Final Travel Prep
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Varanasi! |
 Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:11 pm |
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| I just wanted to post a topic to say what an amazing place Varanasi is ... if you are going to India and haven't decided where to visit yet, definitely put it at the top of your list. Have just got back after spending a brilliant week there, strolling along the ghats, taking lots of boat trips, people-watching at sunrise and sunset and all the times in between, attending the nightly ceremony to bless the river, and going for an impromptu dip in the Ganges (maybe not the most hygienic moment of my life, but one that I will remember forever!).
Anyway, basically I am writing this because before I went I was feeling very apprehensive, having heard numerous stories about the scams, danger, dirt and general chaos ... it's honestly not very different to anywhere else in India in terms of hassle, but in terms of magic and general surreal-ness it wins hands down. Go go go!!!  |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 394 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:12 pm |
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| I'm planning to visit Varanasi (and Agra) in April 2010 before Nepal - the photo opportunities look amazing! You mentioned staying for a week, is that too long or just right? I was thinking maybe more like 4 days. Also, how easy is it to get around and see the sights? | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 13 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:24 pm |
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| It's very compact and not a huge amounts of 'sights' to see. As Ambermarie has described most of it is centred around the old town and the river. You can easily walk to most places (although getting lost is easy). I think a week is quite a long time but gave Ambermarie time to get used to the mayhem of the city, relax and start to really experience the magic of the place. I reckon you should be fine with 4 days if that's the time you have. | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 2473 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:43 pm |
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| Well, I could have stayed there forever! I think the longer you give it the more it will cast its spell over you ... and yes the photo opportunities are amazing; I only wish I was better at capturing everything on camera. Will try and put some pictures up on here at some point but it doesn't seem to be working at the moment. Enjoy your trip, I'm very jealous! | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 394 Posts |
| Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:21 pm |
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| i loved it there too, sadly we could only stay 3 nights, wish i could have stayed longer!
anyone going, make sure you take a torch with you at night. the electricity goes alot and the roads are very small and windy and its easy to get lost in daylight never mind in total darkness, that and the fact cows just lie in the path and you dont want to be falling over one of them or step in a pile of their dung!!! if memory serves correct, i took my torch with me one night, electricty went and made my home, only to be followed by our very own chuzzle an hour or so later who got totally lost when the electricty went!  |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 11489 Posts |
| Posted: Thu Oct 1, 2009 8:43 am |
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| im here now and i thinks its shit, spiritual yes, but shit! But maybe thats due to be circumstances. My hernia means i cant walk far, the area im staying in, or everywhere ive been in varanasi is the dirtiest place ive ever seen. And ive seen abit of India now.
Last night me and my gf got caught literally in the middle of a gang fight. Which turned out to actually be the locals getting pissed off with a local gangster and they literally fucked him up big time. Sticks and bats and everything. the boat trip was nice though! |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1537 Posts |
| Posted: Thu Oct 1, 2009 9:40 pm |
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im here now and i thinks its shit, spiritual yes, but shit! But maybe thats due to be circumstances. My hernia means i cant walk far, the area im staying in, or everywhere ive been in varanasi is the dirtiest place ive ever seen. And ive seen abit of India now.
Last night me and my gf got caught literally in the middle of a gang fight. Which turned out to actually be the locals getting pissed off with a local gangster and they literally fucked him up big time. Sticks and bats and everything. the boat trip was nice though! Seriously?! That's so unfortunate ... see, all the stories that I'd heard were similar to what you're saying, so I was just waiting for something bad like that to happen or for me to be overwhelmed by the dirt and chaos ... but it never happened; it was like the week passed and everything was almost too good to be true! Out of interest, whereabouts are you staying? Also, I really didn't find it was noticably dirtier than anywhere else I've been in India (well, apart from the rotting corpses bobbing along in the river). Different impressions hey! |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 394 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 3, 2009 9:22 am |
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| I was near scindhia ghat. I just didnt rate it that was all. For me there are much better places in India. I dont get overwhelmed by shit,rubbish and dead animals everywhere. Its just not what i think it good. i dont tend to go for spiritual places much so i was never gonna find it that good anyway.
It goes down to the experience i had while there, another time i may of enjoyed it. But getting caught in the middle of a gang fight didnt help my time there.haha |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1537 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 3, 2009 9:38 am |
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| [quote]i loved it there too, sadly we could only stay 3 nights, wish i could have stayed longer!
anyone going, make sure you take a torch with you at night. the electricity goes alot and the roads are very small and windy and its easy to get lost in daylight never mind in total darkness, that and the fact cows just lie in the path and you dont want to be falling over one of them or step in a pile of their dung!!! if memory serves correct, i took my torch with me one night, electricty went and made my home, only to be followed by our very own chuzzle an hour or so later who got totally lost when the electricty went! [/quote]
They need to invent 50p's and a meter, all would be ace after that!!
Ambermarie - you went swimming in what's probably the most polluted river in the world, it's where they put the remains on dead people (even the whole body if they've not been cremated!).... ewww!! |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 2649 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 3, 2009 2:21 pm |
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Ambermarie - you went swimming in what's probably the most polluted river in the world, it's where they put the remains on dead people (even the whole body if they've not been cremated!).... ewww!!
Shes obviously one of "those" travellers  |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1537 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 3, 2009 2:53 pm |
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| i felt ill seeing people swim/bathe/dunk their heads in that water after being told whats in it!! | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 11489 Posts |
| Posted: Sat Oct 3, 2009 11:11 pm |
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Ambermarie - you went swimming in what's probably the most polluted river in the world, it's where they put the remains on dead people (even the whole body if they've not been cremated!).... ewww!!
Haha yeah I know, it was a bit of a spontaneous thing that I don't think I'll be repeating ... the next day we passed a whole, unburnt corpse just bobbing about by the ghat, which would definitely have put me off had I seen it earlier! (I did actually scour my entire body AND rub hand sanitiser into my skin after getting out ...) But I survived and it was pretty fun at the time, plus I must be spiritually cleansed at least now?!  |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 394 Posts |
| Posted: Sun Oct 4, 2009 6:49 am |
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woahh, sounds nuts! good to hear both sides of it here. rotting corpses bodding along in the water sounds interesting  but hey, sunrise and sunset over the Ganges sounds awesome.
I'm off there in a couple of weeks so i'll see what i make of it... |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 135 Posts |
| Posted: Sun Oct 4, 2009 11:02 am |
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| I liked varanasi, but agree with some other comments that people have made about the city being one of the dirtiest in India. I got very ill soon after leaving the city and even the local people told me it was probably something i picked up while there.
The ghats are fascinating though, especially the burning ghats. I love India and am currently planning a month long trip to the south of the country in january. Anybody here got much to say about this part of India? |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1133 Posts |
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