Varanasi (2) Pee and Poo

This part 2 for Varanasi.

What is Varanasi? This afternoon I was with my flute teacher and I told him about the challenge to describe Varanasi. During my practice I said pee instead pa (so) (do re mi etc). I thought yes Pee and Poo are also part of Varanasi.

Pee and Poo are not the names of some people but it is something what Indians do anywhere. Every morning when I look out of window to the Ganga I see people washing clothes in the Ganga and I see people pee and poo.

When I walk trough the old town of Varanasi, with his narrow lanes you have to be careful not to put your shoe in the pee and poo of peoples and cows. If you compare Varanasi with Amsterdam. Then Amsterdam is as clean as Singapore. When I walk trough the small lanes it is like walking in a stable, all the time I semll cowshit.

In the morning they try to clean the small lanes, but minutes later the lanes are full of cow shit and human poo and pee.

Indians do it everywhere and at any moment during the day even if there is a crowd they don't mind or have no shame.

Can you describe Varanasi

Today I was talking to some people and ask them to describe Varanasi. But the responds was mostly: "you can not describe Varanasi".
I can take some pictures, I can take short movies with my camera. But I would still miss the smells.

When I walked along the ghats I thought by now I should have seen it, but the picture is changing every day, no day is the same. Varanasi is everyday in your face. Do you want postcards? Do you want Massage? Do you want chai? Do you want to buy clothes? What are you looking for? What do you want to buy? Etc......The cycle rickshaw there are so many, the roads who look like country roads.

But then there is the Ganga, floating nice and quit. Along the riverbanks you walk from one gath to another gath. Or I would sit down for a cup of tea. Watching the boat people, people washing clothes, people drinking holy Ganga water, man, woman and child taking bath while next to this bodies are burnt in one burning gaths.

Varanasi makes me tired, most travelers go to bed around 9:30 pm. The pollution and there is to much to see, not so much museum, but Varanasi as it is A live and buzeling.

At the moment I take some flute lessons for someone who never did something with music it is a first step.

Happy Christmas

To all I wish you a happy Christmas. Im still in Varanassi. Last night we went to a christmas eve party with sufi music and fire artist. The music and the artist were great. I will be in Varanassi till the beginnng of this year. Around 3 Jan I will move to Kathmandu.
Meinoud

Varanassi

On 12 December I took a night train from Hardiwar to Varanasi. According the Lonely planet this train supossed to take only 17 hours. To my suprise it took nearly 23 hours. Appertly I took a slow 20:30 pm train from Hardiwar and this train stopped at the most place including very small places.

The good thing is you see a lot of the country side of India and communitors between small places. The bad thing was I arrived at 19:40 in Varanassi.
Varanassi is not a good place to arrive in the evening because it is a crazy place. So that night (tuesday) I stayed in Buddha hotel which is near the train station. Is nice hotel with cabel television but now hot water in the evening just a bucket. It is the most expensive placed I stayed 400 rps a night (8 euro) But sometime you need something different.

The Nextday (wednesday)I changed to Ganpatti Guesthouse. This guesthouse has a nice rooftop overlooking the Gaths and the Ganga river. Two years ago I stayed at the same guesthouse but in a different season. Now it is the dry season the Ganga is prety low while two years ago the Ganga was very high. The good thing now is you can walk along the riverbanks and avoid the always busy old town. In the old town you get always lost. So the last number of days I was walking along the riverbanks, seeing many things. But that will be in a next story.

MJR

some thoughts about Rishikesh

Since last tuesday I'm in Varanasi. This is a great place. I will write later about Varanasi. Maybe tomorrow.

Books I'm reading now are:
* Moola Bandha- The Master key from Swami Buddhananda this book is about yoga and the key for Kundalini awakening
* Sophie's World from Jostein Gaarder



Rishikesh

I stayed since the beginning of November in Rishikesh and I had a very good time there at the end I stayed about 5 weeks in nice small place.

# Every morning I walked around 8 am out of the gate of Ved Niketan Ashram when I walked out I see the fast floating Ganges River and the bleu sky (only one i saw one cloud). Then I turn right along the small thee shop, past the babas (who only smoke, drink chai, some make a baba bag (500 rps), ask for bakshees and daily get food from the different ashrams). On the left I saw the clocktower and the school with childeren doing there morning excersise or singing some hindu holy song. The Ganges is still on the left side. I walk past an ashram who performs a daily Puja at the Ganges in the evening at 6 pm. I walk past Thali places 25 rps for a Thali. The Italian restaurant with oke food but the best part of this place is it has an heater so it is a warm place to eat in the evening. Past the 3 bookshops with very good and many books about yoga. I turn to the right and past the Chotiwalas with very good Masala Dosas and Paneer Dosas. The road goes a little bit up past another line of Baba's and there on the right in Trika Yoga School.

I will not forget:

# Practising Thai Chi in the afternoon together with some people who one to learn Tai chi.

# walking as slow as possible but sill moving over a distance of about 2 meters in about 30 minutes together with Julien.

#watching people doing yoga and meditation in the morning.

#Cooking brown rice for ten days together with Sander

#Monkeys eating my chapati, Bananas and oranges. This occures normally when you forget to close the door propely

# Meeting wonderfull people like Nata, Sara, Julien, Fabien, Reinert, Eva, Rebecca, Annegand, Debby etc

# eating moong dal pancakes and drinking ayuvedic tea at the ayuvedic cafe.

#Going to the German bakery in across the bridge near Laxman Julia. For some proper tomato soup without indian masala

#Eating 25 rps thali in one of the Thali places

#Drinking a fast cup of tea at the tea stall near the Trika Hall. In between the afternoon Yoga lesson and the evening lecture.

Anyway I had a wonderfull time in Rishikesh.

Some new Pictures

I have uploaded a few pictures to my site.
Please have look and klick on the picture.

Ved Niketan Ashram Rishikesh

I'm still relaxing in Rishikesh although its gets everyday colder. Especially the wind is very cold. I enjoy Ved Niketan Ashram were I'm staying since 8 November. The Ashram looks over the Ganges the holy river.

The last week I did some reading, yoga by my selfe everyday around 1 hour and 30 minutes. Most of the time I go early to bed because there is no heating in my roon and most of the restaurants are without heating. So around 9:30 pm go to bed and read a book. Most of the evening meals I take in the Italian (only restaurant with heating) or the Ayuvedic Cafe. Both restaurants serve good food although the Ayuvedic Cafe serves healtier food. But this afternoon I will have lunch in the German bakery in Laxman Julia only 20 minutes walking from were I stay.

Some books I have been reading lately are:

* A search in secret India from Paul Brunton. This is a book about India and Yogis
* Surya Namaskara from Swami Satyananda Saraswati
* The Da vinci Codes from Dan Brown.

I stay another 2 days in Risikesh and then I move to Delhi. This takes about 7 hours by bus. In Delhi I will take a train to Varanassi.

Winter in Risikesh

I'm still in Risikesh. My yoga course ended last saterday in the evening with a small party. For doing this 4 week yoga course I got a certificate ( wauwwwwwwwwwwwww ).

Anyway it is getting colder in Risikesh, Risikeh is situated close to the Himalaya in a valley.

In the morning around 7 AM I walk to the pump for a bucket of hot water. During the morning is it so called that i need my fleece. The Indians dress themselve up in dow jackets and other woolen stuff. During the day it is around 22 degree and in the evening the temperture drops to 7 degree. At that time in the evening, you see all the tourist with blankets and fleece.

The good think now is that there are not that many tourist, most tourist are heading south to Goa.