Varanasi and Sarnath

In August of this year I travelled from Aurangabad to Varanasi, via Mumbai. Afterwards I was to fly to Thailand to stay at a retreat at a forest monastery. It was my second visit to India, the first one having been in October 2012 with my wife and my father-in-law. That time we had done the Golden Triangle (Delhi-Agra-Jaipur), and although the experience had been good, my wife and father-in-law said they wouldn't put a foot in that country again. As you may know, India is no country for the light-hearted. You have to put up with a lot of dirt, harrassing, scams, negotiating for things you have to buy, plus, if you get out of the cities that speak Hindi, you also have to deal with the language barrier. That is because the areas where they originally speak other local dialects, like Marati for example, as a second tongue they choose Hindi instead of English. In Delhi and Varanasi people speak Hindi, so, as a second tongue, they speak English. That makes sense, right?

Despite de hazards, I found India fascinating. So, I decided to go back on my own whenever I had the chance again. Fortunately this year, before leaving Beijing to move to Brazil, I had the opportunity to spend 3 months traveling around South and South-East Asia. That included Aurangabad (because I wanted to visit Shirdi, the place where Shirdi Sai Baba lived), the surroundings, and of course Varanasi, The City of Gods.

Varanasi or Benares is probably the most ancient living city in the world today. By "living" I mean that today the people still maintain virtually the same customs and rituals as 2000 or 3000 years ago. That's what they say. And that makes it a cultural and religious wonder.

For those who haven't been there before, let me warn you: The three cities where with more scams and harassment to foreigners in all India are Agra, Varanasi and Delhi. This I read in the Lonely Planet guide, and personally I would put it in that same order I have written it. So, you have to be prepared and in the right set of mind. Specially if you are a woman traveling by yourself or with other women.

However, the positive thing is that the city is swarmed by militarized-police men all around. I haven't seen so many army men watching a city even in Tel-Aviv. But that made me feel much safer. Also, if you have a question to make, you better ask one of these army/police-men, because the city is full of scams, and if you let somebody in the street help you, you may later want to charge you a ridiculous amount of money. And this is another thing you have to be aware of: While you walk the street, you'll get annoyed frequently by locals asking you where you want to go or what you are looking for. Just avoid them and try not to give them the slightest chance to "help" you, because very probably they'll want to rip you off afterwards for their "service".

Despite all this, after I got used to the city, I have to say I felt safe. However, let me say that I'm a man, and I was walking by myself, shabby and dirty, and I realized that when you walk slowly as if going nowhere (as beggars do) you are much less disturbed than if you walk in a hurry.

Another piece of information I read about, and I obeyed, was not to buy any tea or drinks in stalls that are too near the Ganga (Ganges River), because most likely they just rinse the glasses in the dirty waters from the river. Oh, sorry! I should have said holy! Nevertheless, for a foreign body that is not used to the local bacteria, that water is very inconvenient.

However, definitely do not miss the chance to buy some Masala milk-tea (Chai, as they call it) from a street stall. It's the best in the world! I got addicted to it and would have five or six per day. And after I left India, I would try get some at Indian restaurants, although they were not as good.

Also, you can't miss the Varanasi sweets. Get into their sweets-stores (that's what they have instead of our Western bakeries), and choose different types of their local sweet made with condensed milk, nuts, and different kinds of condiments. This is a tradition in Varanasi. These sweets are typical in the whole Indian subcontinent, but they originally come from Varanasi. So, this is the right place to experiment them.

Another treat is their Lassi, or Mango Lassi. This is a yogurt that you may have plain (with salt or sugar), or with fruit shake. And, there is a local lassy as well that has some hashish or marihuana inside. I read and heard that it really stones you. Many shops have official permits to sell this drink. Other times people can sell them illegally. Just be aware of what you are ordering whenever you ask for a Lassy!

The highlight of the city is the old-city. That is where you have the Galis and the Ghats on the Ganges. Galis are the ultra narrow streets that form a crazy maze where you can very easily get lost. Despite being unbelievably narrow, they are shared by people, stalls, bicycles, scooters and motorcycles, and even animals such as bulls, cows, dogs, sheep, monkeys, pigs, and even buffaloes. Sometimes I had to graze the tip of the horns of a bull with my chest in order to pass through. I was very nervous, but a local lady said with a simple look that everything would be ok. This is the kind of things you have to get used to. And if you are flexible and adventurous, you will find the magic in it.

Of course, in such a messy place, you will be stepping on dung and shit all the time. So, try to carry a back-pack instead of a suitcase or a carry-one, in order to avoid dragging your luggage through all the crap. If it rains it gets even more messy, but just relax and were your oldest boots, or just go around in slippers or sandals and get used to being all splashed with shit!

When you get to the city, the locals will realize you are just arrived, and will scam you to take you to you hotel. If you are going by yourself, this part can be tough, because it'll be very hard to get rid of all the scammers that will force themselves to follow you whether you like it or not. The trick is, they'll try to convince you to go to a hostel/hotel where they will receive more commissions. They may even try to persuade you not to go to your destination inventing stories about fires and floods. And, even if they cannot drag you to where they want you to go, they will follow you, and get inside your hotel and speak to the staff they he took you there, so he can get a commission, which may consist of a 20% - 70% of the real price of the room. And this, of course, will be charge on you later. So, if you go alone to find your hostel, you will need to fight hard to get rid of all the nuisance.

The heart of the city life is in the Ghats. These are the steps at the river bank, where are the rituals are performed. You have many Ghats, and each one has it's characteristic. For example, Manikarnika Ghat is the main Ghat, and there they do the cremations of the corpses. It's free to go and look at any time (working 24 hs.), but do not attempt to take a single photo; and if you are carrying a camera along, try it to be well hidden, or you may be in trouble with some sour local. And try to avoid all scams that invite you to their private terrace where they say you can take pictures. The professionals that take pictures of the cremations for documentaries or magazines, pay a fortune to the local government to get a special permit to take photos for half an hour, or an hour.

Along the Ghats you will come across many Sadhus. These are the Hindu Holy-Men or renunciants that have left all possessions behind in order to live a chaste life, become vegetarian, and avoid dealing in business, and even touching money. The real Sadhus will never beg. However, about 90% of the people around the city that are dressed as Sadhus (in the traditional orange robes and long beards), are fake Sadhus; and they will be begging for whatever they can get.

While staying in Varanasi I didn't want to let pass the chance of visiting Sarnath, the holy city where the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni (Siddharta Gautama) went right after becoming enlightened under the Bodhi Tree, and gave his famous first sermon: the Sermon of the Mount. Sarnath is a much cleaner and peaceful town than Varanasi, just 10 km. away. That morning, since I wasn't in the mood of negotiating with the tuc-tuc mafia-men, I decided to walk a

ll the way to Sarnath. At the beginning, mainly until I got out of the city of Varanasi, I was annoyed by some tuc-tucs that didn't want to let me go without accepting their service. One of them was particularly annoying, because he followed me for about a kilometer, but eventually gave up. Along that way, still inside Varanasi city, but outside the touristic part (old-city and Gahlis) I came across the two only situations of relative aggressiveness. One was two teenagers when going, and the other one was a 12 year-old brat on my way back. The first two pretended to bully me and eventually pretended to punch me when I ignored them and pass by them. But there was no real physical contact that I remember. The second case, the kid took my arm and pretended not to let me go until I gave him some money. Then, spontaneously I let go a "Fuck off!", and he let go shocked. That was all. Nothing really serious. Just a little bit of discomfort that is good to be aware of and mentally prepared for.

The main place to visit in Sarnath is the protected area that holds the exact place where the Buddha gave his sermon, plus one of Ashokas Pillar, and the remains of a very ancient city that was also build by Ashoka, the famous Indian emperor that converted to buddhism in the III Century B.C. You have to buy a ticket to get inside.

Beside that protected area, there is a Sri Lankan Temple, beside which there is a Bodhi Tree that is an offspring of the one that was taken to Sri Lanka from the original Bodhi Tree where the Buddha became enlightened. The original one, in Bodhgaya, India, is dead, since Ashoka's wife killed it in a seizure of jealousy.

There are other temples and historical places worth to visit in Sarnath. In all, one full day should be enough to visit it all. Including the Jainism Temple (don't miss it) that is beside the Stupa that marks the place where the First Sermon was given.

I strongly recommend to carry a GPS to go around. That will spare you the stress of relying on the locals whenever you don't know where you are standing, or how to find your hotel, or how to get where. Mainly inside the Galis, it's like being inside a labyrinth! Unfortunately, when I went to India that time, they didn't sell SIM cards to foreigners, due to a very recent security policy that forbade it. I even heard that for locals it took three days to get their chip (the previous year I hadn't had any problem to buy one). Fortunately, my smartphone had a integrated GPS, and that helped a lot. Also, many places in Varanasi offer Wi-Fi.

The core of the city for the Hindus is the Vishwanath Temple, which is the main temple in India dedicated to god Shiva (the main god in the Hindu trinity Shiva-Vishnu-Brahma). This temple is surrounded by military men, to protect if from attacks from the muslims. Unfortunately, foreigners are not aloud inside. And sometimes you are not even allowed even along the Gali that passes beside, and you may have to go around to reach wherever you want to go.