The Ganges River

You know the joke about where do Hindus go to die? No, nor do I, but this is the place.

For every Hindu, the goal is to visit this place once in their lives, bathe in it, and drink a little of the water. Given its record pollution over the years, drinking the water should ensure you're going to die here too.

The river is an unusual sight. It is one border of the city of Varanasi, the important one. Lots of activity on the bank. Here they call the bank a ghat, and it is separated into 84 ghats along the accessible length of the river. Im not sure how long each ghat is, but it can't be more than a few buildings long. There are houses, hotels, places of business.
As we drove to the river, our guide pointed out some cowpats covering the face of a wall to dry.
Just like the ones we had seen out in the country, these were the apartment living version, making use of available space. Quite clever, really.
He went on to tell us that a group of Japanese tourists, when shown the same wall, asked "how do the cows manage to do such perfectly round pats, and on the wall?" Mmmm!

After we left the bus, we were swarmed. Other than the normal tourist kitsch, many of these kids were trying to sell us candles, to float in the river later in the evening.
Sarah said something to them in Jibberachy, and they backed off from her. But that just made it worse for me. This one particular little girl seems to be trying to get between Sarah and me. You know how the big cats in Africa try to separate the weak animal from the herd? The sickly pale wildebeest, that's me. Easy prey, apparently.

We make our way precariously onto a boat ready for our journey along one of the worlds most historic rivers.
As we go along, it is a hive of industry. I can see level after level of windows climbing up the bank. Some of the bigger buildings are perhaps eight stories. Others are stacked behind each other, to achieve the same height. Building after building, as far as the eye could see, all the way down the riverbank. There are some very old buildings. Ancient, probably.







We pass one temple that may want to sue the local council. Or whoever built their foundation!!












We head downstream, towards streams of billowing smoke. You guessed it, skippy. Funeral pyres. Quite a few. All at the same ghat. A family business, this is the most famous Hindu cremation location in the world. Together with another one down the river, they are the only Hindu crematoriums allowed to operate 24/7, up to ten at a time. A real production line.

For obvious reasons, no photography is allowed in the vicinity, so as we approach, we are advised to put our cameras away. As the boats gather, our staff get a bit terse with tourists on other boats who continued clicking away. One woman responded, "If you can't take photos, then why is it so public?" I didn't hear the response, but I can't imagine it was particularly magnanimous.

We then moved onto another area, where a huge crowd was gathering. There is a prayer called Arti, which is held every night an hour after sunset. It seems to have become a tourist attraction, so there are still lots of children hovering about, selling floral candles for floating in the river after this prayer. One young girl who was walking from boat to boat, stopped on ours. A woman in our group asked the guide if the girl goes to school. In perfect English, the girl replies "I go to school". Priceless.
We were planing to leave before the service was over. With the number of boats that had pulled in behind us, not so much.

One thing we commented on, as we returned down the river in the dark. I have described the stacked buildings all down the city side of the river, but haven't mentioned the buildings on the other side. That's because there weren't any. At all.
Barren riverbank.

Apparently, if you live and die within the city confines, you will break the cycle of reincarnation. You will achieve nirvana, and become one with god. Outside the city, not so much.

They should sell the land to the Christians. They won't give a toss.
Here's a thought. Build hotels there. Imagine the value of having Hilton, Sheraton, Venetian, Wynn, Trump, all lined up on the far bank of the Ganges. I can't believe nobody has done it yet.

I'm just thinking about the gondoliers from the Venetian taking people out onto the river. There's a joke in there somewhere, but I think it best to step away from it.