Shit River

And finally, there was Varanasi. The sacred city was also the site of touts, floods and the Ganges River that has fecal-coliform counts of about 50,000 bacteria per 100 milliliters of water, 10,000% higher than the government standard for safe river bathing. Literally, thousands of people were bathing in and drinking from the river. That being said, it was beautiful to see, but not touch, the river which had ghats (temples) with steps leading right to the water's edge.

When we arrived in Varanasi we had the same usual problems with the aggressive rickshaw drivers, which led to more arguments between me and them, but in the end we got a pretty good deal on a place to stay and a cheap rickshaw ride - but the hassle was barely worth it.

The city itself was congested and busy. There were few restaurants and the ones available were expensive. The first night there it rained and rained and rained some more. When we awoke the streets had flooded - literally 2-3 feet of water everywhere. We ventured out for some breakfast and waded through the water (which was inevitably filled with fecal matter, if not human, than definitely cow and dog). Oh, and did I mention, the water in our hostel stopped working because of the flood. Lovely day.

Eventually the flooding subsided and we strolled along the ghats and river, which was actually somewhat peaceful. Less peaceful was the negotiating with boat drivers to take us out on the river, but we did the most sensible thing possible and walked away. It ended up we got a much better deal by booking a boat ride through our hostel, which allowed us to view an evening Hindu river worship ceremony.

All in all, Varanasi had its highs and lows, but the stop was worth it, if only to see the magnificent (yet polluted) Ganges. Although, a working ATM would have been nice.

* picture - Sending puri (offering of lotus flowers and butter candle) down the river at sunset