  The timing of our stint at the Meridien could not have been better, after a few weeks in the south sweating more every day that if we had run a marathon the consist AC and 3 tiered swimming pool were a welcome change. But before we could get to Cochi we needed to make the 5 hour local bus ride down the unstable mountain roads from Munnar.  The roads were so rough that I was barely able to keep the contents of my stomach down, and unfortunately the lady sitting in front of us was not.

After getting off the bus we quickly found a rickshaw to take us to the lap of luxury that awaiting. After a quick negotiation we got stuck on a price of 200 rupees. It was a bit more that I wanted to pay based on what I had heard it should cost but we were hot and tired and my insides were still turning from our 5 hour ride through the hills so we agreed to the price and he assured us he knew where the hotel was, because we had no idea. After about 20 minutes of driving our driver leans back to us and says “address please?” This was news to us since at the very beginning we told him we didn't know where it was and he told us he knew. Admittedly a little frustrated I tell him we don’t have it and he already told us he knew where he was going. He drives around for another 10mins or so before finally pulling over to ask some other drivers. 

After talking to a handful of others that didn’t know either we finally stopped at a travel agent office who lets us use his internet to look it up. Once we got the address the driver realizes it’s about 20mins back in the other direction and we head back to the rickshaw. Just as we are about to get back in he casually says that it will cost an extra 200 rupees – which we immediately tell him is not happening. An argument ensues lasting about 10mins, him dropping 25 rupees off every couple minutes and us holding our position that we will not pay extra for his mistake. After a while I grab out bags out of the rickshaw and tell him we are not going with him and are not paying him and we walk away. Apparently he doesn’t know what to do with this and follows us for a while as we talk to other drivers, each time he pulls up to them and we continue to walk away. Finally he stops and says he’ll talk us for only and extra 50 rupees ($1 CND), I was not having the best travel day so I was still angry and ready to leave this guy with nothing but Jonny was feeling guilty since now this had been about an hour and this guy made nothing so we finally agreed to jump back in.

Once we got into the lavish, luxurious, AC-filled Meridien the stress of the travel day started to melt away, and by the time they showed us to our upgraded 2 floor, 2 bath suite with a balcony that would be our home for the next 4days and 3 nights, they were totally gone.  We have absolutely loved our time traveling around India and to be totally honest we hadn’t been missing the western comforts all that much but having them again was incredibly nice. A real bed again instead of a camping mattress on a piece of wood, a toilet seat you would dare to sit one, drinkable tap water, a shower without flip-flops…… ok I kind of missed these things.

Our amazing suite

Looking down on the living room 

Jonny enjoying a real bed for the first time in ages

Since it was already late in the afternoon we decided to stay at hotel and enjoy the amenities and save the Cochin sight-seeing until the next day. The next morning we enjoyed a glorious sleep-in followed by a massive continental breakfast buffet courtesy of the Meridien before finally getting ourselves ready to brave the hot streets of the city. We walked a few feet outside of the hotel gates and flagged down a rickshaw who took us into Fort Cochin to explore for the day. We wandered around the coastline which is lined with Cantilevered Chinese fishing nets that have been there for a hundred years. These are still in use and you can actually buy a fish right at the water from any number of fishermen’s catch from the day and take it to a local restaurant where they will cook it up for you. Given my total aversion to fish this doesn't exactly float by boat and although Jonny would love that he choose not to this time. After the heat started to get to us we snuck into this really quaint little café called teapot and had some tea and samosas. 

Hundred year old fishing nets

Man showing off day's haul

Boats and nets lined up along the beach

After our break from the heat we headed over to the cultural centre to take in a Kathakali show, which is a dance/performance art that originated in Kerala in the 17th century

Def:  Kathakali is a highly stylized classical indian dance-performance noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music - Courtsey of Wikepedia

Performers starting the make-up process

Getting help for final touches

In final make up and costume

Performers during the show

When the show ended took another rickshaw back to the hotel and called it a night. We had all kinds of big plans to do some more touring around Cochin but instead each day we choose to have a leisurely breakfast, enjoy out suite and lounge by the pool……Hey you would too given the chance!

After 4 days in the Meridien we were snapped back to budget traveler reality with a 14 hour overnight bus ride to Bangalore where we had one day before catching a flight up north. With only one day in Bangalore we didn’t plan to see much, we really only had 1 goal – to see a professional cricket match. Lucky for us there was a game on the only day we were there…….. unlucky for us it was one of the biggest matches of the year, Bangalore vs. Mumbai for some sort of spot to move on, so all the tickets were sold out and apparently the only scam that does not exist in India is ticket scalping. After hanging around the stadium for a good while trying to find anyone getting rid of tickets we finally gave up and headed to a pub to watch the game on T.V instead. 

After an early dinner we called it a night since we have a 3:30am wake up call to get us to the airport for our 6am flight. Next up – Darjeeling and the Indian Himalaya’s!!

OOO_Talia and Jonny

Beat'n the Heat in Munnar

Even the bronz-asaurus needs a break from the heat. This isn’t even heat… this instant sweat.. not the good, “oh man decent work out” heat (not like I know how that feels anymore). Its more like.. “why does my skin feel and resemble how most would envision Slimes’ from Ghostbusters…

Side note: Why does travelling make you think of some of the best movies of all time… Like why we have Harry and the Henderson’s waiting to be played on our computer? Food for thought.

Anyways… Travelling through some of India’s most southern cities (if you can call them that) during their hottest time of year is HOT. So we figured we would beat the heat by escaping to the hills bordering Tamil Nadu.

If you have been keeping up with our adventures in India, it should be pretty clear by now that getting around in India is no small feat. You might as well give yourself the entire day and most of the night.. Even if your only a couple hundred KMs aways.

Munnar is about 300KMs away from the nearest coastal city, Kochi.

300KMs via local bus transit requires the following:

• Bus Boarding: Body checking your way through the “line ups” (major under statement – these guys make celebrity swarms look like a few people chatting), all while dodging the feet of the people taking the shortcut through the windows
• Finding a 2 seater (3 seaters always fill up and a 3 seater is built for 2.5 Indians) after throwing your bags beside the driver.
• Finally spending the final 100KM weaving around maze-like roads reminiscent of our times in Bolivia.
• If you cant picture it, lets just say this.. Minimum 3 people wind up puking out the window (all windows are open – just imagine the spray-back).

8hrs later (pretty quick India commute) and we have made it to Munnar.After a bus ride through these hills we have never appreciated the still ground more. Even if its caked in cow shit.

The crazy ride aside, upon arrival, temperatures dropped 10 degrees with cool mountain breezes instead of suffocating humidity.. Already, the trip has been worth it.

Another side note: this trip was only for 3 days before committing another 3 days to re-bronzing at the Le Meridien Kochi. More to come on that.

Munnar is a small hill station well known for its tea harvesting. Basically, 90 years ago, TATA (one of India’s largest mega-corporations) bought the town and everything in it…. Around every mountain corner is yet another tea plantation… just hills upon hills of tea plants…. Sounds boring, but the dizzying labyrinth –like fields make for some pretty amazing views.

Amazing lush green tea fields

The hills of Munnar

Enjoying a morning hike through the tea feilds

You, hell even me (who has been positively surprised around every corner in India) never pictured it to have anything like this. This place is peaceful, breathtaking and completely lacking of touts and your standard India big city/tourist annoyances… i.e. the honking had stopped, the streets were clean and every way you turned your head, another breathtaking view.

Seconds off the bus and through the colony of rigshaw drivers, we spotted a face we thought we could trust…  A great conversation later and we had our days planned with Siva (pronounced Sheeva). In a country filled with scams and an in-your-face culture, its amazing how these honest and pure people, experiences, etc… are around every corner. Its really just a game of chance.. but when you find it, it makes up for every negative experience you have had since.

Anyways, just like that, for about 600 rupees (about $12 CAD dollars) we had transport, a local guide (Siva) and great times ahead.

I think we have mentioned this before, but its Indian tourist season. You know what’s funny about being the only white people during Indian tourist season? EVERYTHING! Im pretty sure we will the India gossip mags release “shocking” pics of Jonalia. The power couple from Canada. At leqst that’s how it feels with the millions of photos taken of us…. 

GUNEET.. please confirm if my theory around Facebook “white people” albums is true…

“One, one! One, one!”

“Foto! Foto!”

“Hold my baby”

You hear this and you know you can kiss the next hour goodbye replaced any of your plans with white person photo time.

That said, we have taken some pretty epic photos with them and it may be more fun for us than them at this point. They love us and we love them. Just one of the many reasons to travel India. There is real love for people around every corner.

Jonny posing with a group of girls

Me in a family photo

Our 3 days in Munnar were a much needed break from the madness… now a little bronzing and then up North to Darjeeling, West Bengal for some trekking and to get a glimpse of the mountain warlocks we know as the Himalayas.

OOO_Jonny and Tals

House Boating India's Backwaters

Due to the kindness of strangers who helped us navigate our way through the Southern India's local train and bus services we arrived safely in Alleppey, the launching point for the Indian backwaters, after many hours of travel. About 6 hours to be exact to cover about 150km.... it really takes a while to get places in India. We also took our first train in the general, or 2nd class if you will, and we escaped unscathed. It was only for 4 hours and in all honestly wasnt that bad, expect for maybe the last bit where we had to stand near the washrooms. It smells like you would imagine and india train bathroom to smell like.

It was pretty late by the time we arrived in Alleppey so rather that look around for hotels we decided to go straight to a place called Palmy regency which came highly recommended by some friends we met at the ashram. It was supposed to be only a 5 minute walk from the bus station so with big packs and all we set to walking. After getting lost a few times and walking much longer then 5 mins we finally arrived at what we though was Pamly regency. Turns out this place was called Pamly RESIDENDY, yet had the exact same logo as the Pamly regency. Hotels and restaurants seem to use this imitation technique to lour people to their places, especially when the place they are imitating has been mentioned in the lonely planet. So we strapped our bags back on and headed to the real Pamly Regency, which really was only 5 mins from the bus station. End thought it was about 830pm by the time we arrived we had enough sweat to look like we had just finished a marathon, the heat in the south is thing nothing we have ever experienced before, luckily the gentleman and the hotel welcomed us with open arms and a very cold shower. We showered, settled in and grabbed a late night dosa before calling it a night.

We had decided that we wanted to take and overnight houseboat tour through the backwaters which usually leave everyday around 11am. Our new friend at the Pamly Regency has his friend come over early in the morning who owns a houseboat to give us the details and show us his boat so we could decide if we wanted to go. He and his friend arrived on motorcycles to take us to see his houseboat. I have never been on a motorcycle before and figured jumping on with a random stranger in India....why not! Sorry parents. For all those concerned with our stafety no there were no helmets, but right before we jumped on a bird pooped on my shoulder. That is a sign of good luck right!

A 24 hour houseboat tour is pretty expensive by Indian standards, about $95 total, but hey you only live once right! Besides that is cheaper than dinner in a movie in Toronto and not nearly as relaxing. We decided to take him up on his offer and then headed back to the hotel to have a quick breakfast and pack our stuff to get to the boat by 11am.

We spent the next 24 hours cruising around the backwaters on our private house boat with a 3 man crew. We read, we napped, we daydreamed, we waved at countless India people on their own party boats and we ate like kings. 

This is what all the house boats look like, in varying sizes

Jonny enjoying the patio

One of many feasts on the boat

Our boat parked while we enjoy the surrounding area

Cruising out front

Enjoying the backwater views

Passing a small village along the way

At around 6pm the boat docked for the night. The fishing boats get priority on the waters in the evenings so all the houseboats have to stop cruising by 6pm. Our amazing crew cooked us an India feast for dinner and we eat under the stars before calling it a night and retiring to our bed room. 

A cricket match underway in one of the villages

Local life going on along the water

A night under the stars on our boat

The next morning after a great sleep-in we had breakfast on the boat before heading back  to the starting point. After many thank-you's to our crew we grabbed a rickshaw to head to the bus station to fight our way onto a local bus to take us to Munnar via Kochi. We are headed to the hills for a few days to escape the heat!

Namaste

OOO_Talia 

OOO_Hey newsflash….Yoga is not just a form of exercise to make you bendy-er

Yoga (literally translated means union); discipline with the aim of helping individual practionner unite individual consciousness with the divine, achieved by raising awareness of true nature of self through spiritual, mental and physical discipline.

Ashram: centre where followers of particular guru gather to study and practice yoga science (or religion depending on who you ask)

As part of our adventure in India and our path to learn about Indian spirituality, and honestly to understand what all the hype was about, we decided to spend a week living in a traditional ashram.  We choose the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari ashram in Neyer Dam, Kerala. Amongst other reasons we selected this ashram because it came highly recommended by other travelers, its supreme location nestled in the hills around a lake in an otherwise empty town, decade’s long worldwide following of the 2 main gurus and its reputation as a traditional ashram not watered down for western vacationers.

Entrance way to the ashram

Ashram main gate

I think both of us went into the experience expecting a chilled out atmosphere, some time for quiet reflection and a ton of yoga to help us relax and shape up. Jonny and I selected the program entitled Yoga Vacation and opted to stay in the same sex dorm accommodations, spending our first nights apart in months, which only ran us 400 rupees/ day including all our food – or about $8/day. People can attend the yoga vacation program for anywhere from 3 days to 1 month +, but don’t let the name fool you, this is no simple yoga retreat, the 4 hours a day of actual yoga is just the tip of this jam packed daily schedule that all guest are strictly expected to attend. Yes, attendance is taken, and yes if you try and skip something staff will come and find you to inform you that attendance is mandatory (both Jonny and I know this first hand J ). Here is the Sivananda daily schedule;

5:20am – Wake up Bell

6:00 – 6:30am – Group meditation

6:30 – 7:30am – Group Satsang (devotional chanting to various gods in sanskrit)

7:30am – Tea time

8:00 – 10:00am – Yoga (the physical kind)

10:00am – Brunch (yes the first meal of the day since being awake at 5:20)

11:00am – Karma Yoga (essentially the chores or selfless service that you are assigned for the duration of your stay)

12:00pm – Yoga coaching – optional (opportunity to get individual coaching on poses that you are having trouble with

1:30pm – Tea time 2

2:00pm – Lecture

3:30pm – 5:30pm – Yoga class

6:00pm – Dinner

8:00-8:30pm – Group meditation

8:30 – 9:30pm – Group Satsang again

10:30pm – Lights out.

Triangle pose during class

Working on my headstand

Brunch in the dining hall

Ashram food following a Sattic diet, no meat, eggs, spice, garlic or onion - which all hinder meditation

Rather than just describe our week at the ashram I thought I would just share some of the personal notes I made to myself each day and some of the education information they shared with us.

Day 1:

• Arrived safely and checked in. Settled into our dorm accommodations, there are about 30 women in the ladies dorm but the accommodations are pretty reasonable; shared bathrooms, small single bed, mosquito net and fan over each 2 beds.
• Met the ashram directors, an older white South African dude and older British lady, both now live at the ashram full time and only go by their spiritual names….which I can’t pronounce.
• Had our first Satsang experience, I don’t really know what I was expecting but there was a lot more “god talk” than I had anticipated.
• All the chanting is in Sanskrit…..how do these people even know Sanskrit? This is taken a lot more seriously than I thought; people actually practice these chants and prayers outside of Satsang
• After chatting with other guest and looking around at Satsang, I’ve noticed that there are people here from all walks of life. There must be over 20 countries represented here, younger people, older people, couples like us, Yoga enthusiasts, yoga beginners, devoted want-to-be yogis, those in search of god, intrigued backpackers….. you name it, they are here.

Day 2

• Still getting oriented and getting used to the program and had another Satsang this morning another interesting experience. I think the mediation is something I could get onboard with, although I am finding it harder to “empty my mind” than they make it seem. The devotional chanting however is tough to get used to. Chanting prays to gods I have never heard of in a language I don’t know…. I am still working on that.
• Had our first yoga class today and found the beginners class to be way to easy, we probably spent the first 90mins doing breathing, so we’ll move up to beginners tomorrow
• We got our Karma yoga jobs assigned today, Jonny and I got assigned working in the boutique - probably the best job ever! For an hour a day we hang out in the boutique working the cash, folding shirts, stocking shelves and getting to meet all the other guests – much better than toilet duty.
• Went for a swim in the nearby lake today with some other guests during free time. Fully covered of course to follow ashram rules (no women’s knees or shoulders visible at any time). We later found out that there are crocodiles in this lake – opps! At least there hasn’t been an attack in 5 years.
• Reflecting on the experience so far I find myself wondering what I will take out of it (other than some mad headstand skills) since my reason for being here is not to find the path to god. Even though I may not be totally onboard with that aspect of the Ashram I do respect Swami Sivananda’s 6 basic philosophies – SERVE, LOVE, GIVE, PURIFY, MEDIATE, REALIZE

Day 3:

• In this morning’s Satsang we learnt why there is so much devotion and study included in the Sivananda yoga practice; to build the mind (wisdom) and use the heart in order to keep them in balance as too much of either is bad. Too much wisdom equals overthinking and not feeling while too much heart leads to irrational actions/thoughts
• Today’s lecture focused on understanding the various types of yoga that are included in the full practice
• Karma: Yoga of action i.e. self-less service, charity, etc.
• Bhakti: Channeling emotions into devotions i.e. chanting, prayers, etc.
• Raja: learning to control your mind. Body and thoughts through things like mediation, pranayama (breathing) and hatha yoga i.e. physical poses and postures
• Jnana: Knowledge and study of Swami teachings and yoga scriptures
• We started the intermediate yoga class today, first pose – Headstand. Definitely much more challenging, but in a good way

Day 4:

• EXHAUSTED today. The 5:20am wake up calls have finally caught up with me. I made it to Satsang this morning but slept through the whole thing, lucky for me sleeping sitting up looks like mediating.
• Morning yoga session was terrible today since I was so tired. I opted for a long afternoon nap during my free time
• Had an interesting lecture today on whether yoga is a science or religion. The short answer is it is kind of both. It falls into the religious category for obvious reasons; devotions, search for god, etc. But is also falls into the science category since it is something that can be repeated by many with the same result. Unlike conventional science which is the observations and experiments with the same result of the tangible and objectives things, yoga is study/test of ourselves and therefore more subjective
• The second half of the lecture turned into a very heated debate on the subject of god. Bring up god in a room full of multi-national, multi-background and multi-faith people and it will definitely turn heated!

Day 5:

• Tried to skip Satsang this morning and sleep in – Busted.  Got woken up by one of the teachers and then had to go
• We had morning yoga and then had the rest of the day off since it is Friday. We decided to take a day trip with a few other guests to the nearby beach town of Kovalam
• Kovalam turned out to be a very chilled out beach town with some amazing views of the Adriatic Sea. From one of the looks outs you can see the southernmost tip of India
• We returned pretty late and missed evening Satsang…opps.

Old fishing boats on Kovalam beach 

Local beach-goers enjoying the surf

Jonny joining in

India's southern most tip off in the distance

Sunsetting over Kovalam Beach

Day 6:

• Today is leaving day so I decided to rebel and skip Satsang…. Even when they came to wake me up
• Did one last yoga class this morning which was a really great session
• We had one last meal in the dining hall and then said our goodbyes to all the wicked people we met this week before taking off 

In the end we decided to cut our stay short by a day, partially because we had pretty much had enough of the devotional aspect of ashram life (I am still working on getting some of the chants out of my head) but mostly because once we got to the state of Kerala we realized there were a few other places we wanted to see so we wanted to sneak in another location before heading up north.  

Overall would I recommend the ashram experience to others, I would even recommend the Sivananda ashram to others. Even with the few aspects I didn’t enjoy we recognize that they were there to teach visitors their methods and beliefs not cater to foreign travelers in search of a yoga retreat. Plus the yoga, people and all around peaceful atmosphere made up for all the chanting :).  My only advice to those who are thinking of going to an ashram would be that you do your research and ensure that the style and program at the centre align with your wants, go in with an open-mind, participate and take away from it what you need for your life.

Namaste

OOO_Talia

Down South in Varkala

After a day of cabs, planes, buses and rickshaw rides we finally arrived in the Southern coastal town of Varkala, in the state of Kerala. We hadn’t really done much planning before arriving in Varkala but had heard many good things from other travelers that it was a chilled out beach town – really what we were in the mood for after a few weeks in and around Delhi.

Varkala definitely delivered as tranquil and low key beach town. It is perched on a cliff lined with resorts, guesthouses, cafes and shops.  Given that we arrived right at the end of the tourist season it was especially chilled out, with some cafes and shops already closing up. We spent 2 days here getting some much needed R ‘n R, sipping coffee at local cafes, soaking up a little more beach side sun and waiting out power outage after power outage (standard for India).

Looking down at the ocean (Arabian Sea) over one of the cliffs

Main beach in Varkala first thing in the morning

This was our first experience with Indian beaches and it was really interesting to see the juxtaposition between Indian locals swimming, mostly fully clothed (especially women) and half naked westerners occupying the same beach….. not to mentioned the many, many stares that this stirred up.  Given Varkala’s position as an up and coming tourist spot, channeling some of Goa’s hippy beach town vibe (so I've been told) the local authorities have been doing a lot to ensure that foreign tourists feel safe and comfortable here, to continue to encourage travelers to visit. In an effort to do that they have set up local police on the beach who blow their whistles at locals who stare too long or try and talk to the foreigners.  While I do understand why they think they need to do this, keep the locals away from foreigners, they need the tourism dollars and I am sure they believe that westerners don’t want to be “disturbed” by locals. They may even be right about some travelers but really I find this a bit sad. The whole allure of travelling to other countries, at least in my books, is to meet local people and understand local culture. In mine and Jonny’s experience so far we have found the local Indian people to be harmless and extremely friendly, most of the time they are just interested in knowing about us, welcoming us to India and practicing a little of their English. SO for all you current and future travelers out there, should you find yourself in India being approached by locals…. CHAT with them!

OOO_Talia 

Holy City of Varanasi

After a very interesting overnight train ride (see previous blog), we arrived in Varanasi very early in the morning. We had pre-arranged a rickshaw pick up from the train station with our guesthouse since finding anything in the narrow, windy, maze like streets of Varanasi can be near impossible until you spend a few days getting your bearings.  On recommendation from J.J and Kait who had been to Varanasi about 10 days earlier we choose to stay at Monu’s guesthouse right near the Ganges River to be close to all the action. It was great place to stay – barebones rooms, but with ensuite bathrooms, A/C, excellent location, low price and helpful owner you can’t go wrong. Unfortunately since it was so early when we arrived we were not able to check into our room, so again on recommendation we headed to the Brown Bread Bakery to grab some breakfast, which we ended up doing for the next 3 days in a row. Their full on breakfast buffet for a mere 150 rupees is tough to beat. Around 1130am we were able to check in and got cleaned up. 

First view of the very narrow streets...occupied by cows of course

After showering and basking in the A/C for a while we headed out for some sight-seeing starting at the Ghats along the Ganges River.  We strolled around taking in all the activity until we stumbled upon the Manikarnika Ghat, the primary cremation Ghat.  Hindus believe that those who are cremated in Varanasi will be liberated from the endless cycle of birth and death.

At first we were a little unsure about whether we wanted to stay and watch. In western culture a funeral and certainly a cremation is such a private activity, strictly limited to family and loved ones you would never dream of passing by a grieving family and standing around watching them say goodbye to their loved ones as a spectator. But this is a different place, a different world really. One major thing you notice in India is that Indians put everything out there in the open. Maybe it is just fundamental cultural difference or maybe it’s because there over a billion people living in a landmass probably not even 1/5^th the size of Canada so privacy is just not an option, but everything is the open in this country. Poverty, wealth, religion, spirituality, sometimes nature’s call , etc., you name it. Nowhere else have I found this to be more true than Varanasi where all of the above plus, life and death all take place in the open along the holy Ganges River.  Varanasi is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and is basically considered the Mecca for holy Hindus. People don’t just come here to scatter their loved ones in the holy Ganges River but also to come for a dip, said to wipe away life’s sins. This city is chaotic – tight, narrow, crowded and in your face, but not in a way that makes you want to run, more want to learn.

Once we finally decided that we wanted to stay we struggled to find a spot to watch the ceremonies, maintain a respectful distance and not stand in any area designated for family. We finally found a spot perched over the Ghats one a landing above where a local man started to give us an explanation of the ceremony. Here is a brief description of some of the detail involved;

First the family prepares the body at home with a cleansing mixture; women do the cleansing if a woman and men for men. Men are dressed in white and women in red before their cremation. Then the men carry the body through the narrow streets of Varanasi as a type of procession down to the Ghats, where they plunge the body into the Ganges to cleanse the soul of the deceased.  Afterwards they carry the body back up to a bed of firewood to prepare for cremation. There are 4 different types of wood that is used for cremation varying in price per kg, Sandalwood being the most expensive. The head mourner, typically the eldest son, lights the body from underneath on 5 logs. 5 signifies the Hindu belief that the body is made up of 5 elements, earth, water, air, fire and spirit. The bodies are burned for approximately 3 hours until only 1 bone is left in the ashes, chest bone for men and hip for women.  The remaining bones are then tossed into the Ganges and they collect the remaining ashes in a pot. Once the ashes cool they throw them backwards into the river. After the cremation the son shaves is head and doesn’t work for 13 days they just pray and mediate.

Women do not come to the Ghats for the cremation ceremonies because in the old days they used to throw themselves onto the fires when their husbands died.  However this seems to be changing in modern times. There are 4 types of bodies that they do not cremated; Holy men, pregnant women, babies and small children and people who died from a snakebite, which is said to be a sign from the Hindu god Siva. Those bodies are tied with rope to a rock and then sunk to the bottom of the Ganges. It is not uncommon for these bodies to come undone from the rope and float to the top of the river, freaking out the old tourist here and there.

Apologies for anything mis-stated here, this came in a bit of broken English from a local man.

Looking down the river along the Ghats

Boat work along the Ghats

Looking up at Dashashwamedh Ghat from the water

NB: there are no pics from the cremation Ghats at photographs are not allowed

Varanasi by night is in stark contrast to the day, it is very beautiful, almost  serene, mostly lit by candle light from the floating candles that people release into the river to remember loved ones. There are beautiful ceremonies that take place each night at the ghats, the most popular is the Aarati ceremony down at Dashashwamedh Ghat. The ceremony consists of group of priests performing and intricate, coordinated ritual where a dedication is made to Lord Shiva, River Ganga (the Ganges), Surya (Sun), Agni (Fire), and the whole universe.  Local families, domestic and western travellers alike gather to watch and it definitely had a more spiritually authentic vibe that wandering around the holy river during the day. With 2 nights in Varanasi we took in a sunset boat cruise on and the night time Aarati ceremony respectively and then hit Fuji Ganga restaurant each night. It’s a great little traveller spot with live music each night and a very friendly owner who takes every order in the place. Each time we went we let him pick what we had and were never disappointed.

Jonny sending a candle into the river

Talia sending a candle into the river

Local holy man performing blessings

Priest in the middle of Aarati ceremony

One thing that we have noticed since travelling India is that you really need to be ready to visit a new city. The bigger cities can be unrelenting and hectic especially until you get your bearings so you need to be in the right frame of mind. The slightest thing can turn your day upside down – good or bad. In our case on our 2^nd day in Varanasi a chance meeting with a local turned our day into and EXCELLENT day. We were picking up a few clothes for Jonny in the market when we met Raju, the most honest, hardworking, genuine man we have met yet. He is a lifetime bicycle rickshaw driver who wears his heart on this sleeve. When we first met him we started telling us all the things that he knew about Canada that he has learned from Canadian travelers over the years (population 35 mil, listing major cities, our abundance of Salmon, etc.). His pride and joy, other than his 7 children, is a tattered old notebook that he keeps in his front pocket that has hand written recommendations from foreigners he has driver over the last 10 years in every language. He gave us refuge from the streets under the canopy of his rickshaw and we spent 4 hours with him exploring parts of Varanasi that we didn’t even know were there.

Our new buddy Raju

Jonny driving around our friend Raju

On our 3^rd and final day in the city we got ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn to head down to the Ganges for a sunrise boat cruise, a sight absolutely not to be missed.  As our new 14 year old friend rowed our boat along (his morning job before going to school) we watched local life starting up,  people brushing their teeth, families taking baths, men praying, women doing laundry – all of life’s daily tasks. Much like dusk, we found dawn to much less chaotic. We watched life start up over one of the most amazing sunrises we’ve seen in a while and I got a whole new appreciation for Varanasi and realized how much I really did like it here with all its ups a and downs. We headed back to our guesthouse to get ready, grabbed one more breakfast at the bakery and got lost through the streets a little more before heading to the station to catch our overnight train back to Delhi. This time hopefully as eventful than the last one! 

Sunrise over the Ganges

Jonny taking in the early morning sun

Life's daily activities getting started in the river

OOO_Talia 

You Good Person!!....Goodbye Rajastan

You Good Person!!!

As the first leg of our adventure in India comes to an end, it has become evident that Rajasthan was the perfect way to see a side of India we never thought possible.

Small towns (by India standards) with big personalities and even bigger experiences. This really is one of the best ways to experience India.

Sitting on this 12hr overnight train, reflecting back on our time in Rajasthan we have really been able to unlock 2 key things about India. That’s about all we have been able to do as our train birth-mate Rangeet just got out drunken by me on his own whiskey...SORRY.. 3 key things about India…

1. Indians can’t drink. When they do, they get BOD’d (black out drunk) and fall over through birth-stalls in the middle of the night, get very touchy with men or woman strangers and play the drinking game “YOU GOOD PERSON”. Maybe that is why Guneet Singh is the way he is (STING….. HA)??
2. 
   

• Our night with our new buddy Rangeet started off pretty innocent, he and his buddy has snuck a mickey of Indian whiskey on the train so they could have a drink before heading off. True of Indian hospitality they offered us one as well, we graciously accepted. First mickey empty……only then does Rangeet pull an entire 40 out of his bag……foreshadowing some trouble, but well played good sir.
• His buddy jumps off the train as he wasn’t making the journey with us and the “getting to know you” continues over whiskey with Rangeet’s relatively good broken English and then forces Jonny to eat his dinner that his wife prepared…… “we are friends.. no” says Rangeet.
• As we continue Rangeet unwittingly turns it into a drinking game which we have dubbed “good person” Every time one of us says “You good person” you drink one. Every time one of us says “You bad person”, finish your drink.
• By this time any English that Rangeet had is gone and he is speaking slurred hindi to us trying to get us to respond, falls out of our berth onto a sleeping man in the next berth over…… we hit the lights and put our new friend Rangeet to bed.
• Moral of this story…….beware of Indian whiskey, and Indian men drinking it

Drinkers Beware!

• 2.        The initial madness of a new Indian city or town is a result of how Indian life is just put out there, flat out in front of you and anyone else with open eyes…. It’s an open mind that allows you to wash away that madness revealing the true beauty of this place….
  
  
  3.    India is truly a loving place. The men, women, children and even their pets (other than the nasty street dogs and cows) are willing to love you right away…. It’s being able to wash away that madness that lets you love them right back unlocking some amazing experiences.

Rajastan Favs

As we bring this leg of the trip to an end, I can say that solitude is surely attainable in India. You just gotta seek it out with an open mind and heart. Which brings us to the next leg…

Seeing out the spiritual side of India

via Varanasi – One of the most holy places in India

via Kerala (South India) – for getting in touch with our inner-selves (at an ashram) and seeing a different style of small town India.

OOO_Jonny and Tals