Day 41 - Sunrise on the Ganges

At 4:30am the alarm sounded, I got out of bed, switched in the hot water heater and went back to bed for ten minutes. Across all of India, hot water is a hotel room is a difficult to find commodity. For us, hot showers in the morning versus cold or lukewarm showers has been a 50/50 proposition. Quite often one can get hot water if one runs the shower for five to ten minutes before you want to shower. Of course, this is very hard to do for Australians who have been very water conscious all their lives, especially in the last fifteen years.

So, today’s shower was another lukewarm one. By 5:10am we were in the hotel lobby ready for a journey back to the ghats and to board a boat for a sunrise cruise down the Ganges. By the time we arrived the daily morning worship ritual was in full swing – at the same venue as last night’s sunset presentation. Our boat was ready so we boarded and headed out to the middle of the river where the captain cut the engine and we just drifted in silence. After 15 minutes the black/pink sky gave way to the huge red ball of the rising sun as it slowly crept its way above the G20 tents of the Tent City on the sandy eastern bank of the river. The shutter of the camera was in overdrive trying to get that one superb shot. To be honest, it was pretty hard to not get a shot that really tells the story of this sunrise.

Meanwhile, the tall buildings that frame the Ganges on the western bank were beginning glow in the bright red and yellow of the rising sun. A very different look to the that which we saw in the evening in Saturday. The river was once again full of boats of all shapes, sizes and capacities. So poor chaps were rowing their clients down the river. We made it down to the bottom “burning” ghat and witnessed the remains of last night’s fires still smoldering, before making our way back upstream close to the western bank. Along here we watched people bathing in the Ganges, holy men sitting cross-legged and praying and crowds of believers gathering to pray and worship on the steps of the ghat that provided most spiritual relevance to them. The ghat for people from south India was particularly busy.

When we “docked” nose first into the bank we came across a large gathering of people practicing communal yoga in the morning sun, being led by a yogi up on the stage they were all facing. We respectfully walked in by and boarded our tuk-tuks in search of a place for breakfast. We found one nearby in the form of a bakery called “The New Bread of Life”. The menu offered only standard western breakfast dishes which suited us all fine. The pancakes were popular as was the apple pie. I opted for a dish which approximated Eggs Benedict. It did the job. Back to our tuk-tuks we went and back to the hotel for a rest, pack our bags and check-out.

Check-out was at 12:00 midday, which was very generous. We dropped our bags in the groups private day room and met the rest of the crew in the lobby. The rest of the day was free for us the have our last look at Varanasi before our 10:00pm train back to Delhi. Up our road we went in search of a coffee, which was not as easy as it sounds. I was leading the way, not knowing where I was going. A crazy old man jumped out from behind a stopped tuk-tuk and accosted me for no apparent reason. I gave him all the respect he deserved, brushed him off and kept walking, finding a weird bakery a little further along.

After my non-appearing coffee was finished Kerry, Eric and I grabbed an e-Rickshaw and directed him towards the market area of Varanasi. We weren't really sure where we were going so I just randomly picked a hotel somewhere in the area and pointed him there. Anna, Irene and Cheryl went to a shopping mall somewhere. Our driver took us a far as he could before road barriers prevented him going any further. We paid our 200 rupees and joined the throng on the road walking and riding in the direction of the Ganges. Along the way Kerry befriended a “lovely little chap” who was very keen to show us how to get to the markets. We dutifully followed him through the crowds and then the alleys and lane-ways, past a bright yellow temple hidden deep in amongst the other buildings, until we reached a specific shop he wanted us to visit!  We knew we’d end up at the place of his choice but it was fun anyway. At the shop we bought a three cotton Indian-sytle shirts which I suspect probably won’t make it through the first wash in one piece. Further along Kerry found some inexpensive ear-rings she liked and a few other nik-naks. By chance, we bumped into Kerry’s “lovely little chap” again so he led us to a shop that had cold drinks. We sat out the front and enjoyed our drinks then steeled ourselves for the journey home. We’ve become quite adept at dodging Varanasi traffic. All it takes is a little courage  and, most importantly, so indecision about where and when you want to step. If ever the old saying “He who hesitates is lost” applies anywhere it applies on Varanasi streets.

We got to the tuk-tuk zone, found one and once again advised the driver how to get to our hotel. Exhausted, we made it back to our day-room and waited there until everyone was hungry enough to go downstairs for dinner. At 8:45pm we gathered in the lobby for our ride to the Varanasi train station and the start of our final leg back to Delhi.