And we're back.....Varanasi

Sorry guys, we know it's been a while, but it's only because we've been out enjoying and haven't had the time or connection speeds to keep up to date. Anyway, back to business...

At the top of our lists and possibly the place that had us most excited about visiting India was Varanasi as it promised to provide an insightful look into Hindu culture in India. It is one of the holiest cities where droves of Hindus make pilgrimages to die as they believe it frees them from the cycle of rebirth. The dead are cremated along the river at the burning ghats, where all can watch the wrapped bodies being carried and placed into a funeral pyre before being set afire.

Similar to our experience in Pushkar, Varanasi was another holy city tainted with iniquities. We were approached by kids as young as 10 offering "super duper opium" and the ghats displayed heaps of trash within a terribly polluted Ganges River. Still, it was an interesting to take a sunset ride down the river with a guide who proved to be very informative. Some facts learned were:

• Even burning ghats display ones societal status, as the type of wood used, and proximity to the river indicate what burial costs a family can afford. The very poor, unable to even afford the cost of wood, use a cheaper electric cremation station down the river. Ironically, the main burning ghat is owned by an Untouchable, the lowest of the caste system, who is paid 4 dollars tax for each body, which translates into him being one of the wealthiest people in town. As they say, the only two sure things in life are death and taxes...

• Varanasi is a total loophole in the Hindu's belief of Karma. Anyone, even Jack the Ripper, would be freed from rebirth just by dying there. Alternatively, a "bad" person who died elsewhere, it is believed, would be reborn in a lower caste, or even as an animal. We then learned that you don't even have to physically die there, it is enough for your family to transport your body or even ashes there. We have since converted to Hinduism and are racking up the sins and plan to relocate to Varanasi late in life...

• Certain people are unable to be burned and instead their bodies are weighted with stones and sunk in the river. These people include: babies, people bitten by cobras (the god Shiva has a cobra, considered a holy animal, around her neck), pregnant women, and others we have forgotten. While we didn't see it, it's not uncommon for the stones used for sinking to come untied and the body to float to the surface, which people on pleasant sunset boat rides sometimes come across.
  

Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Varanasi-Rebecca/